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Press
Releases
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For
Immediate Release
May 20, 2009
http://www.kent.edu/media/
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Kent
State University Museum Features
the French Fashion Magazine from 1912-1925
La Gazette du Bon Ton
What:
The exhibition Gazette du Bon Ton
When:
June 25, 2009, to May 30, 2010
Where:
Palmer and Mull Galleries in Rockwell Hall on the corner of
East Main and South Lincoln streets on the Kent Campus.
Background:
Between 1912 and 1925, the Gazette du Bon Ton sought
to be "the place where couturiers and painters collaborate
to compose the silhouette of their time." It was the brain
child of Lucien Vogel, a dynamic Frenchman who was fascinated
by nineteenth century hand-colored engravings and set out to
create a luxury modern magazine that would be the epitome of
good taste.
The Kent
State University Museum will feature eighty-two original plates
from the Algesa O'Sickey collection of Gazette du Bon Ton
from 1920 to 1922 in its Palmer and Mull Galleries while the
entire collection will be accessible on the Museum's Web site.
Produced in limited editions on handmade paper, the series spared
no expense and used the pochoir, or stencil, technique
to hand watercolor what may be the twentieth's century's most
extraordinary fashion plates. Twenty garments from 1912 to 1925
with digital surrogate fashion plates from this period will
also be on display. The gowns are from the leading Parisian
couture houses of the teens and twenties, such as those of Jeanne
Paquin, Paul Poiret, Jeanne Lanvin and the House of Worth.
To mark
the opening of the exhibition, the Kent State University Museum
and the Massillon Museum have organized Deco
Tour: Art Deco Meets Couture on June 27, 2009.
This all-day event celebrates the 1920s and 1930s and will feature
art, fashion and automobiles at two venues. In the morning,
the Massillon Museum will showcase 1930s automobiles on its
front lawn from 10 a.m. to1 p.m. and a free gallery lecture
of the exhibit,The Rise of a Landmarl: Lewis Hine and the
Empire State Building at 11 a.m. Admission is free. The
Kent State University Museum is inviting owners of 1920s automobiles
to show their vehicles in the museum parking lot from 3 - 6
p.m. Gallery tours of the three Art Deco exhibits (Great
American Glass: The Roaring Twenties and Depression Era, The
Kokoon Arts Club: Cleveland Revels, and Gazette du Bon
Ton) will take place at 4 p.m. The tours are free with museum
admission. In the evening Tangomania:
A Masked Ball will be held at the Kent State University
Museum at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 and must be purchased separately
through the KSU Museum before June 22 at 330-672-3450.
The Kent
State University Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.;
and Sunday from noon to 4:45 p.m. It is closed on Monday and
Tuesday.
The museum
is located in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South
Lincoln streets on the Kent Campus. Special guided tours are
available for groups by reservation. Free on-site motor coach
parking is available.
For
additional information about the Kent State University Museum,
go to http://www.kent.edu/muusem/, or call (330) 672-3450.
LINK
TO GAZETTE DU BON TON EXHIBITION WEBSITE
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For
Immediate Release
March 17, 2009
http://www.kent.edu/media/
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Works
of Cleveland Artists from the Twenties and Thirties
on Display at the Kent State University Museum
What:
The exhibition The Kokoon Arts Club: Cleveland Revels
When:
March 19, 2009, through February 28, 2010
Where:
Kent State University Museum, Stager and Blum Galleries, in
Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South Lincoln Streets
on the Kent State University campus.
Background:
The Kokoon Arts Club of Cleveland, Ohio, was formed in 1911
by a small group of commercial artists employed at the Otis
Lithograph Company. Meeting first at night in the studio of
interior designer Louis Rorimer, Club members combined forces
and finances to study and make art apart from (but indebted
to) their commercial work, seek venues to display their artworks,
and importantly, to be modern. The Club would become a fixture
of the Cleveland art and social scene throughout the 1920s and
1930s, only to lose members and vitality during World War II
and dissolve finally in 1953. During its heyday, however, the
Kokoon Arts Club served as an important arbiter of Modernist
artistic expression in Cleveland.
