Moore Exhibition Catalog

In anticipation of the holiday weekend, I was a bit of a slacker last week and neglected to post. So this week, I'm aiming for TWO posts to make up for it.

Here's the first:

The EXHIBITION CATALOG has ARRIVED! It's absolutely gorgeous, and we are so proud of it. We printed a very limited number, so be sure to get yours from the Garden Gift Shop before they are gone. For a signed copy, attend the upcoming lecture with David Mitchinson, Head of Collections and Exhibitions, The Henry Moore Foundation, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. The catalog features stunning full color photos of all the sculptures in the exhibition, an introduction by executive director Mary Pat Matheson, an essay by Henry Moore Foundation curator Anita Feldman, installation photos, and a detailed chronology of Henry Moore's life.

Here's a sneak peek. Enjoy!

Moore Convert

Kathryn Masuda started working at the Garden 5 years ago. We were office mates at the start and had so much fun! Professionally, she has brought our school education programs to an entirely new level by developing the after-school program, kinder-in-the-garden (serving all kindergarteners in Atlanta!), a summer teacher institute, and much more. She is today's guest blogger...

"The best way to learn is to teach." - Frank Oppenheimer

I’ll admit it; I wasn’t initially excited about the Henry Moore exhibition at the Garden. The sculptures didn’t appeal to me in photographs. Although, after I walked around, felt and taught about the gigantic sculptures, I began to enjoy them. I love how graceful reclining figures lay among fabulous flowers and how many of the sculptures provide excellent look-out locations for birds (I doubt the people that clean the sculptures like that fact). The more I learn about Henry Moore and observe his works at the Garden the more I take pleasure in teaching children and docents about them.

Children provide many different perspectives, questions and observations about Henry Moore’s works. They will see different shapes and figures and want to touch and walk around them. Children can’t wait to tell you their interpretation of a sculpture and then make their very own masterpiece using clay or other natural objects. During my classes and tours, I try to encourage them to see the works from their own perspective. There is no incorrect answer or observation.

When conducting classes, tours or trainings, I think about the Henry Moore quote below:

[sculpture] must make you stop and look at it of its own accord irrespective of where it is. If it has an immediate explanation as to why it is there, the average person will see this, go away and lose interest. It is better if the sculpture should be of some challenge or of a mystery. I want sculpture that has lots of interpretations, like Hamlet. It is important that there be continued interpretations… People have an intrinsic interest in shapes. If a thing has ‘universal touch’ it will interest generations. (Elsen, ‘Henry Moore’s Reflection on Sculpture’, p. 354.)

Because of the classes I’ve taught and the wonderful children and docents that I’ve listened to, I’ve developed an appreciation and interest in Henry Moore and his magnificent works. Next time I see one of his works on display in a museum or public space, I’ll take time to see it through my own adult eyes and the eyes of all the insightful children I’ve learned from at the Garden. Below are some interesting interpretations that both I and my co-worker Laura Hennighausen heard from children during tours and classes. What do you see?

Two Piece Reclining Figure: Points - "The Titanic"

Hill Arches - "Pumpkin in a house"

Hill Arches - "Mouth getting ready to eat"

Goslar Warrior - "A man pushing a ball or a Star Wars Storm Trooper"

Large Reclining Figure - "Half bug, half human"

Three Piece Reclining Figure: Draped - "Giraffe "

Seated Woman - "Woman riding a buffalo"

Kathryn Byrnes Masuda, School and Outreach Program Manager

Uprights in Downright Painful Situation

Today's guest blogger is Amanda Campbell, Manager of Display Gardens. Amanda has been with the Garden for nearly 8 years. Today she's addressing a potentially "painful" subject: the Granite Outcrop. This is where we've placed the Upright Motives. The site was selected because of the perfect juxaposition between the natural and industrial forms contained within the sculptures positioned against the natural and architectural forms of the bed and the conservatory behind the works. Here's Amanda's post:

Cardboard boxes, cut open 2-liter bottles and old shirts aren’t your typical gardening tools. However, when bodily harm is at stake you become very creative.

