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Welcome to Around the MAG, the Memorial Art Gallery’s online magazine. Check this site frequently for breaking news, feature articles and special offers.

Ready, Set, Cut!

On Wednesday, May 22, UR President Joel Seligman, MAG Director Grant Holcomb and MAG Board President James Durfee welcomed more than 300 special guests and members of the media to Centennial Sculpture Park for a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony. All four artists commissioned to create site-specific installations—Wendell Castle, Jackie Ferrara, Tom Otterness and Albert Paley—were on hand, as were many of the donors who have made the park possible and dignitaries including the mayor and county executive.

Above from left: Gateways to Art Campaign co-chair Andy Gallina, donors Bob and Joanne Gianniny, donor Georgia Gosnell, Albert Paley, Mayor Tom Richards, Katie LaShomb representing Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, James Durfee, Joel Seligman, Grant Holcomb, County Executive Maggie Brooks, donor Joan Feinbloom, Wendell Castle, Jackie Ferrara, Tom Otterness, Gateways to Art Campaign co-chair Charlotte Herrera, and Centennial Sculpture Park designer Mark Bayer. Photo by Richard P. Wersinger.

Sit a Spell!

Unicorn Family—a major, site-specific work by Wendell Castle—was installed May 16 in Centennial Sculpture Park.

“Since I’m known more for my furniture than sculpture,” says the artist, “I decided to create an outdoor living room.” Twenty-two feet in diameter, this  “gathering area”  consist of a cast iron table, three chairs and 13-foot LED lamp on a circular carpet of bricks. It’s the gift of the Feinbloom family.

“Wendell is one of the masters of contemporary sculpture,” says MAG director Grant Holcomb. “As one of his rare outdoor works, Unicorn Family is a significant addition to his remarkable career.”

More about the park

I Need Your Ransom, Handsome!

On Friday, April 12, a sellout crowd celebrated the MAG Centennial with French food, wine and entertainment. Centerpiece of the evening was the debut of a two-act operetta, The Polite Abductress, composed for the occasion by Douglas Lowry, the Joan and Martin Messenger Dean of the Eastman School of Music. The evening also featured performances by members of Rochester City Ballet, PUSH Physical Theatre and Les Chanteurs de Rochester, as well as a live auction.

Pictured, left to right: The abductress Emmanuelle (Natasha Drake) and her maid (Liz Lang) plot against the blindfolded Henri (Tom Lehman), who has made a fortune selling subprime mortgages. Photo by Ria Tafani. See more pictures

Centennial Sculpture Park Phase 2

Work begins this summer on the Creative Workshop entry plaza. Landscaping, brickwork and a paved plaza will provide an attractive way into the Gallery’s art school, as well as an inviting place to sit and stroll. Check this site for information on door closures and rerouting during the construction, which is expected to be completed in time for this year’s M&T Bank Clothesline Festival (September 7 & 8).

Rendering & plan: Bayer Landscape Architecture PLLC.

A Musical Tribute

In 2009 director Grant Holcomb was talking with former MAG Board president Bob Gianniny about a possible musical celebration of the Gallery’s centennial. Gianniny picked up the phone and called RPO Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik—and the rest is history.

On November 8, 2012, thanks to funding from Gianniny and his wife, Joanne, “Images: Musical Impressions of an Art Museum” had its world premiere at Eastman Theatre.

Fittingly, the RPO was led by Tyzik, whose 40-minute composition brings to life seven works from the collection: Convergence by Albert Paley, Dr. Caligari by Wendell Castle, The Night Before The Battle by J. H. Beard, Two Dancing Figures by an unknown Maya, Memory by W. O. Partridge, Summer Street Scene in Harlem by Jacob Lawrence, and Found Portraits Collection: from the Cambodian Killing Fields at Tuol Sleng by Binh Danh.

Pictured: In October 2012, Jeff Tyzik (center) posed with Bruce, Joanne and Mark Gianniny and MAG director Grant Holcomb. The occasion was a sneak preview of his new composition for members of the Gallery’s Director’s Circle.

Democrat and Chronicle article
City newspaper article