What members
of the Kokoon Arts Club were famous-or rather, infamous-for
were the annual masked balls they staged at venues around the
city. Though excoriated for risqué dress and music as
well as an instance in 1923 (during Prohibition) when the event
was cancelled by the city's mayor, these masked balls were in
actuality pedagogical exercises in Modernism. Members were given
lists of books housed at Cleveland Public Library about art
and culture of other places and times related to the annual
theme; costume design was to be based on this exploration. Posters
and tickets were designed by members who used their employment
at one of the city's lithography companies to print these now-prized
works. Jazz was the musical genre of choice; midnight often
the starting hour of the revels. Several of the balls were broadcast
over local radio, a fact that challenges interpretations of
the Club's activities as decadent or reviled.
This exhibition
focuses on the masked balls: the extraordinary posters and costumes
worn by members. The exhibition is largely drawn from the Department
of Special Collections of the Kent State University Library,
with additional loans from the Western Reserve Historical Society
and the Cleveland Artists Foundation.
Perhaps
of greater import was the Kokoon Arts Club's outreach to the
community. While the Club's headquarters provided studio and
meeting space for its members and would move several times during
the Club's heyday, the Club itself served as a center for avant
garde thinking in the city, hosting, for example, exhibitions
of artists' work from beyond the region and from Europe. The
Club also featured lectures on art, theater, and literature.
The poet E. E. Cummings exhibited his artwork at the Club in
1931; Garrettsville, Ohio-born poet Hart Crane was good friends
with William Sommer, one of the Club's founders. Many Club members,
as well as members of Cleveland's literary and cultural set,
were constant, temporary inhabitants of Laukhuff's Bookstore,
which featured the works and "little magazines" of
Modernist intellectuals.
During
the Great Depression of the 1930s, members of the Kokoon Arts
Club benefited from the New Deal's Federal Art Project, painting
murals at the Cleveland Public Library and in other public buildings.
Many members of the Club exhibited and won awards at the Cleveland
Museum of Art's annual May Show (established in 1919). Club
members helped themselves, however, by hosting "curb marts"
with other of the area's arts institutions and clubs as well
as gallery shows. In this way they brought art to the people
(who could merely look rather than buy) as well as offered respite
from economic dislocation. These, like the annual masked balls,
were signal events in Cleveland's cultural history.
Dr. Shirley
Teresa Wajda is the guest curator of the exhibition. High resolution
photographs are available on request. Contact Jean L. Druesedow
at jdruesed@kent.edu
or (330) 672-0303.
The Kent
State University Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.;
and Sunday from noon to 4:45 p.m. It is closed on Monday and
Tuesday.
The Museum
is located in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South
Lincoln Streets on the Kent State University campus. Special
guided tours are available for groups by reservation. Free on-site
motor coach parking is available.
For additional
information about the Kent State University Museum, go to www.kent.edu/museum,
or call 330. 672.3450.
LINK
TO KOKOON ARTS CLUB EXHIBITION WEBSITE
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For
Immediate Release
March 25, 2009
http://www.kent.edu/media/
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Contact:
Dr. Anne Bissonnette
E-mail: museum@kent.edu
Phone: (330) 672-0302
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Michelle Obama's First Official Portrait in
Michael Kors' 2009 Spring Collection
The exhibit
Michael Kors Designs from Wendy Zuckerwise Ritter Collection
at the Kent State University Museum receives more recognition
on opening day with the release of the first official portrait
of First Lady Michelle Obama in a Kors dress.
Wearing a sleeveless black shift dress from Kors' 2009 spring
collection, the First Lady is once more encouraging America's
top creators. On inauguration day, she wore an ensemble by Isabel
Toledo, whom the KSU Museum also featured in a 2000 exhibition.
At the forefront of fashion, the Museum's exhibition on the
work of Michael Kors will be on display until November 8, 2009.
Among the garments on exhibition is a dress very similar to
Michelle Obama's: a double-faced sleeveless navy wool dress-a
classic Kors design. The collection is drawn from the wardrobe
of the late Wendy Zuckerwise Ritter.
Also on display in the Museum's alcove are three Resort 2009
loaned ensembles from Michael Kors. Best known as a judge in
the reality TV show "Project Runway," Kors is one
of America's preeminent sportswear designers and entrepreneurs.
