New director has big plans for Sheldon
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By L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / Lincoln Journal Star
The Sheldon Museum of Art has been Lincoln’s pre-eminent cultural institution for 45 years, known throughout Nebraska, among museum professionals and by some scholars who have come across art in its collection.
Jorge Daniel Veneciano wants to increase the Sheldon’s visibility and add to its reputation nationally and internationally.
To do so, the new director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s art museum has crafted a series of plans and goals that constitute an ambitious, transformative agenda, including:
* Opening a Sheldon expansion in the University of Nebraska Press warehouse in the Haymarket within three years;
* Applying a new, unprecedented “transnational” approach to the Sheldon collection that will lead to extensive study of and exhibitions drawn from and based on the collection;
* Acquiring new work based on the existing collection and the new “transnational” viewpoint;
* Engaging the UNL campus and the Lincoln community in the museum, including the use of non-art departments in preparation of exhibitions and other museum programming and increasing the scholarship about the collection.
Earlier this month, Veneciano, who came to the Sheldon from the Paul Robeson Galleries at Rutgers University in July, sat down for more than an hour to talk about his vision for the museum and some of the specific projects already underway to make that vision a reality.
On the Haymarket expansion
Veneciano and the Sheldon staff have visited the Nebraska Press warehouse to get an idea of what can be done inside, and he flipped through some preliminary architectural studies for the revamped building as we talked about it.
But as the renderings went by, Veneciano said more than once “that isn’t going to happen” — an indicator that plans for the new museum are still on the drawing board.
As now envisioned, the first floor would include a café, a bookstore/gift shop, a performance area, a workshop area and children’s corner, along with some space for the display of art. The second floor would be devoted to exhibitions.
Plans are to retain the beams and other distinctive components of the warehouse architecture and to make the second-floor space as open as possible. Through the use of temporary walls, the large space could be divided into smaller areas for exhibitions, but the entire space could also be used for installation and other large-scale contemporary art.
The Haymarket expansion also would be fully configured for the exhibition of new media — video and digital art — which is hard to exhibit at Sheldon, which opened in 1963.
LKW: The Haymarket expansion really can change the whole dynamic of the institution.
JDV: “I see three important functions for the Haymarket. I would like to think of it of a substantial institution that becomes an anchor and a symbol for the development and revitalization of the Haymarket. But I also see it as kind of a gateway opportunity for the university, a way of connecting the many university services in the community, in the downtown area off campus. The university does that already well, but here is an outpost, as it were.
“But also it can be a kind of beacon to draw attention, to be recognized as an innovator in contemporary exhibitions. I should say it shouldn’t just be contemporary exhibitions there. I don’t want to be too exclusive about what can happen there.”
LKW: But it would seem to me that would be a natural, given the size and technological complexity of a lot of contemporary art. It would also allow you additional space in the Sheldon, so you could do the permanent collection here and touring temporary shows there.
JDV: “We have contemporary art from the permanent collection that could be featured as well in the Haymarket. One of the exclusions I would like to avoid is to think that only temporary exhibitions will happen out there, and only permanent collection shows will happen here. We’ll have some permanent collection, certainly the contemporary later 20th century works, there, and, as well, we’ll have some temporary shows here.”
LKW: But I guess I didn’t think it would be exclusionary, but I was thinking that the Haymarket would be more contemporary and this would be more modern, for lack of better definitions.
JDV: “I’d like to see that boundary blurred as well. I do want to see contemporary work still shown here at Sheldon. Contemporary can be a very broad range, as you know. For some people, it’s post 1945, so there can be some late 20th century works we could show there. But it has to make sense. It’s not just any work that will make sense in the Haymarket.”
LKW: But If contemporary is post 1945, that’s a big pile of stuff.
JDV: “Yes, it is. For some historians, it’s post 1945. That’s maybe stretching it back too far. We can probably start in the mid-1970s.”
Because the Haymarket expansion, which is part of the 2015 Vision plan for the revitalization of downtown Lincoln, is still in the planning stages, no specific price tag for the project has been set and fundraising is still in its early stages.
But Veneciano says the new museum should be open relatively quickly.
“I’m in the process of writing programming language for it, which we will use in terms of fundraising for it,” he said. “That can happen within two years, 2½ years, three years at the most, but I’m hoping within 2½ years. So we do have timelines. But it takes me being here, getting in conversation with the constituents of the museum, in order to do it properly.”
LKW: But The two to three years is open to the public, having something over there?
JDV: “Yes.”
LKW: But Is that because you don’t have to do as much with the building?