The untraditional assortment of “tools” listed above assist in planting and transplanting my formidable darlings. The Granite Outcrop is comprised of cacti and succulents native to the southeast, southwest, and northern Mexico. Columnar cacti are frequently shipped in cut open 2-liter bottles. Prickly pear, or Opuntia, slated for a new home are popped out of the ground and maneuvered into a box or lowered onto an old shirt and tugged into place. Shovels, hoes, even the backsides of display labels are all used as limb extensions during the planting process. Anything but my hands. I’ve become quite good at handling them without actually touching them. Plants that live thrive through our hot, humid summers and rainy winters. In fact, new plants only get watered once or twice and then they’re on their own. It’s tough love and those that don’t survive rarely get a second chance.

The garden’s name, Granite Outcrop, is a slight misnomer. The planting concept has changed since its inception 20 years ago. The current Granite Outcrop grows a wider range of plants than traditionally found in southeastern granite outcrops. Wonderfully vase shaped, I call the two enormous Agave americana my gentle giants. They still have spines on the sides and end of each leaf, but they’re so large that I can pet the leaves and feel how soft and velvety they are. Here’s an interesting factoid, do you know the difference between a spine and a thorn? A thorn, like those found on roses, detach without causing the plant harm, but a spine will not cleanly break off and will cause damage.

When the Henry Moore totems [Upright Motives] were installed they seemed to blend seamlessly into their surroundings. Tall and strong, they picked up the architecture of the plants around them. But, at the same time the fluid lines of the faces emphasize the graceful petals of the often overlooked flowers. Cosmidium burridgeanum, with its deep burgundy petals edged in bright gold looked even more dramatic beside the bronze sculptures. Opuntia, with yellow, peach, and orange blooms shined a little more next to their sculptural counterparts. Leucophyllum frutescens, Barometer Bush’s purple flowers are perfectly balanced by the darkness of the metal. Fuschia Delosperma, cream and orange California poppies, and royal purple Setcreasea, all had a bit more luster.
This garden can be painful. I’ve shed quite a bit of sweat and blood over the years. But, it is also incredibly rewarding, especially when the three graceful Henry Moore totems persuade guests to look at the Granite Outcrop in a new light.

The King of Installation

I can hear the giggles and groans from the team at the Henry Moore Foundation all the way from England with that blog title! The "King" in question is today's guest blogger James Copper, Sculpture Conservator at the Henry Moore Foundation. He's the second half of the dynamic duo I mentioned previously: the "relentlessly teasing co-worker" half. But despite being incorrigible, (and endlessly charming and entertaining), how can you not be impressed by a guy who has the energy to oversee the rigging of massive sculptures during the week yet still has the energy for a weekend junket to see Elvis's home, Graceland in the middle of it all? We all enjoyed working and laughing with James so much, and his background in bronze sculpting and fine art handling made him an indespensible resource in planning and installing our show. Here is James's guest blog post:

I have what you might call a great job, one that many covet, but one that was not really for me.

I was born only a few miles from where Henry Moore lived, in a then small ‘market town’, in the ‘60s. It was the nearest town to where my father’s family was from. Three generations of that family, including my eldest son and I were christened in the parish church in Much Hadham. Little knowing, being only a few weeks old at the time, that the 2 stone heads looking down from the church entrance at me, were by Moore! Nor was I aware that my Godfather, John Farnham, also a sculptor of considerable repute himself, was one of Moore’s assistants.

John (above), who had been at school with my father and was one of his best friends, also lived next door to Moore. As I was growing up I spent a great deal of time with him. He would take me with him visiting museums and galleries, as well as to many collectors’ homes, and to work with him during school holidays. Of course, during my childhood, this was normal; it meant relatively little to me. Whilst with John at work, I had free reign of Moore’s estate, and often used to meet Henry, surrounded by his monumental bronzes, which I used to climb on and slide down! At the time I was more interested in dinosaurs and Romans, I had no idea of the importance of Moore, or his sculpture. If I’d thought about what I was going to be when I grew up, it would have been a vet or something.

