Abstract shape rendered in Styrofoam that has been covered with modeling compound. Base with four columns, three of which have “pop dots” attached to them. Partially painted a bright minty green, which gets darker in the “back” of the sculpture (the side that doesn’t have dots).
Subject Matter
The artist describes her work as “a hybridization of painting and sculpture…. The sources of imagery have developed from purely formal abstraction to investigations of Indian and subsequently Pre-Columbian sources. The work melds painting and sculptural form sometimes enhancing the three dimensional and other times obscuring it.” (artist’s statement, http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Jill+Levine/44692.html) This work is an example of “purely formal abstraction,” although its shape and bright color are reminiscent of sea coral.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Abstract shape rendered in Styrofoam that has been covered with modeling compound. Base with four columns, three of which have “pop dots” attached to them. Partially painted a bright minty green, which gets darker in the “back” of the sculpture (the side that doesn’t have dots).
Subject Matter
The artist describes her work as “a hybridization of painting and sculpture…. The sources of imagery have developed from purely formal abstraction to investigations of Indian and subsequently Pre-Columbian sources. The work melds painting and sculptural form sometimes enhancing the three dimensional and other times obscuring it.” (artist’s statement, http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Jill+Levine/44692.html) This work is an example of “purely formal abstraction,” although its shape and bright color are reminiscent of sea coral.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
This crayon-manner engraving printed in sanguine depicts a grouping of figures arranged in a celestial space and positioned against clouds. A large female figure draped in cloth dominates the upper portion of the composition. She holds a set of scales in her left hand. Two female figures, one clothed, one nude, gather below at this figure’s sandaled feet in the center left of the composition. The clothed figure holds a palette and paintbrushes while the nude figure holds a mallet and a sculpted portrait of a man’s face. At the bottom right three male figures, one of whom wrestles a snake, appear to be attacking the female figure holding the palette. A clothed figure donning a helmet protects the figure holding the scales in the upper right.
Subject Matter
An allegorical depiction of Justice protecting the Arts.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Oval-formatted, bust-length portrait of a man in a dark suit and waistcoat. Man has high forehead and is turned obliquely in space. There are numerous water stains at top of image.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Abstract expressionist painting in pink, black, green and ivory, with squares pressed into the paint while wet to make an impression.
Subject Matter
Goldberg was influenced by the gestural Abstract Expressionist mode of older painters like Franz Kline, Clyfford Still and Willem de Kooning. The improvisational nature of jazz was also important to his work.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Ombre orange and black abstract forms painted on paper cut out and attached to wood, laid on top of another larger cutout of pink abstract form with “shadows” from the cutout above it painted in red; the paper collage is centered on a large sheet of white paper. Signed “D[orothy] & H[erb] Rogue” in bottom left corner, “R. J. Francisco ‘82” in bottom right corner.
Subject Matter
This small collage of geometric forms rendered in watercolor is a whimsical play on the difference between depicted (painted) and literal (in being composed of different layers of paper) depth and space.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
High-gloss abstract expressionist painting of a large Africa-shaped form in red against black ground. Clough’s unique way of applying paint to the canvas results in a highly articulated and densely textured surface. “In place of the brush and other typical painter's tools, Clough uses an instrument he calls the ‘Big Finger,’ a large balloon-like contraption that he invented to spread poured house enamel on masonite into broad gestural constellations.” (Max Henry, “charles clough,” http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/reviews/henry/henry2-5-99.asp)
Subject Matter
The word “redoubt” is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as:
1. Fortification.
a. A small work projecting from or within a bastion or ravelin (now only in detached redoubt). In later use chiefly: an enclosed fieldwork or outwork, having little or no flanking defences.
b. An entrenched stronghold or refuge; = REDUIT n. 2.
2. fig. or in figurative context. A stronghold, retreat, or refuge.
3. a. An entertainment consisting of music and dancing, esp. a masked ball. Now hist.
b. A public assembly hall used for gambling and entertainments. Obs.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
A rough, red rock seems to grow out of the hillside, almost as organically as the orchids growing next to it. Calligraphic text is in the upper left corner.
Subject Matter
Literati theory considered paintings modes of personal expression to be created for private occasions in which they were shared and appreciated by circles of friends. The creation of works with peer artists was also an established literati concept and practice. This painting is a cooperative work by Chang Ku-nien and his artist friends. Cooperative work celebrated respectful mutual relationships and reinforced affections within groups of painters. Inscriptions on such works often declare their corporate nature, mentioning all of the artists’ names and specifying who has done what part. It is common for each artist to be responsible for the part of the painting that best reveals his or her talents. Yet who painted what is not clearly indicated in this work; most likely Chang Ku-nien painted the rock while Liu Yantao and Gao Yihong were responsible respectively for the inscription and orchids. Orchids were appealing subjects to scholar-artists, and their elegance and subtle fragrance have long been regarded as the emblem of righteous gentlemen.
