FROM THE EXECUTIVE
Director
Major Exhibitions
The Art of Seating:
200 Years of American Design
April 28 – August 26, 2012
Designed by Charles Eames
(1907-1978) and Ray Eames
(1912-1988). Manufactured
by Evans Products Company
for Herman Miller Furniture
Company, Grand Rapids,
Michigan. LCW (Lounge Chair
Wood), c. 1945. Molded birch
plywood, rubber. 26” x 22” x 24”.
Photo by Michael Koryta and
Andrew Van Styn, Director of
Acquisitions, Conservation and
Photography
The Columbia Design League Selects:
Design from the Collection
May 18 - July 29, 2012
Philippe Starck (designer)
French, born 1949
Alessi (manufacturer)
Italian (Crusinallo, Italy)
active 1921 - present
Juicy Salif (Citrus Squeezer),
1990.
Cast and polished
aluminium, rubber feet
Museum purchase.
Gallery 15
Born from Fire: American Studio Glass from
the Collection
May 29 – September 16, 2012
Stephen Dee Edwards
American, born 1954
Orange Physalia, 1983
blown and hotworked glass
Gift of Isaac and Sonia Luski
CMA 1999.17.8
Upcoming Major Exhibition
Mark Rothko: The Decisive Decade 1940-1950
September 14, 2012 – January 6, 2013
1949 No. 8
1986.43.147 (90 x 66)
National Gallery of Art
Members’ Opening Party:
Thursday, September 13
2
columbiamuseum.org
Karen Brosius
Executive Director
The CMA is a community. We’re a community of art lovers and
doers who believe that art museums are a vital part of learning. You
con?rmed this by sticking post-it notes on our walls at a recent Arts
& Draughts, an interactive party that is changing the way young
audiences perceive museums. The wall was completely covered with
your answers to “Why do you think art museums are important?”
Your responses showed us that art museums are different things for
different people, but one thing is constant – they are places that
encourage lifelong learning and allow for engagement with others.
With our dedicated and creative staff, we are always welcoming people of all ages and
backgrounds to experience art, and life, in new and thoughtful ways. We believe that art
transcends culture barriers. When we stand in an art museum and absorb an artist’s work,
we allow our minds to nimbly cross borders to gain an understanding of different societies,
ideas, beliefs and values. We’re learning something new or being reminded of something
familiar through paintings, sculpture, drawings, photographs and textiles. The art often
invokes thought and conversation. We’re then inspired to pursue our own creativity.
Whether you visited us last year or last week, we hope you were inspired by our collection,
our lecture series or even our plugged-in Arts & Draughts, among many other programs.
As members, you are our community and we are yours. Our momentum and energetic
spirit are because of you and your commitment to quality and to artistic excellence.
As a part of the Association of Art Museum Directors mapping project, we researched our
impact on South Carolina communities through lifelong learning programs and other
initiatives and created a map to show how vast our reach truly is. Providing an effective
means of communicating the extent of the CMA’s service, impact and value in all sectors
of society is the most essential bene?t of the project. The maps (available on page 8)
show a broad base of engagement across community, civic, and educational institutions
over the last three years. The maps illustrate an interest that’s been growing in the CMA
geographically, in addition to the capital area. We’re more than the “Columbia” Museum of
Art and serve communities throughout the state, and to an extent, the region.
Board Member Highlight: Susan Gibbes Robinson
Earlier this year, the Museum lost a dear friend and Life Trustee.
Susan Gibbes Woodward Robinson will be remembered as a
remarkable educator, enthusiastic volunteer, avid lover of art and
music, and dedicated philanthropic leader. Susan was a founding
member of the Columbia Art Association and was recognized with
the Museum’s highest honor, the Craft Leadership Award, in 1994.
“Susan Robinson introduced me to the Columbia Museum of Art and also introduced
me to my wife, Susie, the love of my life,” says Carroll Heyward, chair of the Columbia
Museum of Art Commission and past Board President. Her obituary read, “Susan
remained young at heart throughout her long and remarkable life. She will be greatly
missed by her family, friends and community. She was a woman who made a difference
in this world simply by being herself.” All who knew her know this to be so true.