On leaving school I joined the Marines, but due to an awkwardly broken leg I had to leave, the military was no longer an option and I was not academic enough to become a vet. The only other thing I had enjoyed at school, and shown any promise in, was art, more specifically drawing and painting. So, to study painting and printmaking at art school it was. Despite having been exposed to sculpture my entire childhood it did not hold my imagination at the time, it was not for me!

During my college years I still spent time with my Godfather, John, and as time went on I began to show an interest in sculpture and to make some of my own. I no longer saw sculpture through a child’s eye, but with maturity and real interest. Unfortunately this interest came too late to see Moore still active on the estate, despite my continued visits to the foundation. I was, however, lucky enough to see him one last time, shortly before his death. He was at John’s home and he no longer knew me, as I had not known who he was when I was a child, but wow!

Moore (below) died while I was still studying, but I can still see his face smiling at me, from the back seat of the car, as I had last seen him.

Following my graduation, from the Kent Institute, I won a bursary, which enabled me to travel to the marble quarries at Quercetta, in Italy, where Moore had worked. On my return to England I managed to gain employment with another friend of John’s friends from the art world, at Momart, as an art technician. Whilst working here I was involved with installations and hangings of many well renowned artists, including Richard Serra, Anthony Caro, Frank Stella, as well as a very large scale show of Moore’s work at the Bagatelle Gardens in Paris. It was during this installation that I was first offered the chance to work for the Foundation, but it took 4 more years for this to come to fruition.

Eventually I was offered a role at the Foundation working alongside my Godfather John, and two other assistants to Moore, Malcolm Woodward and Michel Muller. It was a junior role, and sometimes I had to had to travel to the places the others weren’t keen to go to, or visit again… no matter, it was an opportunity I was not going to miss, what a fantastic job. They had all worked with Henry and they had a wealth of experience between them, I learned a great deal from them, and was able to travel the world.

Malcom Woodward (left) and James Copper (right) at Hoglands, Moore's home, 2007.

As the years passed I became more confident, we became more of a team and I was able to do more of the problem solving. The venues became more worldwide and the challenges became greater, both practically and politically. I was able to be more involved, to do the site visits and the project management of bigger and better shows, and gradually as the time came for the others to retire I have been able to take the reins. This is how I got to be doing one of the best jobs in the world!

I have installed Moore’s work all over the world and each time it is different. That’s what I love, the variety of problems to be solved; how do we install in a bog garden, a pond, a walled garden…? I consider it my job to find the solution, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the buzz and the thrill of solving it and seeing Moore’s work beautifully installed and sited.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden has been a very exciting project to work on, and what a challenge! From our initial site visit, through the installation and finally the many varied openings, the scope of work has never been more demanding and therefore rewarding.

James Copper, Laura Robinson, David Mitchinson at Moore in America grand opening, Atlanta

When we began to think about the show in Georgia there was still one third of the gardens to be completed. We had plans and architectural drawings to work from, but there were areas of woodland still unprepared and buildings still to go up. You have to believe it’s possible!

Several site visits later, following a gruelling schedule to pack the show up in New York and transfer it to Atlanta, we started the installation. Many things had changed on our journey from initial meetings to this point, and we continually adapted our planning to accommodate the works and various issues, which arose, due to changes on-site.

Inevitably there were still problems, which could not have been foreseen or avoided; the weather was stormy, too wet and even, later on, too hot to put the final touches to some of the works, some of our planned access routes had to be changed due to weight restrictions, some due to water and electricity routing, and some of the works were at the absolute weight limit for the size of crane we had available on a particular site. The nature of the works was varied too, meaning some could be lifted directly into their final position, whilst others had to be assembled on site.

As always the problems were solved, the work was gleaming and finished, sitting proudly in situ, as though it had been there forever, and it was time to sit back, enjoy our sense of achievement and party. And what a way to enjoy it; we attended black-tie functions, cocktail parties and even an opening event with sheep… What a job!

I consider myself very privileged to have been to some of the best places in the world, with some of the best works in the world, and to have met some of the very nicest people in the world, particularly at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

The road-show goes on, and I will be returning to pack up, and say goodbye to Georgia, and it’s great little tree frogs.

