Featuring mural paintings by Bay Area artist Andrea Borsuk, this rotating exhibit seeks to inspire and empower visitors to make Los Gatos’ richly diverse post a meaningful part of the contemporary lives. The gallery also includes objects and ephemera from NUMU’s collection.
Christel Dillbohner. Frozen in Time, 2012-14, Oil, cold wax on linen, 55” x 72”, Courtesy of Don Soker Contemporary Art, SF
New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) presents Waterlines, an art exhibition that delves into our deep connection with one of Earth’s most important elements.
Californians often think and talk about water. Both in its abundance and scarcity, this essential natural resource is part of our collective consciousness. Our concern for water manifests in our technological innovations, our public policy and our creativity. Even the name of our region, Bay Area, expresses our geographic connection to water and informs our community identity.
Through the art of sixteen artists, working in diverse media including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, installations and sound, Waterlines presents unique interpretations of meaning and relationship with water. Exhibiting artists include: Judith Belzer, Barbara Boissevain, Marie Cameron, Matthew Chase-Daniel, Christel Dillbohner, Linda Gass, Nancy Genn, Liz Hickok, Theodora Varnay Jones, Pantea Karimi, Cheryl E. Leonard, Danae Mattes, Marsha McDonald, Klea McKenna, Ryan M. Reynolds and Linda Simmel.
Curator Marianne McGrath explains, “Water has been the subject of many exhibitions and with Waterlines, NUMU aims to contribute to the conversation about this vital resource. Along with being a basic need for all life, water is a source of pleasure, it is exalted in religion, and throughout history it has been a route for trade and travel. In every way we understand water, artists offer us new ways to explore its meaning and substance.”
Major support for Waterlines is provided by Badger Meter. Helping protect the world’s most precious resources, Badger Meter is a market leader in flow measurement technology with more than a century of helping our customers throughout the world manage their operations and minimize waste.
Curated by Marianne K. McGrath
Additional support is provided by San Jose Water Company and Kumiko Iwasawa, Iwasawa Oriental Art
More information including high res images for download may be found on our Press Resources Page. Read press coverage for the exhibition on the NUMU in the News page. Sign-up to receive our Press Releases.
Andrew P. Hill, Indian Headwaters of the American River, 1889, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of Charles Bergtold
New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) is pleased to present Art and the Environment: The Paintings of Andrew P. Hill, an exhibition featuring works from The Charles and Peggy Bergtold Collection, the largest privately held collection of Andrew P. Hill paintings. Featured are 12 rarely displayed paintings by Andrew P. Hill depicting Santa Clara Valley landscapes and portraits of prominent San Jose citizens from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Hill’s wife, Florence Hill, Jane Stanford, Julia Farney, and the Rea family. Other exhibition highlights include rare photographs of Hill’s San Jose photography studio before it was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, collectable books featuring Hill, and select photographs taken by Hill of the Santa Cruz redwood forests, courtesy of the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History in San Jose.
Born August 9, 1853, Andrew Putnam Hill was a painter, photographer and leading environmentalist. He was best known for his successful efforts to save the redwood trees from destruction in California’s Santa Cruz mountains, leading to the establishment of Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California’s oldest state park. In 1899 while on a magazine photography assignment, Hill was approached by the owner of the property who demanded he turn over his photos. He boldly told Hill that he planned to log the forest and turn the trees into railroad ties. Hill recorded his feelings of the encounter:
“…the thought flashed through my mind that these trees, because of their size and antiquity, were among the natural wonders of the world, and should be saved for posterity. I said to myself, I will start a campaign immediately to make a public park of this place.” – Andrew P. Hill, on saving the redwoods.
Hill would go on to fight against the destruction of Northern California’s redwood forests. He organized groups from Stanford University, Santa Clara University, and mobilized scientists and local activists to join him.
For two years the group lobbied California legislators to save the redwood trees from decimation and to create a public park. They raised $250,000, an enormous sum in those days to secure the land and in 1902 Big Basin Redwoods State Park was opened. In addition to taking hundreds of photographs of the redwood trees surrounding Santa Clara Valley, Hill was also an avid painter of the natural beauty that he fought so hard to save.
The Charles and Peggy Bergtold Collection
As a longtime resident of Los Gatos, Charles Bergtold grew up in a time when there were still vast orchards throughout the Santa Clara Valley. His interest in the history of the valley extended to exploring local historic sites, abandoned houses, and searching the area for old cars and antiques. His love of local history eventually led to a forty-year career collecting and selling antiques in Los Gatos.