JDV: “The structure is already there. I may be complicating things a bit because I am interested in some special surprises with that building. One is the idea of a rooftop prairie garden, designed by an artist, with the amenity of having a coffee or wine bar on the roof, so that it becomes a kind of destination point where young professionals might come for a drink, enjoy the sunset, then go into the Haymarket for dinner, galleries, etc.
“This is also a greening issue as well. Greening practices are becoming really important in the museum field now. So that having the right kind of insulation on the roof may be other things we can think about.
“But having artists work with agronomists and prairie ecology specialists in designing something interesting, this is something I’ve noted in a number of contemporary art buildings — the rooftop has become a special feature of many of these buildings.”
On a ‘transnational’ view
The mission of Sheldon — and of the university and Nebraska Art Association collections before the construction of the building — is the collection of American art.
In the last three decades or so, national boundaries have blurred across the art world, making any definition of “American” art problematic and challenging. To meet that challenge, and to help Sheldon make a mark on the art world and scholarship, Veneciano is implementing a new philosophy for the collection, something he calls a “transnational” view.
Transnationalism will study the collection through the cultures in which the art and its influences originated, an approach that is directly connected to Veneciano’s doctoral work in American studies at Columbia University, where he looked at cultural democracy.
Initially, Veneciano says, the transnational view of the collection will come from three geographic/cultural viewpoints — the Pacific Rim for art from Asia and the Pacific Island, The Americas for work rooted in Central and South America and the Latino culture, and the “Black Atlantic,” a scholarly term that includes art based on African and near Middle East origins as well as the traditional European-derived art that makes up much of the Sheldon’s collection.
The transnational approach will naturally lend itself to partnerships with other museums, allowing for collaborations in both scholarship and the development of exhibitions, Veneciano said. A West Coast museum would likely be the partner for the Pacific Rim, the University of Texas’ Blanton Museum of Art would be a natural collaborator for The Americas, while a museum in the East or Southeast will be chosen to partner on the Black Atlantic studies.
There is also the possibility of international collaborations with museums and scholars in each of the areas.
Implementing the transnational approach is Veneciano’s first priority.
LKW: But So you can have a higher profile, more vital, more important institution as quickly as possible?
JDV: “Yes, beginning as soon as I can write the job description. It will be a position I’ve never seen before — calling it curator of transnational American art. Not just an American art curator; I want somebody who has this kind of interest.”
LKW: But I assume there are people like this out there.
JDV: “There are, they’re just not called that.”
Veneciano said he hopes to have the curator of transnational American art at work in the next few months.
On acquisitions
The transnational focus will also have an impact on the work that is acquired for the museum’s permanent collection under Veniciano. But so will the work that is already there.
LKW: But Over the course of the years, the directors’ interests have led to a lot of the acquisitions. The sculpture garden is a really good example. With George (Neubert) and his knowledge of sculpture and friendship with the artists, all of a sudden you’ve got a di Suvero, ‘Torn Notebook’, ‘Greenpoint’ and so on.
Is there an area that you specialize in, are interested in, something you see where you might want to develop the collection, or is it too early for that?
JDV: “It’s something I will continue thinking about. However, I don’t think we’re through collecting monumental sculpture. I would like to have something, a commissioned work, for the Haymarket building, for example. I am certainly interested in Jonathan Barofsky … I’d like to continue thinking about that, and at the commission level, it’s still doable.
“Here’s a collections area I’d like to think about. Not so much in the genre, but thinking about where the gaps are in telling the story of American art. That might include artists who are under-recognized here. There are many well-known female artists who are not represented in the collection. There are many African American artists not represented in the collection. Where’s the Mel Edwards in the collection? The Elizabeth Catlett? These are major American artists, and they’re not here. Where’s the Lee Krasner, which would be very difficult?”
LKW: But Or Joan Mitchell.
JDV: “Or, or, or … We could go down the list.”
LKW: But Therein is the failing, if there was a failing. It was to not jump on some of these when they were affordable. You’re not going to go out and buy a Lee Krasner real easily now.
JDV: “No, but if it comes up, that’s something we’re interested in. That’s the thing that can only happen in time, by getting to know the collection. For me, that’s one of the joys. I have this vast collection that I want to become familiar with.That’s truly a kind of joy that comes with this position. But also, for critical reasons, I want to know where we can work and what areas we need to fill.”
On engaging the campus and community
At Rutgers, Veneciano collaborated with other departments across campus in developing exhibitions and programs, and he plans to do the same at UNL. For example, he said, an exhibition about food and food safety — issues confronted by artists — could be done in conjunction with departments in the colleges of agriculture and home economics.