To view images from the exhibit or view the new release on its
debut, visit the Kent State Museum Web site.
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For
Immediate Release
January 6, 2009
http://www.kent.edu/media/
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Contact:
Dr. Anne Bissonnette
E-mail: museum@kent.edu
Phone: (330) 672-0302
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Kent
State University Museum Explores
the Work of American Designer Michael Kors
What:
The exhibition Michael Kors Designs from the Wendy
Zuckerwise Ritter Collection
When:
February 26, 2009, to November 8, 2009
Where:
Kent State University Museum, Alumni Gallery, in Rockwell Hall
on the corner of East Main and South Lincoln Streets on the
Kent State University campus.
Background:
The Kent State University Museum is proud to present the first
museum exhibition on the work of American fashion designer Michael
Kors. Known for his role as a judge in the critically acclaimed
television show Project Runway, Michael Kors is recognized
as one of America's preeminent sportswear designers and entrepreneurs.
In 2010, Michael Kors will celebrate thirty years in business.
His namesake company, established in 1981, currently produces
a range of award-winning products through his multiple labels
and includes women's and men's ready-to-wear, women's accessories
as well as fragrance and beauty products. He has already established
himself in America, Europe and Asia and hopes to have one hundred
stores worldwide by 2010. In addition to his own labels, he
designed for the French fashion house Celine between 1997 and
January 2004. The fourteen ensembles featured in the exhibition
will include garments produced for both his labels and for Celine.
The collection presented in the exhibition is part of the legacy
of Wendy Zuckerwise Ritter. This native New Yorker moved to
Ohio in 2000 after a long career in fashion retailing. Between
2000 and her passing from cancer in 2008, she commuted between
Dayton and the newly established Michael Kors flagship store
on Madison Avenue. Her commitment to customers, knowledge, passion,
and generosity was valued and, for the last eight years of her
life, Michael's success was also her own.
High resolution photographs are available on request. Contact
Dr. Anne Bissonnette at museum@kent.edu
or (330) 672-0302.
The Kent
State University Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.;
and Sunday from noon to 4:45 p.m. It is closed on Monday and
Tuesday.
The Museum
is located in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South
Lincoln Streets on the Kent State University campus. Special
guided tours are available for groups by reservation. Free on-site
motor coach parking is available.
For additional
information about the Kent State University Museum, go to www.kent.edu/museum,
or call 330. 672.3450.
LINK
TO MICHAEL KORS EXHIBITION WEBSITE
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For
Immediate Release
January 6, 2009
http://www.kent.edu/media/
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Kent
State University Museum Explores
the Work of Noël Palomo-Lovinski
What: The exhibition Confessions and the Sense
of Self: Works by Noël Palomo-Lovinski 2003-2009
When:
January 22, 2009- January 3, 2010
Where:
Kent State University Museum, Higbee Gallery, in Rockwell Hall
on the corner of East Main and South Lincoln Streets on the
Kent State University campus.
Background:
The exhibition Confessions and the Sense of Self: Works by
Noël Palomo-Lovinski 2003-2009 highlights the connections
of popular culture, image, fashion and art by examining the
act of confessing in a contemporary context.
The twelve
garments included in the exhibition are inspired by the increasingly
popular impulse in our society for individuals to publicly confess
private thoughts or actions as a way to expunge guilt, share
personal tragedy, or express their secret desires. Confessional
outlets range in public display from nationally televised talk
shows and confessional websites to personal communications and
intimate journal writing. Quotes were taken from a variety of
these sources, translated into textural and graphic prints and
used to create a collection of dresses. The garments reflect
the abstract interpretations of the confessor's feelings or
emotions.
Noël
Palomo-Lovinski will conduct a tour of the exhibition on Thursday
January 29, 2009, from 3 to 5 p.m. The event is free with museum
admission.
High resolution
photographs are available on request. Contact Dr. Anne Bissonnette
at museum@kent.edu
or (330) 672-0302.
The Kent
State University Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.;
and Sunday from noon to 4:45 p.m. It is closed on Monday and
Tuesday.
