September/October 2013 - Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art

DIRECTOR’S DESK ... WITH G. GARY MOYER
The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art endeavors to serve its
constituents in a meaningful way.
We are driven to offer a quality
museum experience with a mantra of continuous improvement.
SAMA remains committed to serving our communities on a rich and
significant level. Three incidents
come to mind as embodiments
of our pledge to meet or exceed
the expectations of the people we
serve.
A story I have related in the past
involves the observations of a nurse
participating in SAMA’s Museum/Healthcare Partnership Program. I will
never forget the emotion and gratitude that nurse expressed to me that
day. The response of a patient, wheelchair-bound for years after a horrific
automobile accident, prompted the nurse to make a call to the Museum.
The nurse expressed her excitement over the patient’s physical reactions to
SAMA’s resident artist; the art project they were working on moved the
patient to respond in ways theretofore not observed in her therapy. The
patient actually attempted to get out of her chair and uttered sounds for
the first time in more than ten years. For me, it was a powerful example of
providing our constituents with an impactful art experience.
Another incident that comes to mind occurred at an Artists of the 21st
Century exhibition opening at the Ligonier Valley Museum. I was chatting
with Site Coordinator Sommer Toffle in the Elizabeth Shaw Gamble Gallery when a group of elementary school children bounded into the room.
Upon entering, one little girl pirouetted and exclaimed, “This is awesome!”
I can still recall the sound of her voice and the stars in her eyes. Those
three words – “this is awesome” – are a testament to what we do and the
constituents we serve.
A stack of mail on my desk revealed yet another example of the Museum’s community service and the quality of our programs. Among the
business letters and junk mail, I found a manila envelope stuffed with
handmade cards decorated in crayon and lovingly addressed to the Museum. I read each and every card from the fourth grade pupils at Penn Lincoln Elementary School. In writing about their experience with SAMA’s
artist in residence, a line that struck me was “you inspired me.” I can think
of no greater compliment for a teacher or any individual that their work
inspired others, particularly a young person. To me, this is the very essence
of SAMA’s Arts-in-Education programs. These programs bring art to life in
the classrooms at schools throughout the region and provide thousands of
children with an art experience they might not otherwise receive.
When you support SAMA, you provide access to our museums free of
charge to tens of thousands each year. Your support benefits children in
grades K-12 in schools throughout our six-county service region. Your
support helps those who suffer from chronic pain. Your support is witness to our shared appreciation of creativity and artistic excellence and the
crucial role they play in sustaining an inventive and creative community.
You are part of the quality museum experience. You are SAMA!
SAMA-Altoona Fundraiser Will
Encourage Guests to Think Pink
SAMA-Altoona’s annual fundraiser
will return this fall, albeit slightly rebranded. In lieu of The Art of Wine &
Fashion, this year the Museum offers
Think Pink. The event will be held
in conjunction with the American
Cancer Society, with a portion of the
proceeds going to the organization’s
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
campaign.
“Think Pink is a new direction for
our Museum,” said SAMA-Altoona
Coordinator Barbara Hollander. “This
is the first time we will be partnering
with the American Cancer Society to
help in their fight against breast cancer. We are proud to stand with them in their quest to find a cure and
spread awareness of the disease.”
As in previous years, the fundraiser will begin in the Museum with
a champagne reception and hors d’oeuvres before moving next door
to The Columns
for a buffet dinner
by Allegro, dessert, and dancing.
A silent auction
will feature two
fully
furnished
dollhouses, a variety of gift baskets,
and artwork by local artists. A raffle
will be held at the
Gloria Taddei of Allegro, Barbara Hollander, Think
event, providing
Pink Chair Kim Irwin, and Lisa Koncz of the
guests an opporAmerican Cancer Society
tunity to win two
Altoona-themed paintings and an article of designer clothing. The
event also includes a style show with fashions by CAbi. Chairing the
fundraiser will be Kim Irwin.
“Our new chair, Kim Irwin, is really pulling out the stops with the
planning of this year’s program,” said Hollander. “Kim represents the
line of CAbi clothing and our fashion show is going to be amazing.
With the Allegro coming on board, Danny and his crew will have to
bring extra hands on deck to roll those veal balls! Things are shaping
up for this to be our best fundraiser yet.”
Think Pink is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Friday, November 1. Tickets are $75 per person. Reservations are required by October 28 and
can be made by calling the Altoona Museum. Valet parking will be
available.
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SAMA NEWS
IN THE NEWS
•SAMA’s summer interns – Mac Crans, Ashley Farabaugh, Ashley Farabaugh,
Kayla Farabaugh, Paul Hoover, Megan James and Bridget Moyer – did a
wonderful job conducting online research, completing bulk mailings, painting
modules, preparing for the Gala, and performing other assorted tasks for the
Museum. And yes, we did have two Ashley Farabaughs this summer! Thanks
to all our interns for a job well done.
•Recently, the Rotary Club of Johnstown elected SAMA Trustee Karen Azer to
lead the organization for the 2013-14 year. Azer served as president last year
and vice president in 2011-12. Rotary International has recognized her for her
service with the Four Avenues of Service Award and she was named Rotary
Paul Harris Fellow on four separate occasions.
•Governor Tom Corbett signed into law a $28.375 billion budget for FY
2013-14. This budget contains very little new money for arts and culture and
represents the third year in a row in which grants to the arts have received
level funding. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ (PCA) grants to the arts
have been reduced by 47% since FY 2007-08. State budget cuts have had a
dramatic impact on our partnership with the PCA and, in turn, funding for
SAMA’s Arts-in-Education program has been problematic.
•SAMA-Ligonier Valley will host a portrait drawing class with artist and educator Jean Coursey Beaufort from 1 to 4 p.m. October 26. The class, designed for
beginners and intermediate level artists, is open to anyone aged teen through
adult. Cost is $35 per person or $25 for SAMA-Ligonier Valley Auxiliary
members. Materials are included.
•Thanks to grants from the Ligonier Valley Endowment and the R.K. Mellon
Foundation, SAMA is able to replace the damaged HVAC sytem at the Ligonier
Valley Museum. The Museum is most appreciative of the support we have received from the Ligonier Valley Endowment and the R.K. Mellon Foundation.
Approximately sixty people attended
the opening reception for The Art of
Healing Exhibition: Reflections 2013
at SAMA-Johnstown in July. The
exhibition highlighted artwork created by patients at the John P. Murtha Exhibiting artist Janet Marchegiani with
Neuroscience and Pain Institute during Gary Moyer and SAMA Trustee Emeritus
residencies with SAMA’s teaching artists.
Jeanne Gleason at The Art of Healing
Exhibition opening reception.
SAMA debuted its Museum/Healthcare
Partnership Program in 2003 in an attempt to help area residents suffering from
mental and physical disabilities. Since its inception, the program has benefited
more than 800 individuals throughout central and western Pennsylvania.
In July, SAMA’s Ligonier Valley Museum was the host site for the 22nd
annual Standard Flower Show of
Weeders and Seeders Garden Club
of Ligonier. About eighty people
attended the show, which included
a variety of arrangements as well as
numerous single specimens. Entries
came from the club as well as the
Greta Yanosky was one of approximately eighty
general public.
people to attend the Standard Flower Show.
GENERAL OPERATING CAMPAIGN 2013
Help SAMA reach its goal of $175,000 in 2013 by
contributing to the General Operating Campaign.
Donations offset the costs of our exhibitions and
programming and allow us to keep all four museum
sites open to the public free of charge.
Ligonier Valley MUSEUM Introduces
Artists in Action Tour
This September, SAMA’s
Ligonier Valley Museum
will introduce its Artists in
Action Tour. Sponsored by
the Ligonier Valley Auxiliary, the self-driving tour
provides a unique opportunity to not only visit the
The studio of Paul
studios of practicing artists, Sirofchuck will be one of
but to also see the artists many stops along the
as they work. Six studios Artists in Action tour.
and eight artists will be featured along the tour.
Participating artists include Gene Kravits, painter;
Richard McWherter, photographer/digital artist; Paulette Nikel, painter;
Linda Peck, paper cutter; John Ritter, graphic illustrator/American Post-Pop
artist; Catherine Rosensteel, hand-dyed silk wear artist; Paul Sirofchuck, contemporary woodworker and designer; and Helen Thorne, painter.
“What makes this tour exciting and unique is the opportunity to actually
see the artists ‘in action’ as they create their artwork,” said SAMA-Ligonier
Valley Coordinator Sommer Toffle. “Not only are you getting a glimpse into
their unique world, but you are also able to see how they work.”
Tickets for the tour are $20 per person and are available by calling the
Ligonier Valley Museum. The tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on
September 21. Visitors are to begin at the Museum, where they will be given
maps illustrating the locations of the six studios.
Conversations with the Curator
SAMA-Loretto’s newest program, Conversations with the Curator, returns on
Thursday, September 12. This installment, “A World of Wealth and Well-Being:
Symbol and Story in Chinese Folk Art,” focuses on the Museum’s current exhibition, Stories Joyfully Embroidered: Shaanxi Folk Textiles from Northern China.
With their bright colors and strong emphasis on design, buduihua textiles may
at first seem to be only mere decoration. Yet, the symbolism woven into this
expression of Chinese folk art has been well articulated for centuries. Dr. V. Scott
Dimond, SAMA Curator for Visual Arts, will provide an overview of this unique
art form while also discussing selected textiles in the exhibition. The program
begins at 12:15 p.m. and costs $25 per person, which includes a box lunch.
R.S.V.P. by September 9.
SAMA-Ligonier Valley hosted a kids art camp
in June with renowned local artist Rita Haldeman. Nine children attended the I Heart
Art camp, which included an introduction to
a variety of media, including watercolor, tempera paint, soft pastels and watercolor pencils.
On the final day of camp, parents and friends
were invited to the Museum for an exhibition
featuring the campers’ artwork.
WISH LIST
Barbara Hollander, SAMA-Altoona Site Coordinator
Need: Inspiron One 20” non-touch desktop computer
Cost: $730
My computer and software is outdated. Lately I have been experiencing
problems with it and we have been incurring a lot of repair costs. I use my
computer daily for exhibition planning, emailing, preparing for our annual
fundraiser, and keeping track of expenses. A new computer would provide
for smoother operations at the Museum. The above cost includes $100 for
transferring files to the new computer.
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SAMA NEWS
SAMA Celebrates 35th Gala in Grand Style
Nearly 400 guests gathered in Loretto in
July to help celebrate SAMA’s 35th anniversary Gala. The “Asian Fusion” Gala was
described as one of the most exciting and
colorful events in SAMA history. Guests were
greeted by vibrant entrance banners, choreographed dancers and a ring of the gong before
heading into the Museum for the American
premiere of Stories Joyfully Embroidered, an
exhibition of Chinese folk textiles neverbefore-seen in the Western Hemisphere.
Under the tent, guests were amazed by the
massive silk kites, statues, and other decoraJudy Rossman and
tions. Many enjoyed a variety of casino
Nancy Devorris
games, while others perused the silent auction, which featured decoupage plates and hand-crafted purses by Nancy
Sheetz, as well as a vast assortment of Asian-themed antiques and collectibles. Gala chairs Jim Cayce, Marian Morgan, Nancy Sheetz and Michael
Strueber organized a truly elegant affair. Be sure to mark your calendars for
SAMA’s next Gala, “Party in Paradise,” on July 19, 2014.
Choreographed dancers greeted
guests arriving at the Gala
The Very Rev. Christian Oravec, T.O.R.,
with Gala Chair Michael Strueber
Lee Xin, Youjia Xin, Sophie Marres and
Marie Marres in the Museum gallery,
which featured a collection of Chinese folk John K. Duggan, Jr., President of SAMA’s
textiles loaned to SAMA by Mrs. Xin
Board of Trustees, and Gary Moyer
Gala Chairs Marian Morgan and Jim Cayce Gala Chair Nancy Sheetz and Tina Sheetz
Michael and Barbara Sincak and Robert
C. and Renee Cohn Jubelirer
Meet and Greet: Beverlie Hartnett
The Southern
Alleghenies Museum of Art has
a new face in the
registrar’s office,
but it’s a familiar
one to patrons of
SAMA-Altoona.
In June, the Museum hired Beverlie Hartnett as registrar.
Beverlie worked as a gallery assistant
under Barbara Hollander at the Altoona
Museum from 2004 through 2007.
In addition to her time at SAMAAltoona, Beverlie has a wealth of experience in the art world. She has served as a
gallery assistant at the Misciagna Family
Center for the Performing Arts at Penn
State-Altoona and was an assistant registrar at both the Palmer Museum of Art in
University Park, Centre County, and the
Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, New
Mexico.
Her interest in the arts dates back to
her childhood. As a youth living outside
Washington, D.C., her family took
many trips to the region’s museums, getting her hooked on art and the museum
experience at an early age. She began her
pursuit of a career in the arts while at
Penn State University, where she received
a B.A. in integrative arts and an M.A.
in art history. Now, after several years’
experience in the field, Beverlie is eager
to assume the responsibility of SAMA
registrar.
“What I like most about the registrar
position is how it offers an opportunity
to get really close to the art; handling it,
caring for it, and playing a major role in
installing shows for the public to enjoy,”
she said.
One of her first responsibilities will be
overseeing the Museum’s database transition to PastPerfect. The project is one that
should have a positive long-term impact
for the Museum, as it will help keep track
of SAMA’s collection and exhibitions.
“This new position at SAMA is an
exciting and challenging one for me,”
she said. “The previous familiarity that I
have with SAMA made starting my new
position here an easy transition, and it
is nice to see everyone again. I wake up
every weekday excited to go to work, and
I really appreciate having that.”
Shirley Pechter, Amy Poon, Janie Hite
and Dede Kazmaier
ART-IN-EDUCATION UPDATE
By Jessica Campbell
This year, Conemaugh Health
System’s Arts for Healing program is
really cutting edge, no pun intended. Kathy Trexel Reed, a papercutter
and rostered artist with SAMA and
the Pennsylvania Council on the
Arts, recently completed a residency
at Conemaugh that spanned May
through July. Participants had so
much fun with Kathy that they will
be offering a second residency with
her in the fall.
The primary project of this
residency is an altered book. An
altered book is a book that is either
discarded or re-used. These books
are then embellished and decorated
to create a work of art. Participants
learned various techniques and
tricks from Kathy, which they then
incorporated into their own altered
book projects.
Kathy is a proficient papercutting
artist who has been active with the
Guild of American Papercutters
since 1996. She holds a B.A. from
Gettysburg College and an M.A.
from Michigan State University.
Kathy has a great deal of teaching
experience, having taught in Department of Defense schools outside
the United States.
The works created during these
residencies with Kathy will be
featured in an upcoming The Art
of Healing exhibition at SAMAJohnstown in March 2014. Please
keep an eye open for the opening
reception; it is surely an exhibition
you won’t want to miss!
These residencies are funded
through Conemaugh’s Arts for Healing program, SAMA’s Museum/
Healthcare Partnership Program,
and an anonymous foundation.
ALTOONA
JOHNSTOWNLIGONIER VALLEYLORETTO
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!
ble Now
Availa
NOVEMBER
1
Colleen Browning:
The Enchantment of Realism
By Dr. Philip Eliasoph
The definitive book on the life and career of
Magic Realist painter Colleen Browning.
Call SAMA at (814) 472-3920 to order!
Hardcover • 180 Pages • $60
SAMA SITES
ALTOONA
1210 11th Avenue
P.O. Box 3061
Altoona, PA 16601
Ph: (814) 946-4464
Fax: (814) 946-3131
[email protected]
JOHNSTOWN
LIGONIER VALLEY
LORETTO
Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center
450 Schoolhouse Road
Johnstown, PA 15904
Ph: (814) 269-7234
Fax: (814) 269-7236
[email protected]
One Boucher Lane
Route 711 South
Ligonier, PA 15658
Ph: (724) 238-6015
Fax: (724) 238-6281
[email protected]
Saint Francis University Mall
P.O. Box 9
Loretto, PA 15940
Ph: (814) 472-3920
Fax: (814) 472-4131
[email protected]