Bergtold’s interest in Hill began when he read books published on the Santa Clara Valley, which included Hill’s illustrations and photographs of early ranches, vast orchards and the pioneers who settled in the area. After reading Grand and Ancient Forest, by Carolyn de Vries about Andrew P. Hill, Bergtold was inspired to include as many Hill works as he could find in his art collection.
Peggy Conaway Bergtold is a former Los Gatos Library director and leading Los Gatos historian. She has written five books on the history and people of Los Gatos and received the Pat O’ Laughlin Contribution to Literature Award. She writes a Los Gatos history column for the Los Gatos Weekly, a publication of the Bay Area News Group.
Art & Environment: The Paintings of Andrew P. Hill is supported in part by The Charles and Peggy Bergtold Collection. Selected photos are provided by the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History in San Jose CA.
More information including high res images for download may be found on our Press Resources Page. Read press coverage for the exhibition on the NUMU in the News page. Sign-up to receive our Press Releases.
Photograph, Black Panthers outside the Black Panther Party National Headquarters Oakland, California, 1970. Photographer: Ilka Hartmann, Courtesy of Ilka Hartmann.
Photograph, Entrance sign for Chateau Liberté, 1970. Courtesy of Pearl Regis.
NUMU was inspired by Bay Area artist Michele Théberge's interactive art installation project for the 100 Days of Action initiative undertaken by artists around the country. Theberge's project, Seeds of Hope amplifies the stories, hopes and dreams of all Americans as a part of NUMU's Summer Celebration Open House event to invite and share the stories from our community. Seeds of Hope unites and amplifies the wishes, hopes, dreams and aspirations of all Americans, in a secular prayer action. Théberge represents each participant with a small painting of a seed. As each seed is pinned to the gallery wall, the personal intention of that participant is spoken out loud.
Over the course of the installation, hundreds of seed paintings representing individuals and their hopes and dreams will come together in large wave-like formations. One wave will represent those who have lived in the United States for one or more generations, and the other represents newcomers. Each painted seed stands for our potential to contribute to our nation and fulfill our own dreams in the process. New immigrants, and those whose families have been here for ages, will grow into one interwoven whole on the gallery wall.
This installation begins at NUMU on Saturday, June 24, 2017 during our Summer Celebration. Michele Théberge is interested in gathering your personal hopes and aspirations. If you could have someone pray for your dreams or wishes to come true, what would your most simple request be? All responses will be kept anonymous, unless you choose to share a name. During the summer months, we invite the public to continue adding their hopes and stories at our Seeds of Hope artist station in the NUMU MakerSpace.
For more information and to add your story visit micheletheberge.com/seedsofhope .
In support of our local art community, New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) is hosting the biennial Los Gatos Art Association (LGAA) juried fine art show: Greater Bay Area Open. The exhibition is organized and produced by the LGAA and has been juried by artist and teacher George Rivera. Greater Bay Area Open runs through August 19th. A public reception with the artists will take place on Thursday, June 15th from 6pm to 8pm at NUMU. The LGAA is a non-profit organization established in 1948 dedicated to the enrichment and support of the arts community.
For more information about LGAA and the exhibition please visit www.lgaa.org
MICHELLE WILSON. El Proceso, 2007. Handmade flax and abaca paper, monofilament, custom book stand, letterpress, and screen print.
Opening May 4, 2017 and on view through September 17, 2017, New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) presents Power of the Page: Artists Books as Agents for Change, an exhibition that celebrates artist made books as agents for change and social awareness.
The book has played a vital role in the realization of our modern freedoms. The medium of the book creates opportunity for both intimate reflection and broad communication. Artists’ books are conceived as works of art in their own right and employ the unique expression of an artist’s design, words and images. In Power of the Page: Artists Books as Agents for Change, artists’ books tell stories of liberty and give voice to the call for justice. Narratives range from personal to public, from mythical to political.
Works on view in the exhibition include selections from artists from the Bay Area and beyond, including: Renee Billingslea, Ginger Burrell, Julie Chen, Casey Gardner, Diane Jacobs, Lisa Kokin, Susan Laudermilk, Mary V. Marsh, Camden Richards, Clarissa Sligh, Michelle Wilson and Linda Vallejo.
Curator Marianne McGrath says “The themes and subject matter explored in Power of the Page is timely. The combination of art, creative craftsmanship and the book format create a unique platform for these issues. I am excited to share this work with the community.”
NUMU will also present a variety of related programs to the exhibition, including summer artist bookmaking workshops for all ages, and a project on June 24th during NUMU’s Summer Celebration event where members of the community will be invited to create and print their own activist posters.
Power of the Page: Artists Books as Agents for Change is generously supported by Wanda Kownacki. NUMU also gratefully acknowledges support from its many donors and members.
Curated by Marianne K. McGrath
Power of the Page: Artists' Books as Agents for Change will be held Saturday, June 24 at NUMU's Summer Celebration.
Andrea Borsuk, Radiant Light: the Story of Eastfield Ming Quong, mural detail, 2017
In the 1930s, the Ming Quong orphanage in Los Gatos, housed rescued and abandoned Chinese girls from the Bay Area. Over the course of several decades, Ming Quong would become part of a larger thread of merging organizations dedicated to giving at risk children a better life. Today the historic property is the home of Uplift Family Services. This exhibit explores 150 years of organization's origins.
Today, Uplift Family Services is one of the largest and most comprehensive family-centered treatment programs in California. Its history began in 1867 with a single building in San Jose that provided shelter for homeless youth under the name Eastfield Home of the Benevolence. Over the course of 150 years, the organization merged with other agencies, including Ming Quong, which provided safety and education for Chinese girls. Ming Quong, founded in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1874, would eventually open another children’s home in Los Gatos in 1936. With the help of local philanthropic organizations, it continued to ensure that children without advocates could have a second chance at life. This exhibit celebrates Donaldina Cameron and the Los Gatos Ming Quong Home that would eventually become Uplift Family Services.
More information on this exhibit may be found on our website through the Press Resources Page. Read press coverage for the exhibit on the NUMU in the News page. You may also sign-up to receive our Press Releases Here.
Art Now is an annual Santa Clara County arts exhibition and educational program, sponsored by NUMU. Art Now offers an opportunity for high school student artists from Palo Alto to Gilroy to gain real-world experience at creating and presenting artwork in a competitive environment. NUMU offers a total of $10,000 in scholarships and awards to encourage students to pursue a profession in the visual arts.
LINDA CHRISTENSEN. Tableau, 2016. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artist.
MARILYN MINTER. Satiated, 2003. C Print. From the collection of Wanda Kownacki.
In 1927, the San Francisco Bay Area Muwekma Ohlone tribe was falsely declared extinct by a leading UC Berkeley anthropologist. For almost a century the tribe has fought the US government for their rightful federal recognition. Join us as we explore this critically important, Bay Area story of the tribe’s history, heritage and legacy.
Muwekma Ohlone Tribe photo, Livermore, CA August 2012.
Cement Prairie is an exhibition that explores the genesis, rollout and impact of the American Indian Relocation Program initiated by the US government in 1952. This significant yet little-known chapter in American Indian migration history will be viewed through a collection of personal stories, ephemera, primary source documents and support programming. The exhibition will focus specifically on the San Jose, California relocatee community and those who followed in their footsteps to the urban communities. The exhibit will examine the program’s successes and failures, the rise of Indian activism in the 1960s, and how today’s Pan-Indian community has adapted and preserves its native culture in the new “urban rez.”
In the 1950s, America’s general perceptions of Indians was formed by cultural and historical stereotypes of “the noble savage” wearing a feather headdress, living in a teepee, kidnapping women and children; or the Lone Ranger’s stoic sidekick Tonto, characterized in popular literature. While these indelible images permeated American culture, the reality presented a stark contrast. The Indian reservation system became another failed attempt by the U.S. government to solve the “Indian Problem,” and as a result, many Indians suffered in poverty and cultures began to erode.
In an attempt to address this problem, the US government created the Indian Urban Relocation Program in 1952 to move Native Americans to major metropolitan cities to improve the community’s standard of living. In its first phase, an estimated 100,000 Indians left their reservations and settled in cities across the U.S. Today, over 70 percent of Native Americans live in urban centers, marking a significant migration period that has forever changed the Native American community and culture.
“We are privileged to have this opportunity to work directly with our local Indian community and offer a forum where they can tell this little-known but important chapter in contemporary Native American history, “ said Amy Long, NUMU history curator.
“The San Jose Indian community has long-attempted to create a visual platform to tell this story. We are very excited to partner with NUMU to make this dream a reality, explains exhibition advisor, Al Cross, Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara, North Dakota.
In conjunction with this exhibition, NUMU is proud to present, Back From Extinction, an exhibition that focuses on the San Francisco Bay Area Native Indian tribe, the Muwekma Ohlone, and its struggle to gain federal recognition and its efforts to counter the myth of its extinction.
Cement Prairie is supported in part by San Jose State University’s Anthropology Department, the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, the National Archives, The Bancroft Library, the Indian Health Center, Bay Area photographer, Ilka Hartmann, and notable Bay Area American Indian community members.
The Oral Histories of members of the San Jose American Indian community are recorded here. Courtesy of a collaboration with San Jose State University.
Making Contact is curated by Marianne McGrath.
Views of the installation, as photographed by Charles Lindsay, SETI AIR Program Director.
Below is a time lapse video of artist Rachel Sussman creating the Cosmic Microwave Sand Mandala, installed in Making Contact.
For more information on the SETI AIR program visit these sites:
Dennis Wingo, McMoons Building, Moffett Field, 2008, Courtesy of the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP)/Skycap
The McMoons exhibition’s mission is twofold: to shine a light on the 50th anniversary of NASA’s (1967-68) Lunar Orbiter Project that collected lunar images integral to the safe landing on the first Apollo landing on the moon, and to tell the little-known story of the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) that began in 2008 to recover the original NASA Lunar Orbiter images.
McMoons will take the visitor on an extraordinary journey from a dilapidated storage space to a veterinarian’s garage in central California and on to an abandoned McDonald’s restaurant on the Moffett NASA campus in Sunnyvale. California where archival space history is still being made today.
The exhibition includes original prints from the Lunar Orbiter Project and digitized prints of the original film including a wall-sized reproduction of the first restored image - the Earth rising. Visitors can also see and touch the original film canisters and tapes and listen to original audio recordings from the Lunar Orbiter Project. Also on view are prints and video of the LOIRP Project still underway at the McDonalds “lab” on the NASA campus.
Background
In 2008, working out of an abandoned McDonald's on the NASA campus in Sunnyvale, a group of dedicated scientists, former NASA employees, and three 12-year-old interns began a project to recover the original NASA Lunar Orbiter images from 1966-67. Due to neglect and indifference over time, the original data, stored on large tape reels, was nearly lost. Now, fifty years after the Lunar Orbiter project, this vital piece of lunar mission history has been saved, enhanced and is being digitized thanks to the tenacity and foresight of a handful of self described “techno-archaeologists.”
A Members and Special Guests Preview Party will be held on Thursday, November 3, 7pm-9pm. A Public Opening Celebration will be held on Saturday, November 5th, 11am-5pm
NUMU is proud to collaborate with the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project and NASA on this exhibition.
We need your support!
You can support the McMoons exhibition through the crowdfunding website Indiegogo, and receive perks from limited edition prints, stickers, VIP tickets and so much more. Your donation is 100% tax deductible and directly supports this exhibition.
A Visible Journey in Time: Los Gatos History Project This series of landscape wall murals by Santa Cruz-based artist Andrea Borsuk, charts a course through the Santa Cruz Mountains to Los Gatos, exploring the character of the Town of Los Gatos and its changing landscape and history. These murals lead the viewers through time and place, incorporating historical artifacts from NUMU’s permanent collection. The first phase of this project that opened on September 2016 is called, The Painter’s Journey: On the Road to Los Gatos. Its interactive component will invite the public to add their wish on a flag, completing the three-dimensional quality of the installation.
Local artist Andrea Borsuk is a painter whose work explores notions of time and destiny. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from UC Santa Cruz. She is an art instructor at Cabrillo College and a visiting lecturer at The Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon. She is the 2010/2011 recipient of the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship. Her solo and group exhibitions include: The Riverside Museum of Art, The Nevada Museum of Art, Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, Monterey Peninsula Community College Art Gallery, The Sanchez Art Center, and the San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art. Her work can be found in numerous private collections.
The installation and the permanent history exhibit are made possible by the generous support of our partners, lenders and sponsors, Los Gatos Community Foundation, The Town of Los Gatos and Donors to NUMU’s Annual Campaign.
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