Bass Museum of Art is the Jewel in the Crown of Miami Beach

The Bass Museum of Art (BMA) is the municipal art museum of the City of Miami Beach and its cultural centerpiece. An encyclopedic museum with the most comprehensive collection in the region, BMA is undergoing a major, multi-year renovation and two-phase  expansion designed by acclaimed postmodernist architect Arata Isozaki and funded by the City of Miami Beach, the State of Florida and private contributions. Its first phase of expansion has been completed.   

Situated in Collins Park within the Miami Beach Architectural Historic District, BMA was founded in 1963 through a private donation of art and capital funds to the city by philanthropists John and Johanna Bass.  The founding collection consisted of 500 works, primarily European Old Master paintings, important textiles and religious sculptures.  Today, it includes some 3,000 works from almost every major culture and period:, including European painting and sculpture from the 15th century to present, Seventh to 20th-century textiles, tapestries and ecclesiastical vestments and artifacts,  20th and 21st-century North American, Latin American, Asian and Caribbean, photographs, prints and drawings, and modern and contemporary architecture and design.    

The Bass Museum offers something for everyone. Audiences who appreciate traditional art will enjoy the Rococo and British Grand Manner portraits and Renaissance and Baroque paintings that are ongoing exhibitions. Audiences who appreciate contemporary art will always find something new, fresh, and cutting edge in the Museum's galleries. The Bass museum also dedicates space to emerging local and regional artists.

The Bass history is, in reality, a history of Miami Beach.

The first phase more than doubled the size of the museum. The original building—designed in 1930 by Russell Pancoast and regarded as an Art Deco landmark—was renovated, including the bas-relief friezes by Gustav Bohland on its façade.  In this phase a new wing was added to house galleries, offices and a museum shop. Added galleries give BMA a total of 16,000 square feet of gallery space. The new wing also features a reflecting pool, two ground-floor sculpture terraces, and a grand switchback ramp, which serves as a promenade for viewing important large-scale tapestries from the permanent collection. A second-phase expansion, slated for completion by 2010, will add another 33,000 square feet of galleries, classrooms and storage to accommodate expanded exhibitions and a growing collection.

Treasures from the Collection of the Bass Museum of Art is an ongoing exhibition which is a choice selection of BMA’s European paintings, sculpture and textiles, including Renaissance and Baroque paintings by masters such as Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Rubens, Bol, and Jordaens.

Current Exhibitions

Shortcuts between Reality and Fiction: Video, Installations and Painting from Le Fonds National d’Art Contemporain ( will be shown through January 29, 2006). This show features major works from Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, the largest international collection of contemporary art in France. Cutting-ed. e works by Thomas Hirschhorn, Pierre Huyghe, Bertrand Lavier, Alain Sechas, Xavier Veilhan and others will be displayed. Claude Closky will create a wallpaper installation in the museum café.

Future Exhibitions

Julio González: Sculpture and Drawings from the IVAM Collection  -- January 27-April 16, 2006). This show comprises approximately 42 rarely seen pieces from a collection of the artist’s 400 works held by the Valencia Institute of Modern Art in Spain.

I Wanna Be Loved by You: Photos of Marilyn Monroe --February 17-April 30, 2006 -- More than 200 photographs from the Leon and Michaela Constantiner Collection document Monroe’s life from the 1940’s through the year of her death, 1962.

Arturo Rodríguez: The Human Comedy --May 2 –August 13, 2006   --The Cuban-born - Miami-based Arturo Rodríguez paints large-scale canvases filled with enormous distorted heads.

Allegories of Haitian Life: from the Collection of Jonathan Demme, the Academy Award-winning film director  --May 2-August 13, 2006.   Guest curators Axelle Liautaud of Haiti and Candice Russell of South Florida have selected 80 choice artworks by Haiti’s best painters--Hector Hyppolite, Wilson Bigaud, André Pierre, Riguad Benoit and other self-taught masters like pioneer sculptor Georges Liautaud—from Demme’s private collection.    

