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May artist of the month: Rene Paul Barilleaux, Chief Curator/Curator of the McNay Art Museum
On June 7 and 8 the McNay celebrates the grand opening of the new Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions and the r einstalled main collection galleries. The artist of the month is Rene Paul Barilleaux, Chief Curator of the McNay. We interviewed Rene for his thoughts on what the new building means to the McNay and to the San Antonio Art community. Find out more about the grand opening events at their website, and read Rene’s blog for an insight to the reconstruction process.
Could you explain what you do, for those who might not be very familiar with the McNay?I essentially have two jobs at the McNay—chief curator and curator of art after 1945. As chief curator, I work in close collaboration with Bill Chiego, the museum’s director, to provide vision for and leadership in the programmatic areas of the McNay. These areas include the permanent collection, exhibitions, education, and the library. I also oversee day-to-day administrative operations of the programs, including supervising staff, monitoring budgets, scheduling, etc.In addition, as curator, I develop and oversee the collection of art after 1945, including acquisitions, collections maintenance, exhibitions, publications, programs, and the like. I serve as staff liaison to the McNay Contemporary Collectors Forum, a group of McNay members interested in contemporary art, and I also represent the museum in the regional, national, and international contemporary art arenas.
With the opening of the Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions, how is the Contemporary collection changing, or evolving?
I have been in my position for three years, since 2005, and am only the second curator to oversee contemporary art at the McNay. This curatorial position was established in the late 1990s, so, the museum’s focused development in the area of postwar and contemporary art is very recent, given our 50 plus year history. American Art Since 1945: In a New Light, one of the exhibitions which opens our new Stieren Center, includes 65 works, 29 of which were acquired in the last five years. This number is a strong indication of the aggressive push we are making in acquiring recent art, especially by American artists. Also, several of the upcoming exhibitions scheduled for the Stieren Center explore contemporary art.
What aspects of the new renovation are you excited about?
In addition to opening the new Stieren Center--itself a landmark work of architecture by Paris-based Jean-Paul Viguier--we have reinstalled many of the galleries in the original McNay residence with our permanent collection. So not only are we able to present new special exhibitions on an ongoing basis, we are able to have on view many more works from our collection than ever before. The combination of large numbers of collection works together with special exhibitions is an exciting prospect.
What gets you excited about the San Antonio arts community?
When I think of the arts community in San Antonio, I think about how much of a community it truly is. Before arriving in San Antonio, I had yet to encounter a group of artists who are ambitious about their art but generous with one other. There is an open spirit in the region, and artists here are less competitive and more supportive of the work of their peers. There is also a strong sense of commitment, commitment to what one does as well as commitment to making it happen in San Antonio.
Looking into the rest of the year, what are the “can’t miss” events going on at the McNay?
Of course, there is the new Stieren Center itself! The opening exhibition of our postwar and contemporary collection is the first time we have been able to show so much of this work together. This kind of presentation will not happen again for some time. The exhibition is on view through August 24, so, I think this one is a “can’t miss.” In the fall, we will present a major survey of the kinetic sculptures of George Rickey, with about 30 works in the galleries and around 20 outdoor sculptures spread across the McNay’s campus. Some visitors know Rickey’s work from the piece owned by the museum, located just outside the main (historic) entrance in a small pond. This presentation gives us the opportunity to place our sculpture in the larger context of the artist’s development.
Rene Paul Barilleaux is Chief Curator (2006- ) and Curator of Art after 1945 (2005- ) at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas. Previously Barilleaux held curatorial positions including Deputy Director for Programs, Mississippi Museum of Art (2002-2005); Chief Curator, Mississippi Museum of Art (1993-2001); Gallery Director, Halsey Gallery, College of Charleston, South Carolina (1992-1993); Curator of Exhibitions, Madison Art Center, Wisconsin (1986-1992); and Curator for Collections and Exhibitions, Museum of Holography, New York, New York (1983-1986). He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1979 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute in 1981. Since the early 1980s, Barilleaux has organized numerous exhibitions of modern and contemporary art and alternative media; written, edited, and designed related publications; taught, lectured, and consulted; and been active in many facets of museum administration and the visual arts.