He’s also hoping that UNL art scholars are among those who study and write about the collection.
As for the community, Veneciano has plenty of ideas for engaging both the established art audience and bringing in new visitors to the museum. He plans to have a café or coffee shop in Sheldon as well as in the Haymarket expansion, designed to allow people to spend more time and relax at the museum.
He’s also looking at ways to provide child care at the Haymarket expansion so parents could more easily attend lectures, poetry readings and other special events along with seeing the exhibitions. That, he said, is particularly important in Lincoln, where he’s noted “there are lots of kids. That’s good.”
Along that line, Veneciano is planning to expand Sheldon’s educational outreach. He had particular praise for the Sheldon Statewide program that sends an annual exhibition to communities around the state and for the current education program that brings fourth- through sixth-graders in Lincoln Public Schools to the museum.
He hopes to expand that program to middle school and high school.
“Museums, for me, exist in the public service, and because we’re a university museum, education has to be one of the primary functions,” Veneciano said. “So the fit here for me is there’s already an interest in outreach education, and we can do more. That’s certainly on my agenda.”
Shows that aren’t purely fine art will be held in the Haymarket and could bring in non-art audiences. For example, he said, an exhibition of antique cars that would emphasize design elements would get car lovers who would then see the fine art on display and, perhaps, become regular visitors.
But, during the 90-minute conversation, it became clear that Veneciano intends to make Sheldon a more visible, contemporary-oriented scholarly institution than it has been in the past.
LKW: But It strikes me that the tilt toward some of these things is already taking the Sheldon in a different direction, maybe a little more engaged with the contemporary, the art world today and less as a storehouse of beautiful objects.
JDV: “That’s perfectly on point. One of my complaints with traditional civic museums is they often tend to be in the business of celebrating artists as saints and not thinking through the more difficult or challenging questions that artists really deal with. I think working in a university museum allows me to think along more scholarly approaches to exhibitions. Which is not to say the exhibitions won’t be exciting and have interesting work, it’s just adding a layer to what can be done.
“Again, another draw here, you have this fantastic American collection, and it’s understudied. Again, I see a great collection, good work to be done here.”
At Rutgers, where he worked for three years, Veneciano raised funds to pay for catalogs and other publications to accompany the major exhibitions organized there. Those publications, he said, were key to raising the Robeson Galleries’ reputation and creating a desire on the part of artists, galleries and collectors to have their work exhibited there.
“People don’t go to Newark for shows,” Veneciano said. “But we had people asking to have shows there. That’s because of the publications that get out in the world, not just nationally, but internationally.”
Veneciano’s philosophy comes from his academic and artistic background. After graduating from UCLA and earning a master’s degree in art and art history with an emphasis in photography from California State University, Los Angeles, he was accepted into the Masters of Fine Arts program at the California Institute of Arts.
But he didn’t study photography, as planned. Instead, he concentrated on theory and criticism, which underlie his scholarly ambitions for Sheldon and its collections.
“This is something that’s also important for me,” he said. “This is a really, really fine institution. I want, in my time here, to lend it more intellectual gravitas and to really bring critical attention, not just simply showcasing work, but to really bring critical attention to that work. That’s one of the differences I’d like to make here. And that’s one of the ways we raise the profile of this museum, nationally and internationally. I’m excited about that.”
LKW: But There’s plenty of opportunity to do that.
JDV: “Without taking away from the pure visual pleasure people have in looking at things. You can do both …”
LKW: But And interestingly.
JDV: “Even provocatively. I’m hoping that in the Haymarket we can be a little more provocative. Certainly artists tend to be that.
“Here’s another distinction in terms of being more critical in our approach. We have to challenge our visitors a little more. So it’s not only the pleasure they experience coming here and enjoying the artwork; we need to pose questions to them or sometimes challenge them intellectually as well as providing visual delight.”
Veneciano said he wouldn’t have come to the Sheldon without ensuring the support of the university administration, specifically Chancellor Harvey Perlman and his staff, for his plans for the museum. He said he will be hiring a curator of collections in the future, along with more education and support staff.
That’s going to be necessary, given his expansive plans for Sheldon.
LKW: But You’ve got your work cut out for you there. This is a lot of stuff.
JDV: “This is a start. This is what I can come up with in the short time I’ve been here. This is all fairly doable. My biggest challenge, I think, is going to be that rooftop prairie garden, because it will raise the price tag … But I think it’s doable.”
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
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Will wrote on August 17, 2008 9:05 am: