Attending a William Wegman Exhibit at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Last Friday, while I was visiting Skylands, my home in Mt. Desert Island, Maine, I attended the gala opening of William Wegman’s exhibition, Hello Nature, at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, Maine. You may be familiar with Wegman’s work, as he is quite famous for photographing his Weimaraners. In addition to these well-known images of dogs, the show features more than 100 works in a variety of media including photography, video, painting, and drawing. These pieces were all produced in or inspired by the state of Maine. Another fascinating exhibit on display at the museum is called, A River Lost & Found: The Androscoggin River in Time and Place, a collaboration of Bowdoin professors, Michael Kolster and Matthew Klingle. I loved the exhibits and it was nice being back on the Bowdoin College campus. Bowdoin, a small private liberal arts institution founded in 1794, offers a top-notch education.
1 This is the invitation I received to attend the opening of William Wegman's "Hello Nature."
2 This is William Wegman, the extremely well known photographer who features Weimaraners as his focal point.
3 In addition to being a pioneering video artist and photographer, William Wegman is also a prolific painter and draftsman. Since 1978, he has divided his time between New York City and the Rangeley Lakes Region of Maine.
4 Here I am with Kevin Salatino - Bowdoin College Museum of Art Director. At the end of this summer, Kevin is leaving Bowdoin to become the director of art collections at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA.
5 Posing with Daniel Dowd, a local Maine artist who painted all of Wegman's imagery onto the walls of the exhibit space.
6 Wegman revisits many of the materials that have shaped our cultural expectations of the outdoors, including Boy Scout Manuals, field guides, nineteenth-century Transcendentalist literature, and postcards. This wonderful red backdrop is a vinyl blowup of his work.
7 The red and black plaid is a blowup of a traditional wool hunting jacket.
8 More Wegman imagery of outdoor activities - This is Barry Mills, President of Bowdoin College speaking with Margaret Broaddus.
9 This is the dome in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art rotunda, which was designed by McKim, Mead and White, the firm that also designed the Boston Public Library, The Morgan Library & Museum in New York, and the Brooklyn Museum.
10 There are gorgeous murals below the dome in the rotunda. This one is “Venice” by Kenyon Cox, 1894.
11 This rotunda mural is “Athens” by John La Farge, 1898.
12 This is “Florence” by Aboott Thayer, 1894.
13 And this rotunda mural is called “Rome” by Elihu Vedder, 1894.
14 This horse sculpture made from barbed wire is called “Rondo” by Deborah Butterfield, 1981.
15 The Bowdoin College Museum of Art gift shop is filled with interesting books and curios. Like many museum shops, it's a great place to shop for unusual gifts.
16 This is the entrance of the Studzinski Recital Hall and this is John J. Studzinski of the Class of 1978 and a Trustee of the College.
17 John Studzinski is an international financier and philanthropist whose gift to the College made possible this recital hall, thereby enriching the cultural life of the Bowdoin community for generations to come.
18 Also designed by McKim, Mead and White, this amazing state-of-the-art 280-seat concert hall once housed a swimming pool. The hall was dedicated on May 11, 2007.
19 This is the college chapel, which was completed in 1857. The building also houses the McKeen Center for the Common Good, named for Bowdoin's first president, Joseph McKeen, who said at his inauguration in 1802 that "literary institutions are founded and endowed for the common good, and not for the private advantage of those who resort to them for education."
20 Cocktails and dinner were held in the main lounge at Moulton Union.
21 Guests mingled on the terrace with great views of the campus.
22 Time Takes all but Memories - This sundial was presented by the Class of 1951 to honor Nathaniel Cooper Kendrick - Dean of the College 1947 to 1966 - Close friend of generations of Bowdoin men.
23 This was my place setting at the gala dinner.
24 Bowdoin President, Barry Mills, welcomed all of the guests.
25 It was great catching up with William Wegman.
26 This is the Bowdoin College Wedgwood china with a view of Hubbard Hall from the Museum steps. So many colleges had special sets of dishes designed just for them.
27 Another view
28 And another
29 The first course was local Maine heirloom tomato slices with buffalo mozzarella and tender arugula.
30 There was beautifully grilled chicken.
31 And tender sauteed trout
32 The rest of the dinner course consisted of sauteed local summer squash, a grilled portobello mushroom with caramelized onions and goat cheese, and rice.
33 A nice shot of me with Willliam and Kevin
34 Ken Cardone and Chef David Crooker
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Interesting, beautiful, and delicious.
The picture of you...#4...is a great picture. You look so beautiful, and...the cute guy didn't hurt the picture, at all.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | July 17th, 2012 at 12:15 am
What a treat! I went to a book signing years ago up in Rangeley. I'm waiting to give the book to my little ones.
Happy summer,
Trina
Posted by: Trina | July 17th, 2012 at 1:03 am
Great photos proving once again that you share your wonderful life with us here and I am so glad. You look lovely and the campus and Wegman's art are so interesting. Maine must be a good place to escape this summer's blistering heat.