The Museum
is located in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South
Lincoln Streets on the Kent State University campus. Special
guided tours are available for groups by reservation. Free on-site
motor coach parking is available.
For additional
information about the Kent State University Museum, go to www.kent.edu/museum,
or call 330. 672.3450.
LINK
TO CONFESSIONS AND THE SENSE OF SELF EXHIBITION WEBSITE
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For
Immediate Release
November 19, 2008
http://www.kent.edu/media/
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Kent
State University Museum Displays
Roaring 20s Glass Pieces
What: The exhibition Great American Glass:
The Roaring '20s and Depression Era
When: December 10, 2008 - ongoing
Where: Kent State University Museum, Tarter/Miller gallery,
in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South Lincoln
Streets on the Kent State University campus.
Background: KSU
Museum Opens Exhibit of 1920s-30s Glassware
From the
foyer to the dining room and the kitchen, American-made glassware
could be found in virtually every home in our nation during
the Roaring '20s and the Depression Era. "Great American
Glass: The Roaring '20s and Depression Era" a new exhibition
at the Kent State University Museum, features more than 60 items
from the museum's extensive collection of American glass.
"Visitors
will see a great variety of articles," said guest curator
Dr. James Measell, who also serves as Historian at Fenton Art
Glass in Williamstown, West Va. "There are handmade art
glass pieces from Steuben and Fenton as well as an array of
blown and pressed items made in Cambridge or Tiffin. The candlesticks
in the hallway cases show the wide range of American glass production:
iridescent; transparent and opaque colors; and decorating techniques,
such as hand painting, cutting, deep plate etching and silver
deposit. The title 'Great American Glass' really fits this exhibit."
The exhibition
in the Museum's Tarter/Miller gallery notes the many household
uses of glass in this era as well as showing some of the manufacturing
processes for blown and pressed glassware.
All the
glassware on display is from the Tarter/Miller Collection. Generous
donations and bequests from Jabe Tarter and Paul Miller, formerly
of Akron, led to the creation of the Tarter/Miller Gallery at
the KSU Museum in 1983, and the glassware collection numbers
approximately 10,000 items.
The Kent State University Museum is open Wednesday, Friday
and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m.
to 8:45 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 4:45 p.m. It is closed
on Monday and Tuesday.
The Museum is located in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East
Main and South Lincoln Streets on the Kent State University
campus. Special guided tours are available for groups by reservation.
Free on-site motor coach parking is available.
For additional information about the Kent State University Museum,
go to www.kent.edu/museum, or call 330-672-3450.
LINK
TO GREAT AMERICAN GLASS EXHIBITION WEBSITE
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For
Immediate Release
October 16, 2008
http://www.kent.edu/media/
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Contact:
Dr. Anne Bissonnette
E-mail: museum@kent.edu
Phone: (330) 672-0302
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Kent
State University Museum Explores
the World of Embroidery
What:
The exhibition - The Art of the Embroiderer
When:
September 25, 2008, to August 30, 2009
Where:
Kent State University Museum, Broadbent Gallery, in Rockwell
Hall on the corner of East Main and South Lincoln Streets on
the Kent State University campus.
Background:
Over 80 dazzling garments and textiles from across the world
spanning over 200 years of creativity and innovation are featured
in the Kent State University Museum's exhibition, The Art
of the Embroiderer. From haute couture gowns to Japanese
kimono and Saudi Arabian caftans, the exhibition captivates
through colors, materials and sheer beauty.
One of the
treasures of North East Ohio the Museum draws from its collection
of over 30,000 garments and artifacts to display some of its
finest pieces for this exhibition, which includes Christian
Dior's "Vénus", a splendid ball gown of pink
tulle embroidered with sequins and crystals that once belonged
to actress Marlene Dietrich. The gown is displayed alongside
men's eighteenth-century coats and vests intricately decorated
in gold, silver and silk thread. Works by Worth, Balmain and
Valentino serve to explore the lavish purpose of needlework
in Europe, while robes and tunics from Turkey, Morocco, Spain,
Greece, and India mesmerize through their raised gold-work ornamentation.
From China to Romania, patience, precision and imagination abound.