In Orchids and Red Rock, although it was not clearly indicated who did what, Chang most likely painted the rock and his two friends from the Seven Friends Painting Club that he participated, Liu Yantao and Gao Yihong, were responsible for the inscription and orchids respectively. Naturally, in a cooperative work, each artist often takes on a subject best representing his/her talents. Appealing to scholar-artist, the elegance and subtle fragrance of orchids have long been regarded as the emblem of righteous gentlemen, thus a suitable subject for scholars alike.
Label Copy
Literati theory considered paintings modes of personal expression, to be created for private occasions and shared and appreciated within circles of friends. The creation of works with peer artists was also a literati concept and practice. These two paintings are cooperative works by Chang and his wife (Plum Blossoms in Snow) and by Chang and his artist friends (Orchids and Red Rock). Cooperative work celebrated respectful mutual relationships and reinforced affections within groups of painters. Inscriptions on such works often declare their corporate nature, mentioning all of the artists’ names and specifying who has done what part. It is common for each artist to be responsible for the part of the painting that best reveals his or her talents. In Plum Blossoms in Snow, the inscription by Chang’s wife reports that she painted the blossoming plum and snowy bamboos and her husband the rest. A plum tree blossoming in snow symbolizes both purity and durability, since tender plum buds courageously bloom even while early spring snow is still on the ground.
Who painted what is not clearly indicated in Orchids and Red Rock, but Chang most likely painted the rock and Liu Yantao and Gao Yihong were responsible respectively for the inscription and orchids. Orchids were a subject appealing to scholar-artists, and their elegance and subtle fragrance have long been regarded as the emblem of righteous gentlemen.
(Tradition Transformed: Chang Ku-nien, Master Painter of the 20th Century, Winter 2010)
Gallery Rotation Spring/Summer 2012
Orchids and Red Rock
1980
Hanging scroll, ink, and light color on paper
Gift of Dr. Cheng-Yang and Mrs. Shirley Chang, 2006/1.132
Literati theory considered painting to be a mode of personal expression; often works were created for private occasions at which they were shared with and appreciated by circles of friends. The creation of works with artist-peers was also an established literati practice and often celebrated respectful mutual relationships, reinforcing affections within groups of painters. This is a cooperative work by Chang Ku-nien and some artist friends. Inscriptions on such works often declare their communal nature, mentioning all of the artists’ names and specifying who has done what part. It is common for each artist to be responsible for the part of the painting that best reveals his or her talents. Yet who painted what is not clearly indicated in this work; most likely Chang Ku-nien painted the rock while Liu Yantao and Gao Yihong were responsible, respectively, for the inscription and orchids. Orchids were appealing subjects to scholar-artists, and their elegance and subtle fragrance have long been regarded as the emblem of righteous gentlemen.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Full-length portrait of a standing male in a lanscape setting. To the left of the composition stands a pair of birches near the figure; to the right the landscape opens up to a distant expanse of trees and hills. The man, Sir Foster Cunliiffe, stands facing to the right and looking out of the canvas to the left. He holds a bow and quiver of arrows; a black hat with feather lies on the ground at his feet. He is dressed in tan pants and waistcoat with a green frock coat and black boots.
Subject Matter
Cunliffe wears the uniform of the Royal Society of British Bowmen, a group he founded in 1787 and is shown in a landscape, presumably his estate of Acton Park in Denbighshire. His family's fortune came from trade, including participation in the slave trade before it was outlawed in Britain.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
This impressive portrait of Sir Foster Cunliffe (1755–1834) in an outdoor setting, most likely his estate, Acton Park, speaks eloquently to the sitter’s rank and interests. Cunliffe stands silhouetted against the sky in a wooded landscape that opens in the distance to a broad vista, his head and pale hair framed by the foliage of the nearby trees. It was traditional in British portraiture for the aristocratic patron to be depicted on his property; this confirmed his status as a wealthy landowner. He is also dressed in the uniform of the Royal Society of British Bowmen, an archery association—open to both women and men—that he established in 1787, the same year he purchased Acton Park; through this detail, Hoppner makes reference to two important aspects of Cunliffe’s life.
Sir Foster Cunliffe was a descendant of two generations of slave traders based in Liverpool. His grandfather, Foster Cunliffe, was one of the most active slavers in Liverpool (and served as its mayor), a city responsible for more than forty percent of the European slave trade. Sir Foster seems to have taken pains to conceal this history: he never accounted for how the family amassed its fortune.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Vertical hanging scroll of calligraphic text consisting of five Chinese characters in black ink. One of a pair.