Posted by: ann | July 17th, 2012 at 4:22 am
I've had the pleasure of driving through Brunswick, Maine and admiring Bowden College. The campus is beautiful. Thanks for sharing this wonderful exhibit Martha, you look lovely in blue!
Posted by: Cindy F | July 17th, 2012 at 7:34 am
Thanks for sharing with us! Love the murals and the china is
beautiful! Enjoy the beauty of this day.
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy Peterson | July 17th, 2012 at 8:23 am
Hi Martha, Thank you for this latest fantastic blog about another beautiful college in Maine this time! I love seeing William Wegman's Exibits at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art! The websites included are outstanding and how nice to see William's beautiful Weimaraner, also! You look so gorgeous in these photos and I'm sure you had a delightful time there! I love seeing all of those fabulous plates! Sure would be fun to have some of those! The foods look delicious, too! I love touring the Bowdoin College Museum of Art! It's been a long time since I was in college and your college blogs certainly take me back to all of my college experiences-thanks! Sure hope you have a great time in Los Angeles and can't wait to read your tweets! For some reason, my Twitter page isn't working right and I'm missing tweets. They said it could take days to fix it and I'm waiting rather anxiously. Sure hope you have another great day! Off to see The Daily Wag about "While the Dogs are Away.....! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | July 17th, 2012 at 10:25 am
Martha,
I enjoyed the exhibit. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | July 17th, 2012 at 10:38 am
What a great piece! We're headed over there today!
Posted by: michele maks | July 17th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Dear Martha,
I am Michael Kolster's wife (professor of photography at Bowdoin College and photographer of the companion show at the museum "A River Lost and Found.")
We met briefly at the exhibit, at some point before Michael told you how much he loves your mac 'n' cheese recipe, as do I! Your photographs of the college, the exhibit and the dinner are wonderful! I did not know that you are a photographer in your own right. Thank you so much for sharing.
Regrettably, I did not have the opportunity to invite you to read my blog, Calvin's Story: Epilepsy and beyond. A mother's journal of the anguish, grief, joy and triumph shared with her son, at http://www.calvinsstory.com
I write to promote epilepsy awareness on behalf of our eight year old son calvin, and as therapy.
I hope you enjoyed your time here in Brunswick. By the way, you looked absolutely fantastic.
Take good care,
Christy Shake
Posted by: Christy Shake | July 17th, 2012 at 11:22 am
Hi Martha,
I think Weimaraners have adorable faces and very impressive eyes. I really liked the prints and pictures on William Wegman’s site and no doubt his entire Hello Nature exhibit is fabulous. Thanks for sharing this post with us as I did not know of him. Actually, there are a lot of artists I do not know about but it’s always nice to see some of their work. Trish
Posted by: Trish | July 17th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Truly beautiful place settings at the gala dinner. Thank you for photos of that !
Posted by: Penny | July 17th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Thanks for sharing today. I of course cannot wait to see the next few days for a glimpse of Skylands. The Summer seems so short but grand, at Skylands. I just love the plants and the house, with the adventures. Do you have a barn there for the horses?
We can never say thank you enough for sharing such a wonderous place with us. When seeing pictures on the terrace, I can almost smell the forest and surf.
Posted by: Melany | July 17th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Great time of year to head to Maine. Have always appreciated the humor in Wegman's work. Not sure our little pug Stormy would be so patient!
Posted by: Nantucket Daffodil | July 17th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Loved, loved, loved the sharing of such a beautiful evening, I almost felt like I was there. Thanks, Martha.
Posted by: Darlene Dingess-Adkins | July 17th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
One of my favorite things about your blog is your constant showcasing of educational institutions that I have no personal experience with. I know of this College by reputation but it's fun to see the pictures (I love seeing all of the art and design institutions especially). I love how diverse America's high education institutions are. I also didn't know that these institutions buy their own custom-made china. How fun! If a college can do it, what did people give Nancy Reagan such a hard time for? It seems so silly in retrospect.
Posted by: Karen | July 18th, 2012 at 4:55 am
I have studied the famous Cival War hero, Joshua Chamberlain who once the president of Bowdain college. It was wonderful to see pictures of the campus.
Posted by: Anna Beth Alexander | July 22nd, 2012 at 3:25 am
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Hello Martha!
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Glad you had a moment to think Weimaraner. William Wegman has been a generous force at silent auction for animals with cancer via The Animal Cancer Foundation, our brother organization of the late 90's. I'm sure Dr. Gerald Post & his worthy foundation is within your awareness.
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Also, we thank you for naming one of your paint colors Weimaraner Gray! Hope you had a fun day basking in WW's zany creativity!
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Andrea and the Weimaraners
National Cancer Society for Animals, Inc.
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Posted by: andrea j. spencer | July 30th, 2012 at 7:58 am