Join us
to learn more about the vast world of embroidery, which turns
all of nature into a contributor. From mirror-work to gem-encrusted
court gowns, witness first-hand the novelty of the materials,
the variety in the designs, and the beauty of their execution.
To see pictures
of this exhibition and the six others currently on display,
go to www.kent.edu/museum
and click on "exhibitions." High resolution photographs
available on request. Contact Dr. Anne Bissonnette at museum@kent.edu
or (330) 672-0302.
The Kent
State University Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.;
and Sunday from noon to 4:45 p.m. It is closed on Monday and
Tuesday.
The museum
is located in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South
Lincoln streets on the Kent Campus. Special guided tours are
available for groups by reservation. Free on-site motor coach
parking is available.
For additional
information about the Kent State University Museum, go to www.kent.edu/museum,
or call (330) 672-3450.
LINK
TO THE ART OF THE EMBROIDERER WEBSITE
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Press
Release
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For
Immediate Release
July 9, 2008
http://www.kent.edu/media/
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Contact:
Dr. Anne Bissonnette
Phone: (330) 672-0302
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Kent
State University Museum Wins
Richard Martin Award
What:
Richard Martin Award for Excellence in the Exhibition of Costume
goes to the Kent State University Museum
When:
May 22, 2008
Where:
Costume Society of America 2008 National Symposium in New Orleans,
LA.
Background:
The Costume Society of America has awarded its prestigious Richard
Martin Award for Excellence in the Exhibition of Costume to
the Kent State University Museum for the series of late eighteenth
and early-nineteenth century exhibitions its Curator, Dr. Anne
Bissonnette, organized at the Kent State University Museum,
the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio and the Ohio Arts Council's
Riffe Gallery in the fall of 2006-2007.
The series
consisted of the exhibitions "The Age of Nudity,"
held at the Kent State University Museum in Kent, Ohio, "Hair:
The Rise of Individuality 1790-1840," held at the Decorative
Arts Center of Ohio in Lancaster, Ohio, and "Fashion on
the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840," held at the Ohio Arts Council's
Riffe Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. This exceptional series drew
from twenty-nine lenders and led to the two exhibitions in mid-Ohio
being listed among fifteen finalists as "Best Visual-arts
Events of 2006" by The Columbus Dispatch.
When handing the award to Dr. Bissonnette, the Chair of the
Richard Martin Award Committee, Marilyn R. DeLong, Associate
Dean and Professor at the University of Minnesota, stated that
the "series epitomizes excellence in history-based costume
exhibitions and is a tour-de-force from a single curator. Taken
together, they were a once-in-a-lifetime experience for seeing
rare and exceptional artifacts displayed in historical context."
The exhibition
"Fashion on the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840," was funded
through an Ohio Bicentennial Commission Legacy Grant and was
first presented at The Kent State University Museum in 2003.
It was part of Dr. Bissonnette's doctoral research at the Union
Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio. When presented
at the Riffe Gallery, it was extended by request to remain open
during the events surrounding the inauguration of Governor Strickland.
In order
to recognize institutions of various sizes and budgets, the
Costume Society of America has twice given the Martin Award
to two institutions simultaneously since the award's inception
in 2002. In 2008, Kent State's late eighteenth and early-nineteenth
century series was sharing the award with the Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York for their "Poiret: King of Fashion"
exhibition.
The Award
is named for Richard Martin (1947-1999), former Curator of Costumes
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Fashion Institute
of Technology. An elegant and gracious man, Richard Martin was
an outstanding scholar, lecturer, critic and curator of many
critically acclaimed costume exhibitions. The exhibitions recognized
by the award exemplify the standards of excellence established
by the late Richard Martin.
For more
information, contact Dr. Bissonnette at 330-672-0302 or through
e-mail at museum@kent.edu.
The Kent State University Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to
8:45 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 4:45 p.m. It is closed on
Monday and Tuesday.
The museum
is located in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South
Lincoln streets on the Kent Campus. Special guided tours are
available for groups by reservation. Free on-site motor coach
parking is available.
For additional
information about the Kent State University Museum, go to
www.kent.edu/museum,
or call (330) 672-3450.
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