Talk about the University of Maine Museum of Art's collection, its
importance, and the direction in which you see taking it.
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Video Text: George Kinghorn,
Director of University of Maine Museum of Art: "The strengths of the
UMMA collection are largely rooted in works on paper. Over the years of
collecting, original prints comprise a large portion of the collection
as well as photography, which has always been emphasized here in both
the exhibition program and the collection. The prints range from more
traditional Maine artists, such as John Marin and Winslow Homer--artists
associated with Maine--up to more contemporary masters, such as Andy
Warhol, Alex Katz, Chuck Close. So, certainly strengths in original
works on paper. The UMMA's collection is important for the state of
Maine in that it not only focuses on artists that are significant to
Maine but it serves as a place that is keeping these works of art alive
for generations to come so that people can come and learn for
educational purposes, their own personal enrichment.
"Museums are defined by the quality of their collections, and I think
while our collection here certainly has some quality pieces, there is
definitely room to enhance that, to grow that collection, that is a
priority of mine. I think a well-rounded collection consists of quite a
lot of different types of media. I feel strongly that my time here will
be developing relationships with individuals that will potentially
donate works. Certainly the museum has had a history of doing that,
receiving the significant gift of the Robert Venn Carr collection. That
was an extraordinary gift to the university and to the museum because it
really brought in a great number of modern and contemporary artists that
kind of filled that hole.
"Of course, the museum has a long tradition of acquiring and presenting
the works of Maine artists. That certainly will continue here and to be
a major focus. I'm hoping that our exhibition programming is
well-rounded and [offers a] diverse schedule of exhibitions that give
the community--both the citizens of Bangor, the University community and
the surrounding areas--the opportunity to see different media and
different approaches to subject matter in the works from photography to
painting.
"One of the reasons why I thought it was particularly rewarding to take
this position is the opportunity to further bridge the relationship
between the museum downtown and the university community. This can be
done in a number of ways in which we will be implementing and that is
through a lecture series, demonstrations where the featured artist would
go out to campus, have an interaction with the students and the faculty.
This, I think, kind of both enhances the understanding of the
exhibitions that we do, because the artist will be providing insights on
their creative processes. With the art department's role in educating
new artists, you are going to go out and be a part of this very vital
art market to bring in shows that will supplement the educational work
at the university is something of particular importance to me."
