Back to Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2006

PRESS CONTACT:   
Andrea Potochniak
607 254-4563
arp37@cornell.edu

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Presents
A Private Eye: Dada, Surrealism, and More
from the Brandt Collection

Over 150 works by artists including
Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dalí,
and many others

Ithaca, NY—The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University presents A Private Eye: Dada, Surrealism, and More from the Brandt Collection, on view from October 21 to December 24, 2006.

“The Johnson Museum is fortunate to have such dedicated alumni collectors as Dr. Arthur Brandt, who over the years has made many significant long-term loans to the permanent collection,” said Andrea Inselmann, curator of modern and contemporary art at the Johnson Museum. “Thanks to the Brandt family, in the past the Museum has been able to present to its visitors Pablo Picasso’s Woman’s Head (Fernande), one of the major works in the history of cubist sculpture, as well as important works by Le Corbusier, Max Ernst, and Alexander Archipenko.”

With this exhibition from the Brandt collection, the Museum will present works by Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, George Grosz, Hannah Höch, Francis Picabia, and Kurt Schwitters, who were all active in the complex and diffuse Dada movement in the 1910s and 1920s in cities such as Zurich, Berlin, Paris, Hannover, and New York. Including over 150 works, the exhibition also reaches into other movements of the early twentieth century, such as Surrealist drawings and paintings by Kurt Seligmann, Hans Bellmer, Yves Tanguy, Dorothea Tanning, and Valentine Hugo. In addition, works representing cubism, constructivism, and suprematism provide a wonderfully eclectic view of early Modern art.

A number of free public programs are scheduled in conjunction with this exhibition:

• Museum educator Carol Hockett will provide an introduction to Dadaism, its key concepts and major players, on Sunday, October 22 at 3:00 p.m.
• Scholar and gallery owner Francis Naumann will speak in conjunction with the exhibition on Thursday, November 2 at 5:15 p.m.
• Collector Arthur Brandt will discuss his collection with Francis Naumann and curator Andrea Inselmann on Saturday, November 4 at 4:00 p.m., prior to the opening reception for this and other late fall exhibitions from 5:00–7:00 p.m.
• Curator Inselmann will give two tours of the exhibition, on Sunday, November 5 at 3:00 p.m. and Thursday, November 30 at 12:00 noon.
• On Sunday, November 12, join us for an afternoon of Shostakovich, with Sonata for cello and piano in D minor, op. 40 performed by John Haines-Eitzen on cello and Xak Bjerken on piano, and Trio in E minor, op. 67 performed by Jian Liu on violin, Abe Katzen on cello, and Cris Valenzuela on piano.

The Johnson Museum has a permanent collection of over 30,000 works of art from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. The museum building was designed by I. M. Pei. Funds for the building were donated by Cornell alumnus Herbert F. Johnson, late president and chairman of S C Johnson. The building opened in 1973.

###

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, located on the campus of Cornell University, is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Museum is completely accessible for mobility-impaired visitors, and a wheelchair is available in the lobby. Metered parking is available in the lot next to the Museum. For more information, please call 607 255-6464. Visit the Museum’s website at  www.museum.cornell.edu. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is a proud member of Ithaca’s Discovery Trail: www.DiscoveryTrail.com.

-30-