I have gone from a small boy who climbed on Moore’s sculptures to being a guardian of them, stopping others from damaging them in any way, but letting them enjoy them in amazing settings.

James Copper, Henry Moore Foundation

Aquagirl!

Valerie --aka Aquagirl--is the sunniest person we have on staff. She's taught us all the power of a broad smile to brighten someone's day. Aquagirl takes care of our aquatic collections, and is today's guest blogger...

I love my job.

I get paid to get muddy, wade in ponds and occasionally drive a tractor. I also get to work with some really creative people—and it creates a terrific synergy. The display in the crescent shaped pool in front of the Fuqua Conservatory is a perfect example of when we all independently add our talents to create a sum of complement.

When the Henry Moore Foundation sent an advance party to scout the locations best suited to each sculpture, the pool was in it’s glory last year. I had planted vibrant mix of tropicals including Victoria water lilies (Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’). The Victorias are the giant water platters.

Like I said, I get to work with lots of creative people, but we typically work together in the later stages of projects when our work begins to overlap. While I was focused on grooming and fertilizing my aquatic plants, the Henry Moore show was being cultivated and grown to its own maturity.
At the beginning of this year, the pertinent details of the show were delivered to our department. The Outside Horticulture Department is a team of 12 people. We work together in the spring and fall to plant the colorful displays of annuals, but the rest of the time we tend territories within the garden. This is when I discovered that the ‘Goslar Warrior’ was going to be placed in the Conservatory Pool.

Normally, I have more or less full creative control over the plantings in the ponds. This year was a little different because we were installing a new garden adjacent to the Conservatory. The Color Border along the Vine Arbor was designed by Tres Fromme, Mesa Design Group, and it had a cool twist. The plants at the end of the border leap from the ground into the pond.

The plants selected to make this leap work well in both settings. They are also dark and ominous, yet beautiful (just like the sculpture). A large swath of cannas dominate the outer edge of the pool. This group is a mix of Canna ‘Australia’ which has vivacious orange/red flowers, and Canna ‘Intrigue’ sports painterly peach/orange blossoms. The cannas are bordered by black elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’).
The sculpture appears to levitate on the water thanks to a dark footing beneath. The echo of the fallen warrior’s shield drifts out as the water platters grow and spread. Originally, I had slated a different version of the platters. I ordered seven Victoria cruzianas. These are a species of the platters that has a smaller leaf (up to 4 feet in diameter at maturity) and a higher lip (4-6 inches) and is bright green. As you probably know, not everything works according to plan in gardening. My growers had uncooperative weather this spring and lost the entire crop of this selection. The platters in the pool are my Plan B. In the end, I think they look right with the sculpture.

The end of the pool beside the Conifer Garden retains the large Umbrella Palm (neither a palm, nor an umbrella; it is Cyperus alternifolius) to balance the heaviness of the opposite end of the display. I’ve also planted Black Marble Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Marble’), a division of a favorite lotus (Nelumbo nucifera ‘Shiroman’ which also echoes the shield with it’s round leaves) and my personal favorite—the Mosaic Plant (Ludwigia sedoides).

So back to synergy…
I stood at the pool looking at the sculpture one day while the Henry Moore Foundation staff were supervising the installations. I talked with David Mitchinson, Head of Collections and Exhibitions at the Henry Moore Foundation, who was part of the advance team who scouted locations way back when. He said that he was inspired to place the Goslar Warrior in this pool because of the water platters, and how they reminded him of the Warrior’s shield. I almost fell over. I excitedly told him my plans to plant the water platters when the water warmed sufficiently. We shared a common vision that had been hatched independently.
I love my job.
Valerie VanSweden
Curator, Aquatic Plant Collection