Tapestries: Picasso, Matisse, Calder and Other Great 20th-century Modernists  --August 26 – October 8, 2006.   This unique exhibition explores the interplay between artists and weavers.  It looks closely at the tradition of tapestry and its reflection of 20th-century modernism.

Highlights

BMA’s intimate Sol M. Taplin Gallery, houses fine examples of French and Dutch portraits in the Rococo style and English Grand Manner portraiture from several of the founding fathers of the British Royal Academy. It is the setting for a lively series of exhibition-related events like chamber music concerts, lectures and films.

Prestigious corporate sponsors supported Bass Museum of Art major exhibitions. Bancaja, the Spanish bank, underwrote the presentation of Picasso: Suite 347. Ford Motor Company awarded nearly $260,000 to bring Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits to the Bass Museum.

Paris Moderne: Art Deco Works from the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris was a milestone exhibition for the new galleries to showcase exquisite examples of furnishings, paintings, sculpture and decorative objects from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.

Family Day festivities, related to the Retratos exhibition of Latin American portraits, attracted more than 4,000 adults and children to the museum last September. An all-day menu of free hands-on art projects, music and food was themed to Hispanic Heritage Month. Tours of the exhibition were offered in Spanish and English.

PHOTO IDS

1. Alain Sechas, Professor Suicide, 1995, mixed media installation, from the current exhibition: Shortcuts Between Reality and Fiction: Video, Installations and Painting from Le Fonds National D’Art Contemporain (Nov. 4, 2005  - January 29, 2006)
2. George Zimbel, MARILYN MONROE, NYC, copyright George S. Zimbel 1954/2004, courtesy Stephen Bulger Gallery, from the exhibition: I Wanna Be Loved By You: Photos of Marilyn Monroe (Feb. 17-April 30, 2006)
3. Fernand Leger, Sao Paolo, 1988, 8' X 6.3', from the exhibition: Tapestries: Picasso, Matisse, Calder and Other Great Twentieth Century Modernists (Aug. 26 - Oct 8, 2006)

Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Museum of Art has Rare King Tut Exhibition

Fort Lauderdale is literally being crowned by the king! Greater Fort Lauderdale will be home to the “mummy” of all exhibitions this month, when the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale welcomes the exhibition Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. More than 130 rare items and artifacts associated with the Egyptian “boy king” will be on display for the first time in the United States in nearly 30 years. The famous Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition last toured the country from 1976 to 1979.

“We are excited and honored Greater Fort Lauderdale is one of only four major cities to host this extraordinary exhibition,” said Nikki E. Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It will be wonderful to have King Tut spend the winter in warm and sunny Fort Lauderdale.  The Museum of Art has been host to several high-profile exhibitions and we look forward to continuing to support this and all other exhibitions through our marketing efforts.”

The new exhibition, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, began its U.S. debut with a five-month stay in Los Angeles before journeying to the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, where it arrived on December 15, for Tut’s first-ever appearance in the Sunshine State. The exhibition will then move onto Chicago’s Field Museum in May 2006.

“This is a truly wonderful thing for the County,” said Broward Mayor Kristin Jacobs.

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs features rare artifacts associated with the legendary “boy king,” who ascended to the throne of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty in 1333 B.C. at the age of 9 or 10 and died almost a decade later under questionable circumstances. Some items were among the 55 included in The Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition more than 25 years ago; others will be making their first appearance in a touring exhibition.

“No name in antiquity is shrouded in more mystery and, at the same time, is better known than King Tut,” said Irvin Lippman, the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale’s executive director. Lippman worked at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., when the earlier exhibition premiered there. “At the time,” he recalls, “this exhibition of Egyptian antiquities set a new model for a must-see event at an art museum. Our fascination with King Tut continues, and now the international spotlight once again shines on the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale as one of the hosts of Tutankhamun’s resplendent return to the United States, in a greatly enlarged exhibition enriched with new scholarship.”

Highlights among the 50 objects discovered during the excavation of Tut’s tomb include: a golden diadem, or crown, inlaid with colored glass and semiprecious stones; one of four miniature viscera coffins, also made of gold and inlaid with colored glass and semiprecious stones, that once contained the king’s mummified organs; and a painted wooden mannequin of the young king. The exhibition will also showcase more than 70 objects from other graves of members of the 18th Dynasty, including Tut’s great-grandparents.

To secure a ticket certificate for the “mummy of all exhibitions” now at Fort Lauderdale, through April 23, 2006, visit www.kingtut.org/tickets or www.sunny.org/tut. Ticket prices for Adults are $25 Monday-Friday, $30 Saturday and Sunday. For Seniors 65+ admission is $22.50 Monday-Friday, $27.50 Saturday and Sunday. Children ages 6-17 years tickets are $14 Monday-Sunday and children under six years of age are free. Group tickets are available by calling 877-787-7711. The Museum of Art/Fort Lauderdale is located at One East Las Olas Boulevard in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District.  

Miami Art Museum Names Jose Garcia Acting Director

Miami Art Museum (MAM) South Florida’s flagship museum featuring international art of the 20th and 21st centuries, announced today that Deputy Director Jose Garcia will assume the position of acting director effective January 1, 2006.  As Acting Director, Mr. Garcia will serve as the museum’s chief executive officer having full responsibility for day-to-day operations.  In April, Suzanne Delehanty, MAM director for the past 11 years, announced she was stepping down on December 31, 2005. 

Aaron Podhurst, chair of MAM’s board of trustees, said, “During her watch, Suzanne Delehanty built a strong staff.  Jose Garcia has been part of that team for nearly a decade and is a superb professional.  He will provide intelligent and able leadership to his colleagues on MAM’s staff during this transitional period.”

Mr. García currently holds the position of Deputy Director at MAM, where he has been a member of the senior staff since 1996.  Prior to joining MAM, Mr. Garcia served as Senior Auditor at Price Waterhouse, in Miami.  He was also Comptroller/Division Director for Miami-Dade County: Clerk of the Courts, and Audit Manager for the Audit and Management Services Department of Miami-Dade County.  At MAM, Mr. Garcia was promoted from Assistant Director for Administration to Deputy Director in 2003.  Mr. Garcia holds a BBA from the University of Miami in Business Administration and an MS in Accounting from the University of Miami.  His professional accounting affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountant.

In May 2005, MAM’s board of trustees formed a search committee to lead the process of appointing a new director for the museum.  Co-led by incoming President of the Board of Trustees Mary Frank and MAM trustee Ambassador Paul L. Cejas, the 13-member committee appointed New York firm Heidrick & Struggles to assist in the selection process.  Heidrick & Struggles is currently identifying candidates for the position of director of the Miami Art Museum. 

Accredited by the American Association of Art Museums, Miami Art Museum is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts; with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners.

Miami Art Museum is located at 101 West Flagler St., Miami; 305-375-3000 and www.miamiartmuseum.org.

Vizcaya—the One and Only

Anyone who has visited Vizcaya Museum and Gardens will agree that there is no-place in the world quite like it!  It is a “must-see” for both residents and tourists ands often the site of spectacular meetings and events.

Vizcaya is a National Historic Landmark. Some say “a national treasure.”  It is also a museum owned by Miami-Dade County and accredited by the American Association of Museums, VIzcaya is open 364 days each year and is a world-wide wonder -- a stunningly beautiful retreat in the heart of Miami,

Vizcaya was built by agricultural industrialist James Deering, who wintered on the property from 1916-1925. Today, the extraordinary European-inspired estate includes a Main House filled with art and furnishings, ten acres of gardens on Biscayne Bay, a hardwood hammock (native forest) and an historic village being restored for public enjoyment.

