Kresge Art Museum | MSU Faculty

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On February 4, 2005, faculty from across the campus gathered to participate in a Lilly Seminar, "Conversations About Active Teaching and Learning," organized by the Office of the Provost. Led by Susan J. Bandes, KAM Director, and Kurt Dewhurst, MSU Museum Director, the workshop provided faculty with new ways to think about integrating museum collections into their teaching, research, and outreach and engagement activities. Five panelists gave examples of how they interact with the museum collections before breaking out into discussion sections. KAM adjunct curator Howard Bossen, Professor of Journalism, spoke about the photography exhibitions he curated from the collection and used in his History of Photography course in the fall as well as a special exhibition and lectures he is planning for fall 2005. Anita Skeen, Professor of English, talked about the highly successful "This is Just to Say" project for high school through senior citizens that took place in fall 2004 and resulted in the on-line publication of poems and other writing about works in the collection. Estelle Lingo, Assistant Professor of Art History, provided ways of using the collection to create "wonder" in her classroom.

A handout accessing the collection and the museum staff contacts distributed at the seminar is included below: click here to print the document.

Mission Statement
Kresge Art Museum provides education and aesthetic enjoyment for diverse audiences. Through collections and exhibitions of art, it offers opportunities for interdisciplinary and cross-cultural interpretations of current and historical thoughts. By researching, presenting and preserving art from various times and cultures, the museum serves the Michigan State University community, general public of mid-Michigan and beyond.

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About Kresge Art Museum
Kresge Art Museum is the only accredited art museum in Mid-Michigan. Founded in 1959, it is home to Michigan State University's permanent collection of over 7,000 works of art, which includes representative examples of art produced over thousands of years of human history, from ancient Cycladic figures to contemporary mixed-media installations. Greek, Roman and Egyptian artifacts; medieval and Renaissance illuminations; and European and American paintings, prints and sculptures document the intellectual and artistic development of Western civilization. Art and artifacts from African, Asian, and Islamic cultures offer insight into non-Western history, beliefs and artistic traditions. In addition to art on permanent display, temporary exhibitions curated by museum staff and guest curators explore many art historical, cultural and contemporary themes.

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The Collection
Of the over 7,000 objects in the collection, more than half are works on paper (prints, drawings and photography). Strengths of the collection are in 20th century art, especially from the 1960s onward. Artists significant in the history of art are represented including Rembrandt, Picasso, Calder, Miro, and many 1960s Color Field painters. Many contemporary artists are represented in prints.

The museum has small displays of ancient Greek and Roman art; Asian; African; Old Master (esp. paintings) and modern and contemporary. The Works on Paper Gallery changes frequently with shows to courses, visiting artists, new research on the collection as well as serving as a laboratory for student researchers.

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Collection Initiatives
The museum purchases works each year with funds provided by several endowments and the Friends of Kresge Art Museum fundraisers. Current collecting initiatives focus on complimenting the museum’s strong holdings in 1960s Color Field painting by adding figurative expressionist examples; Old Master paintings; modern and contemporary prints; and photography. Recently purchases of early Chinese ceramics and long-term loans of Islamic ceramics have broadened these holdings.

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Accessing the Collection
All objects in the collection are recorded in a database accessible to museum staff. Faculty may call Rachel Vargas, registrar, who can search according to artist, theme, medium, period, etc. Appointments can be made with her to see objects in storage, to arrange for these to be brought out for a class, and in some cases, to be displayed temporarily for students to study outside of the class period.

Digital images and slides of objects exist for most of the objects. These may be accessed through the registrar.

Questions about objects in the collection should be addressed to April Kingsley, curator.

The KAM website contains information and images on some objects. The Kresge Art Museum Bulletin, available for purchase at the museum or to borrow in the MSU Fine Arts Library, has research on some of the objects by scholars from around the world. Additionally, “Selections from the Permanent Collection,” c 8 page publications with basic research and images, are published periodically on various themes (1960s art, Surrealism, recent acquisitions, etc.) These are available at the museum shop.