In my view, showing up in an internationally distributed, highly regarded magazine such as The Economist makes you a celebrity. So imagine my excitement when the curator of our exhibition, Anita Feldman, received in it a glowing, full page review of her recent project: Henry Moore Textiles. I could hardly contain myself! Although by time I read the article in January 2008, I was of course already impressed by Anita's passion, patience, and commitment to presenting Moore's work in the most thoughtful, appropriate manner possible.
I first met Anita (above on the right) when we traveled to London in 2007 for the opening of Moore at Kew. The exhibition was stunning. It focused on Moore's later, monumental works, and explored all his major sculptural themes. Viewing the show, you felt like you were getting to know the artist, not the curator, which I think is a good thing. We were already emotionally committed to this exhibition, but by the plane ride home, we knew we needed to make it happen. Anita helped us "make it happen" in so many ways, from educating us on Moore's life and work, to advice on installation and shipping, to working through the loan agreement with us. I'm so happy to have her as our guest blogger this week, addressing one of the most commonly asked questions in her post, following... (And by the way, Henry Moore Textiles and Moore at Kew are both available in the Garden Gift Shop.)

As Curator, people often ask me how the works were selected and sites chosen. For the Moore show in Atlanta this was a peculiar story. Because the exhibition was already on view at Kew Gardens when we received the request from Atlanta the selections had already been made. So it was not a question of which pieces to bring to the US but how to fit these twenty colossal bronzes initially selected for a much more expansive garden into the formal and more intimate spaces of the Atlanta Botanical Garden. We decided to turn this ‘problem’ into an asset – so that you could turn a corner on a path and BOOM be faced with something really impressive and unexpected. Moore once explained the dichotomy between scale and setting by saying ‘If you put Stonehenge in the Grand Canyon it would be lost, it would be nothing’(1971). That’s a bizarre thought - Stonehenge (right) in the Grand Canyon (below). People forget Moore could be a Surrealist at heart and imagine objects in the most unlikely surroundings.

Coupled with the fact that we needed to find sites for twenty sculptures was the fact that the Garden was undergoing extensive renovations (new visitor center, and gardens beyond) which meant that four sculptures were planned for sites that did not yet even exist. We looked at plans for the renovations, walked through the dense forest and wore hard hats through construction areas and imagined how it might look when it was complete.

Knife Edge Two Piece (LH 516) has two dynamic sheer walls of bronze that come together leaving a tense angular gap. It is a sculpture that can withstand the power of an architectural background, (indeed another version of this sculpture stands at the entrance of the east wing of The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC designed by IM Pei) so it was decided to use this piece in the courtyard of the new entrance.

The most popular site is probably Oval with Points (LH 596) in the bog garden. The sculpture becomes a window to the Atlanta skyline. Its dramatic vista shifting as you approach is spectacular, but for me there is also a darker side. The carnivorous plants surrounding the bronze with their little sharp ‘teeth’; the large bronze looming up from the bog with its two points, nearly touching but not quite; there is a pent up energy here – a force unreconciled.

Being from the Moore Foundation I was immediately attracted to the large open lawn – in contrast to all the densely planted areas – here was a great expanse of green calling for a big sculpture! But to my dismay, the lawn had to be left open for summer concerts. This needed some thinking about. The idea then evolved to ‘hold’ the lawn with three large sculptures at opposite edges: Large Reclining Figure (LH 192b) in fibreglass – its white open forms contrasting with the dark foliage of the cannas and banana trees; Goslar Warrior (LH 641), serenely shimmering in the reflecting pool, and Two Piece Reclining Figure: Points (LH 606), boldly holding the sight line of the approach as a gateway to the landscape beyond – its rough cliff-like forms announcing change.

The upright motives are always enjoyable to site – their upward thrust a change from the reclining figures, and the combination of natural and industrial motifs in the works lend themselves to either landscape or architectural surroundings. Here, they rhyme with the verticality of the cacti, and also pick up on the details of the architecture behind. The changing heights of the three motives also echo the undulations in the landscape – reminders of Native North American totem poles that also serve as markers of human intervention with the land.

For me, perhaps my favourite site is that of Reclining Mother and Child (LH 649). It is not spectacular or clever – it is elegant and simple. Everything about it is reassuring – the subject, the material; it is meditative and calm without being boring – no one can say that that baby is like any other! The proportions of the site – its enclosed walled garden perfectly suit the scale of the figure. And the contrast of the weathered green patina of the bronze with all its subtle colour variations could not find a better complement than this warm red brick. Even the rather strange child – inspired by the shape of the inner coil of a seashell - retains its mystery yet is somehow understood in relation to the many leaves, flowers and twisting stems and vines surrounding it. It is these connections between the human figure and the forms of nature that remind us that we are all inextricably linked.

Anita Feldman, Curator, Henry Moore Foundation

Blogging Bibliognost

What is a bibliognost, you say? Why, a librarian, of course! Did you know we have a librarian and TWO libraries here at the Garden? Many don't...so allow me to introduce you. LuAnne Schwarz is our beloved librarian. With the help of a handful of dedicated volunteers, she manages the Sheffield Botanical Library, Orchid Reference Library, and the Plant Hotline. The libraries contain 8500 titles and 65 journals on plants, design, outdoor sculpture, etc. and are one of the Garden's best kept secrets. (Both are available for public use, but be sure to check times and restrictions on our website.) The plant hotline can be accessed via e-mail or phone and is an invaluable resource for help identifying pests, "that beautiful flower at the Garden", and all kinds of other inquiries.

LuAnne began as a volunteer in 1985 at the “birth” of the library (with 100 books) during the fabled "trailer days" when the organization was just budding from a couple of single wides near where the magnolias in the center of the Garden now stand. She joined the staff in 1989, 20 years ago. "It has been very interesting to collect books in the areas of art and sculpture for the various exhibits we have hosted. In searching for material on Henry Moore on both adult and children’s levels to support our education mission I learned a great deal about his background and creative period including the artists who were his peers," says LuAnne. Here is her fascinating guest blog submission. Enjoy!

Using materials on the Sheffield Library Henry Moore Bibliography and inspired by colleagues at the Lloyd Library and Museum who created a wonderful “faux” facebook page for their Darwin exhibit, I submit as my blog a sampling of what might have appeared on his personal site: his art, life, friends and inspirations.

HENRY MOORE - PROFILE PICS

FRIENDS

Jackson Pollack

Georgia O’Keefe

Kandinsky

Ben Nicholson

Pablo Picasso

Giacometti

Alexander 'Sandy' Calder

Marc Chagall

Jean Arp

PHOTOS

Irina/misc. Album - I married Irina Radetzky in 1929. Vacation Album -- 1931 Irina and I went to the country on holiday with Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth - talked, walked, bathed, played cricket and worked (of course)!

WALL POSTS

Joan Wyndham: I have a crush on Professor Moore! “When he comes into a room it’s like a spark being struck.” 10 p.m., 4/25/40

Joan Wyndham: “Today he hammered his thumb doing something to my armature and said ‘Bugger’. There was blood all over the clay.” 8 p.m., 6/6/40

Henry Moore: New pics of the kiddo! Mary's 3 now and learning about shapes 3 p.m., 1946

Henry Moore: After dinner with friends this evening Irina and I took the Underground home, bombings began. For the first time I saw “rows of people sleeping on the platforms….amid the grim tension, I noticed groups of strangers formed together into intimate groups and children asleep within feet of the passing trains.” 11 p.m., 1940

Bibliognost: The images of the reclining figures influence Moore. He compared the train tunnels to the holes in his sculptures…

Henry Moore: I received a fascinating gift today from Juliette Huxley – the skull of an elephant which I find to be powerful yet gentle at the same time, maybe I will sketch it… (1968)

Henry Moore: I observed Sheep Piece which looks lovely in the countryside. It commands attention with its sheer presence and size. I saw sheep grazing all around the piece, as if it were as natural as the grass they were eating. “Sculpture on this scale has relationship with living activity and naturally becomes part of the environment.” (1972)

Henry Moore: My first grandchild – a boy! Gus. “A chip off the old block.” (2/1/77)

Bibliognost: Atlanta scores huge gift!!! Emory University Robert W. Woodruff Library receives 60,000 volume collection of 20th century poetry from Raymond Danowski (he married Mary Moore 1976 –she was his 3rd wife) (2004)

Lu Anne Schwarz, Librarian (aka Bibliognost)