Since joining the staff of the McNay Art Museum in August 2005, Barilleaux acquired works for the museum’s permanent collection by artists including Chakaia Booker, Lesley Dill, Friedel Dzubas, Red Grooms, Valerie Jaudon, Alexander Liberman, Larry Poons, Susie Rosmarin, and Sandy Skoglund. In addition, he organized solo exhibitions of the work of Lynda Benglis, Jane Hammond, and Ernesto Pujol.
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May artists of the month: Jayne King and Amber Ortega-Perez of Modern Dancers’ Co-Laboratory.
Jayne King directs the dance program at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio. She is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was Artistic Director of Janlyn Dance Company, creating more than twenty original works for the ensemble from 1997-2004. Since moving to San Antonio Jayne has especially enjoyed making dances with the San Antonio Modern Dancers Co-Lab. She has a Masters degree in dance from Mills College and is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. Jayne also serves on the board of the San Antonio Dance Umbrella. Her most recent choreographic projects include Floodgate, a dance film shot on location at the Flood Control Tunnel Outlet Building on the San Antonio River, and Work it On Out: Dance Narratives and Fantasies, an intergenerational community performance project
Amber Ortega-Perez is a founding member of the Modern Dancers’ Co-Laboratory, a cooperative of San Antonio modern dancers and also a co-founder of SpareWorks dance company. She is currently an instructor at Ballet Conservatory of South Texas and St. Phillip’s Fine Arts Academy. She holds a BFA in Modern Dance from Ohio State University. Amber recently collaborated with SOLI chamber ensemble member, Stephanie Key and guitarist/composer, Joe Reyes on a unique performance entitled, “(Re)Action”, a performance piece concerning global warming. Amber has also recently received a grant from the San Antonio Artist Foundation to create a new work for her company SpareWorks.
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April artist of the month: Spot Barnett
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Photo courtesy of the artist’s Myspace profile.
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To many, Spot Barnett is a San Antonio Tenor Saxophone legend. A fixture of the local blue scene, He’s been dubbed "King of the Eastside" and the “Godfather of San Antonio Blues.” A legendary talent as a saxophonist, he’s also known for additional longtime contributions to music, a band leader and composer and frequently mixes blues with jazz and rock 'n¹ roll. He’s played with many notable bands in San Antonio such as Doug Sahm, The Texas Tornado's, Flaco Jimenez and Augie Meyers and shared the stage with Ray Charles and James Brown. Barnett also worked in the house band at the legendary Ebony Lounge on San Antonio’s East Side from 1954 to '63. In addition to his local work, Barnett also toured around the country with leading his big band in the 1950’s, and acted as Ike & Tina Turner's bandleader in the 1960's. Barnett currently plays with Westside Horns.
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March artist of the month: Richard Rosen.
Richard Rosen is the creator and founder of The Magik Theatre as well as many other successful theatres in San Antonio, most notably, The Melodrama Theatre and the San Antonio Theatre Club. He holds a B. A. in Theatre from Trinity University. In 1994, Richard created The Magik Theatre as a voice for young people and families throughout the region. Since the first curtain came up, over 1.2 million people have experienced Richard’s vision of The Magik Theatre as a community center built to educate people of all ages by using the unique philosophy of theatre. With a full-time staff of 20 actors and administrative professionals, The Magik Theatre is San Antonio’s only professional repertory company.
Mr. Rosen has written for two PBS programs, City Sites and Carrascolendas, a bilingual series for children. His film credits include writing and co-producing the documentary The Heart of the City. He has created and produced artistic profiles of Degas for the McNay Art Institute, Celebration of Water for Schlitterbahn Park on South Padre Island, and The Haunted River Cruise for the San Antonio River Walk. Over 30 of his original plays have been produced nationwide. Richard’s original stage works include: Alice: A Rock Opera, The Great Kapok Tree, Roxaboxen, Benito's Dream Bottle, The Phantom of the Alamo, Peter and Wendy and Christmas in Blueville.