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Exhibitions
Proposing exhibitions: The museum works with many interdisciplinary partners on and off campus. Staff entertains suggestions for exhibitions related to special events, campus-wide celebrations, heritage months, and the like. The staff also can make suggestions of other venues and partners who might participate, especially through the Cultural Engagement Council.

To propose an exhibition or program, contact April Kingsley or Susan Bandes.

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Works on Paper Gallery: This flexible exhibition space is used for impromptu exhibitions, displays related to courses or community-wide events and celebrations, such as African American art from the collection on view this January for the Martin Luther King celebration or history of photography displayed in the fall for a course.

To discuss putting objects on view for classes, contact Rachel Vargas. To find out what is in the collection on a particular topic, contact Rachel or April Kingsley. We appreciate as much advance notice as possible, months or weeks depending upon the scope of the request/display.

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Information about Exhibitions and Events
Annual exhibition calendars are available at the museum for you to distribute to your classes.
Exhibition invitations for each show are also available for distribution. The museum website, www.artmuseum.msu.edu, contains the most up-to-date information on exhibitions, programs, past and future exhibitions, and the collection.

Ambassador program: Ambassadors are MSU faculty and staff who agree to receive emails and mail (exhibition announcements, program flyers, and other information about the museum) from the museum to distribute to their departments, colleagues, and friends, thereby expanding the museum’s audience. These bimonthly emails are sent from the museum with the latest notices of exhibitions and upcoming public programs. To be added to this list, please use our contact form

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Future Exhibitions
To see a complete list of future exhibitions click here.

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Online Tours and Projects
WPA Art and Architecture Walking Tour
http://artmuseum.msu.edu/wpa/WPA/default.htm
This website contains numerous examples of WPA art and architecture of East Lansing and Lansing. This site provides both a virtual online tour as well as a walking tour in a pdf format to print out and take with you on a visit to the MSU campus. Factual information on individual artists and activity guides are offered, as well as useful links to additional WPA resources.

African Art/Western Eyes
http://artmuseum.msu.edu/exhibitions/online/africa/

Public Art on Campus
https://ntweb11.ais.msu.edu/publicart/

Forthcoming Online Tours and Projects
Pewabic Pottery- East Lansing walking tour and online tour of Detroit commissions

For many special exhibitions, catalogues are produced on-line or previews are provided.

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Visiting the Museum
Tours for University Classes
Kresge Art Museum welcomes professors and teaching assistants to bring classes to the museum. We offer a variety of interdisciplinary opportunities through exhibitions, public programming, and Docent-led tours.

Docents, our specially trained volunteers, are available to lead groups on tours of the museum and special exhibitions. Because of space limitations all group tours must be scheduled in advance, including those without docent guidance. Teaching faculty members may conduct their own tours but need to let us know in advance.

Scheduling: Docent-guided tours are offered from mid-September through May on Tuesday through Friday mornings and selected afternoons. Limit: 35 students. To schedule call (517) 353-9834 during business hours at least one month in advance or email Cari Wolfe

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Bringing a class to a museum lecture or public program
Kresge Art Museum plans a variety of interdisciplinary programming to accompany its exhibitions. Please refer to our exhibition page and event calendar for a complete list of exhibits and programs that might apply to concepts you are teaching in your class. All programs are free for students. We do appreciate advance notice if you plan to bring your class or assign attendance at a lecture in order to assure that we can accommodate the anticipated audience.

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Staff contacts:
Curatorial: April Kingsley (modern and contemporary)
Susan J. Bandes (ancient through Baroque, prints)
Howard Bossen, adjunct curator, (Photography)
Education: Cari Wolfe , contact for tours and class visits
Collection Management:
Rachel Vargas, Registrar, who can search the database and schedule a special viewing of works in storage for your class or your own research
Norbert Freese, preparator, questions about condition and conservation
Public Relations, Marketing: Mariah Cherem
Administrative Assistant:Michelle Dilday (book tour, schedule a visit)

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