Ackland basks in '1958' success

There is an energetic circuit pulsating through the galleries of the Ackland Art Museum.

Circa 1958"" the exhibition assembled in celebration of the museum's 50th anniversary, generated an excited response from visitors, which in turn energized the museum staff about the Ackland's future shows.

This is the biggest exhibition we've done" so everyone at the museum was excited about pulling it off" Director of Communications Nic Brown said. It's icing on the cake that the public responded so well.""

The museum's relationship with its visitors extended beyond walls hung with art to include a torrent of lectures" concerts and parties to celebrate Ackland's birthday.

The show opened Sept. 21 and will close Jan. 4 but Director Emily Kass said taking stock of the exhibition's achievement was possible even from the start.

She said more than 700 people flushed through the galleries at its opening to see work from transformative artists of the 1950s and '60s" like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg.

That number does not include the more than 300 University students who attended the Ackland's fall semester welcome back party held in the walls of the exhibit.

""The large number of people who came to celebrate with us is really special because it's an affirmation that we're connecting with our community"" Kass said. But attendance is only part of the equation.""

Kass said she also measures the show's success by its ties with students' curriculum and by scholarship generated by the exhibition.

While the artists' names for spring's exhibitions may be less well-known — or even unrecognizable — Barbara Matilsky" Ackland's curator of exhibitions" said the shows' themes are just as relevant to visitors as the pieces from ""Circa 1958.""

The Ackland's next exhibition"" ""At the Heart of Progress"" opens Jan. 24 and explores how the Industrial Revolution fired artists' imaginations about issues of technology and the environment.

Kass said in planning for future exhibitions, the museum is conscious of the downward-spiraling economy. She said the University made small cuts in the Ackland's funding, which delays new hiring and some publications.

The cuts will not affect the museum's expected acquisitions from Circa 1958"" in which the Ackland will purchase some pieces currently on loan to the exhibition.

While the exact sales are yet to be nailed down, Kass said the museum has been saving its endowed acquisition funds, the pool of money set aside for this purchases, until she feels that the market is no longer overpriced.

We're focusing on being prepared because everyone's affected by the economy"" Kass said. We've scaled back our budget but not in any way that I think will hurt the visitor experience.""



Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.