This month Richard and The Magik Theatre will host over 20 performing arts organizations for the city-wide Arts Night event, Luminaria. The Magik Theatre is the event’s only indoor core venue, and will be presenting musical numbers from its popular show Schoolhouse Rock Live. In addition, The Magik Theatre will be hosting arts organizations on the outdoor Hemisfair Park stage.
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February artist of the month: Dr. Carmen Tafolla
Dr. Carmen Tafolla is anaward-winning poet, an internationally published writer, children's author, performer and scholar. Her most recent bilingual children’s book, co-written with Sharyll Teneyuca, on 30s labor activist Emma Tenayuca, That's Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca's struggle for justice, has generated much acclaim. The book tells the struggles of the San Antonio pecan shellers of the 1920s and 1930s, some of the lowest-paid workers in the nation. The official publication date of March 2008 celebrates the anniversary of the successful conclusion of the 1938 strike by the workers.
Carmen Tafolla’s other works include Sonnets and Salsa, a widely-praised collection of poetry now in its third printing. She is also the author of Sonnets to Human Beings, which includes not only the title selection (which won the University of California at Irvine’s 1989 National Chicano Literature Contest), but a large selection of Tafolla’s poems and short stories, as well as several essays on Tafolla and her work.
Tafolla received her PhD in bilingual education from the University of Texas in 1982. She has been a freelance educational consultant on bilingual education, writing and creativity, and cultural diversity issues for over two decades. Tafolla has held numerous faculty and administrative positions at universities throughout the Southwest, including Assistant Professor of Women's Studies at California State University Fresno and Special Assistant to the President for Cultural Diversity Programming at Northern Arizona University. She left higher education in 1990 to pursue her writing full-time. Tafolla has been the recipient of many honors, including Outstanding Young Women of America, Foremost Women of the Twentieth Century, and the Dictionary of International Biography. Tafolla, called by Roots author Alex Haley a world-class writer, has been recognized by the National Association for Chicano Studies for her outstanding contributions to the arts and academia through literature that has depicted and given voice to the communities. In 1999, the President's Peace Commission of St. Mary's University selected her for its Art of Peace Award for writing which promotes peace, justice and human understanding.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, she lives in her hometown with her husband, Dr. Ernesto M. Bernal, in a 100-year-old house called Casa del Angel with three cats, from two to seven children depending on the holiday, Carmen’s mother and a multitude of manuscripts and books.
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January artists of the month: Alex Rubio and Vincent Valdez
Alex Rubio and Vincent Valdez share a special bond with San Antonio community, and with each other as mentor and student. Valdez worked with his mentor, artist/muralist Rubio, on murals around the Alamo City, eventually painting on his own. Both artists share their talent by serving his community through education. This year both artists are looking forward to going back to their high schools to work with students.
Recently, the Alameda mounted a two-person show by Alex Rubio and his former student Vincent Valdez. The exhibition follows the growth of Rubio and Valdez as collaborative artists and explores the early relationship between the artists in San Antonio. Monumental paintings, drawings and sculpture by Valdez explore the influence of popular culture on self-identity, archetypal conflicts and personal experiences through the use of family surrogates from his Southside community. Rubio's drawings and large scale canvases depict people, iconic images and Westside community environments filtered through personal memories rooted in San Antonio's Chicano heritage.
San Antonio artist Alex Rubio began his career as a young muralist in a housing project. His artwork focuses on narrative drawings and paintings with mixed media, based on images deeply rooted in his Latin American culture. He frequently shares his talent by serving his community through education, teaching at several schools and institutions around San Antonio, including The University of Texas at San Antonio, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, and The Bexar County Detention Center. Rubio has exhibited throughout the southwestern United States, as well as New York and Puerto Rico.
Vincent Valdez was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. His first artistic influences came from the canvases of his late great-grandfather, an artist from Spain. He began drawing at a very early age. Valdez graduated from Burbank High School; Valdez received a full scholarship to the International Fine Arts College in Miami, Florida. After one year, he accepted a full scholarship and transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, where he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration. He currently exhibits and works on commissioned pieces and teaches art to middle school students in San Antonio.
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