Subject Matter
These two calligraphic works are done by Chang Ku-nien’s wife, Chen Shu-chen, who was an accomplished painter and calligrapher herself. Written in semi-cursive script, it demonstrates the artist’s affinity for bold and well-defined lines. The couplet of poetry, reads from right to left, praises the importance of one of China’s classics: There are many old books which have many special characters; yet only great I Ching (Book of Changes) shows us a path through past and future.
Label Copy
Gallery Rotation Spring/Summer 2012
Chen Shu-chen
China, 1908–2000
Two calligraphies
Last quarter of the 20th century
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Gift of Dr. Cheng-Yang and Mrs. Shirley Chang, 2006/1.130.1 & 2
These two calligraphic works are by Chang Ku-nien’s wife, Chen Shu-chen, who was an accomplished painter and calligrapher. Written in semi-cursive script, they demonstrate the artist’s affinity for bold and well-defined lines. The text is a two-line poem distributed over the pair of scrolls and meant to be read from right to left; it praises one of China’s most important texts, the I Ching (Book of Changes), for offering an incomparable guide to understanding the past and future.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Three birds, executed with spare line and simple form, are set within an abstracted landscape of bright yellows and oranges.
Subject Matter
With its radiant palette of gold and trio of birds, this work suggests an evolution or transformation
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
The controlled geometric style and luminous palette of At the Crossroads corresponds to the period when Ernst lived in Sedona, Arizona (1946–1950). Whereas many of his Surrealist paintings are hallucinatory in their quantity of minute detail, this one employs an elementary pictorial vocabulary of rectilinear planes and lines. Upon close inspection, it reveals an extraordinarily complex structure: the space of the canvas is not only fractured, but the layering of tone-on-tone color gives a countervailing sense of depth. At the same time the highly stylized liner forms of the birds, which are also outlines of three particular groupings of shapes, reassert the flatness of the picture, so that there is a constant shift between surface and depth.
Max Ernst was something of an ambassador for Surrealism. He was a founding member of the Surrealist group in Paris, and among those who escaped to New York as city after city in Europe fell to Hitler’s army. At the time he was married to Peggy Guggenheim, whose gallery Art of This Century (1942–1946) was a hub of avant-garde activity. Ernst’s Surrealist works, steeped in Freudian metaphors, private mythology, and childhood memories, were among the paintings on view at the gallery that had a profound impact on the direction Abstract Expressionism would take in the second half of the 1940s.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Circular tsuba, made of iron. It has two holes in the middle. Two figures, Kanzan and Jittoku, are carved on the lower right corner. Kanzan, who holds a scroll on his hand, and Jittoku, who holds a bloom stick and pointing to the sky, are looking upward. The two figures are carved slightly higher than the surface. On the back, there is the moon partially obscured by clouds. Gold and silver alloy inlays are applied to the moon and the clouds. Gold is also inlayed in their eyes, parts of the garments, and Kanzan's scroll. Shakudô (copper-gold alloy) is inlayed in Jittoku's bloom and his jacket collars.
Subject Matter
Kanzan and Jittoku are Taoist eccentrics of whom little is known, but they are frequently represented (almost always together) in East Asian arts. Both lived in the monastery of Kuo Ching, spending most of their time in the kitchen, and speaking a gibberish unintelligible to anyone, resenting visitors, and noticing them only with insults. Kanzan holds a scroll, which he expounds to Jittoku, who stands by leaning on his broom. Both have a dwarfed and somewhat boyish appearance, but Kanzan's face is furrowed by age. (Reference: Edmunds, Will H. Pointers and Clues to the Subjects of Chinese and Japanese Art).
Label Copy
Tsuba are intended to protect the user’s hand, first by shielding it against a blow from the opponent’s blade, and second by preventing it from slipping onto the razor-sharp edge of the weapon being wielded. Until the early seventeenth century, simply designed iron tsuba were dominant, as seen in the example here bearing a mushroom motif. When the Tokugawa regime required samurai warlords to travel regularly to the capital, Edo, and mandated that their wives and children reside there, considerations of urban fashion became more influential than battlefield practicalities in samurai attire and accessories. The tsuba became more an object of display than a functional item—a trend that further intensified when affluent merchants were permitted to carry swords in public and also began to demand attractive tsuba.
As is well represented by this collection, there was great artistic creativity at play in tsuba-making during the Edo period. The newly developed shakudô (a copper–gold alloy of a lustrous purple–black color) was used to create relief designs. Openwork chiseling was a versatile method for creating dramatic representations of family crests or light, airy, and elegant plant motifs.
(Label for UMMA Japanese Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
