FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lost but Found: Assemblage, Collage and Sculpture, 1920-2002
November 5, 2004 – March 28, 2005
Norton Simon Museum
411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA
Contact: Jenna Siman
Tel: (626) 449-6840, ext. 210, Fax, (626) 796-4978
E-Mail: <mailto:jsiman@nortonsimon.org>
Web site: <http://www.nortonsimon.org>
Connor Everts, American, 1926-, The Flaneries, 2002, acrylic and collage on paper, 22 x 30 in.
Credit: Norton Simon Museum
© 2004 Connor Everts
Major Exhibition at the Norton Simon Museum Presents Assemblage, Collage and Abstract Sculpture Spanning 80 Years November 5, 2004 through March 28, 2005
Works from Picasso to Nevelson and from Cornell to Kienholz reveal the diversity and breadth of the Norton Simon Museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art
Pasadena, CA - Lost but Found: Assemblage, Collage and Sculpture, 1920-2002 showcases nearly 60 assemblages, collages, readymades and abstract sculptures from the Norton Simon Museum’s extensive collection of modern and contemporary art. Spanning more than 80 years and traversing several critical art movements, Lost but Found features important examples by 30 prominent European and American artists including Pablo Picasso, Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Cornell, Louise Nevelson, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Kienholz, Bruce Conner and Tom Wesselmann.
Lost but Found: Assemblage, Collage and Sculpture, 1920-2002 is organized by the Norton Simon Museum’s Curatorial Assistant, Michelle Deziel. An illustrated color brochure accompanies the exhibition.
The Exhibition
As suggested by the title, Lost but Found explores the myriad ways artists take commonplace, often discarded objects and materials and transform them into art. These works are largely assembled rather than painted, drawn or carved, and they are constructed either entirely or in part from nontraditional art materials. The exhibition surveys the rich history and aesthetics of assemblage and collage from 1920 to 2002. Arranged in loose chronological order, Lost but Found features important examples from the Museum’s permanent collection by some of the most central figures working in collage and assemblage over the last century.
French artist Jean Dubuffet coined the term “assemblage” in 1953, but the traditions of using found objects in art and collage can be traced to the first decades of the 20th century. The birth of modern collage occurred in 1912 when Cubist artist Pablo Picasso incorporated a fragment of oilcloth in a painting to simulate chair-caning and surrounded the piece with hemp rope. The integration of non-traditional materials in a work of art was at first a radical act defying convention, but it was only a matter of time before other artists adopted collage as a vital new means for expression. Collage was taken a step further when artists began assembling three dimensional collages or “assemblages.” The tradition of assemblage advanced with the avant-garde artists of the 1950s and continues its evolution to the present.
1920s – 1950s
The exhibition begins with a look at early collages from the 1920s and 1930s by Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), Paul Klee (1879-1940) and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). On display are a number of examples from Schwitters’ famous series of collages titled Merz, which incorporate items from every day life including train tickets, newspaper fragments and candy wrappers. Also on view from this period is Klee’s noted collage Idol for House Cats (1924) and two versions of Picasso’s 1932 collage titled The Diver (Marie-Therése).
Works from the 1940s and 1950s by Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) and Ed Moses (b. 1926) present a continued exploration of collage and an expansion into three-dimensional artworks. On display are a number of examples from Matisse’s famous Jazz series (1947). Inspired by the circus, these color stencils were made from cut-paper collages the artist made in the early 1940s that reveal his interest in color and light in a radically different form than his canvasses of the 1930s. Duchamp’s Boite-en-Valise (Box in Suitcase) (1941-42), a miniature museum of his own works of art, and Boite Alerte (Mailbox) (1959), a box containing letters and replicas, carry on the artist’s interest in the mutability of perception when everyday objects are taken out of their original context. American artist Ed Moses’ painted collage Rafe (1959)—punctuated by primary colors and incorporating thick painted surfaces—evokes the artist’s affinity for Abstract Expressionism.
1960s – 2002
Works on view from the 1960s include assemblages from notable California artists Ed Kienholz (1927-1994), George Herms (b. 1935) and Bruce Conner (b. 1933). Exhibition visitors can see Ed Kienholz’s The Secret House of Eddie Critch (1961), which utilizes a cast-off piece of furniture as the framework for an assemblage that incorporates doll parts and alludes to a mysterious, hidden narrative. George Herms’ The Librarian (1960) comprised of decaying books, and Bruce Conner’s COUCH (1963) created from a discarded settee, are both icons of the 1960’s California Assemblage movement.
Notable sculptures made from nontraditional materials from the 1970s include Charles Arnoldi’s (b. 1946) rope sculpture Untitled (1971) and Jud Fine’s (b.1944) chicken wire sculpture Untitled (1972). Visitors can also see Robert Rauschenberg’s collaged Cardbird series from 1971—a series of wall reliefs replicating a discarded, disassembled cardboard box.
Recent years are represented in the exhibition by works such as Llyn Foulkes’ collage Family in Death Valley from 1984, a stylized composition of a smiling family amidst a barren and rocky desert landscape. Connor Everts’ 1999 collage Detritus includes seemingly disparate objects, a playing card, postage stamps and a museum admission pass, to create a visual whole.
In addition to the artists already mentioned, Lost but Found features works by Wallace Berman (1926-1976), John Chamberlain (b. 1927), Claire Falkenstein (1908-1997), Helen Frankenthaler (b. 1928), Robert Heinecken (b. 1931), El Lissitzky (1890-1941), Jerry McMillan (b. 1936), Michael Stone (b. 1945), Stephan von Huene (1932-2000), Tom Wesselmann (b. 1931) and others.
Exhibition-Related Programming
In conjunction with Lost but Found, the Museum will present a number of events and activities for adults and families.
- The Museum will present a series of adult education courses titled “Lost but Found Modernism: Transforming the Object into Art.” These classes will be offered in the Museum’s theater and presented by Andrés Zervigón, Associate Professor of Art History, University of La Verne. Each session is on Saturday mornings from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. and is $15. Call (626) 844-6980 for more information and to register; walk-ins also accepted. Detailed course descriptions can be found online at www.nortonsimon.org/events.
- On Saturday, November 20, at 1:00 p.m. the Museum offers Assembling Nature: A Family Festival with George Herms. The noted contemporary artist will join children age 8 and up to make a collage out of natural materials and explore his artwork and more.
In addition, a number of lectures, tours, film screenings and performances relating to the exhibition will be presented. Please visit <http://www.nortonsimon.org/events> for more information.
The Norton Simon Museum
The Norton Simon Museum is known around the world as one of the most remarkable private art collections ever assembled. The Museum features a particularly celebrated Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and 20th century collection. Complementing the Western art is an outstanding collection of Asian sculpture from India and Southeast Asia spanning a period of 2000 years.
The Norton Simon Museum is located in Pasadena on the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevards at the intersection of the Foothill (210) and Ventura (134) freeways. The Museum is open every day except Tuesday, from noon to 6:00 p.m., and noon to 9:00 p.m. on Friday. Admission is $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors. Members, students with I.D. and patrons ages 18 and under are admitted free of charge. The first Friday of every month from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. is free for all visitors. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. Free parking is available and no reservations are necessary. For Museum information, please call (626) 449-6840 or visit <http://www.nortonsimon.org>.