Despite sustaining damage from Hurricane Wilma this year, Vizcaya remains open to the public and, as a result of the storm, a Hurricane Relief Fund was established to help with the  necessary repairs.  Contributors may send a tax-deductible donation to The Vizcayans, 3251 South Miami Avenue, Miami, FL 33129.

Vizcaya’s history reminds people that -- at the time of its construction -- Miami had only 10,000 people, More than 1,000 workers were employed by Deering in the Vizcaya project, including laborers and craftsmen.  In addition to the house and  expansive gardens, the complex included a farm, livestock, and a variety of other service facilities  covering 180 acres on both sides of Miami Avenue.

The house was intended to appear as an Italian estate that had stood for 400 years and had been occupied and renovated by several generations of a family. It has 34 decorated rooms of 15th through 19th century antique furnishings and art objects. The house appears to be only two stories high but between the main public rooms and the bedrooms, there is an intervening level with 12 rooms for service and servants, Vizcaya intends to open these rooms to the public in the near future.

World Erotic Art Museum—a Major Attraction

There’s a new museum in Miami Beach—and it is getting lots of attention. It’s the brainchild of benefactor Naomi Wilzig, who formalized her personal collection when she opened the doors pf The World Erotic Art Museum, at 1205 Washington Avenue.

Valued at some $10 million, the collection, which recognized for its historic as well as its artistic value, is housed on 12,000 square feet of the mezzanine floor where patrons are greeted in a foyer dominated by the legendary Fountain of Diana, The Huntress. Proceeding through a carpeted series of fiber optic-lit cubicles, on display are an extraordinary mix of paintings, sculptures, and tapestries visually illustrating the historic perspective of erotic art drawn from the early days of the Roman Empire to the contemporary world of such memorable art sculptures as the famous male prop made famous in Stanley Kubrick’s controversial 1971 film, “A Clockwork Orange.”

A grandmother whose three children heartily endorse her passion, Wilzig is the widow of the late Siggi Wilzig, the CEO and President of The Trust Company of New Jersey who gained international prominence as a founder of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and as the first Holocaust survivor to lecture cadets at West Point. It was their eldest son, Ivan, now founder of the Peaceman Charitable Foundation, who entreated his mother to “bring me some erotic conversation pieces” for his bachelor apartment.

Now, nearly fourteen years later, visits to antique shops and flea markets across the United State and throughout Europe have resulted in Wilzig being acknowledged as one of the nation’s preeminent collectors of erotic art, amassing a collection of approximately 4,000 pieces considered to be the greatest collection of fine erotic art in the United States.

Declaring that collecting has long since passed being “my little pastime,” Wilzig feels strongly about the importance of the art she has accumulated.

“These works serve no great value sitting at home,” said Wilzig at the opening of the museum in October. “Centuries old oil paintings, water colors, rare sculptures and statues cast in bronze demand to be seen.  These are works of art that illustrate the evolution of erotica, the cultures and the time frames in which they were created.”

The World Erotic Art Museum contains a research library of over 250 volumes on erotic art purchased by Wilzig.  On site, patrons travel through time and artistic treasures depicting the Biblical era, Greek and Roman mythology, antiquities from Asia, China, Japan, India and Africa. Wilzig notes that three common themes reproduced throughout the centuries are Adam and Eve, Leda and the Swan (a Greek myth of adultery and seduction) and various representations of Satyrs and Nymphs.

In the world of contemporary art, the museum is home to countless works discovered through Wilzig’s travels throughout Europe and the United States.

Writer as well as collector, Wilzig has authored five books on her personal erotic art journey including “Forbidden Art the World of Erotica,” “Visions of Erotica,” “Erotic Secrets,” “Erotic Treasures,” and “Erotic Wonders.” An avid activist and philanthropist, Wilzig has also written “Lifeline to Eternity,” an award-winning   script on Jewish identity which was honored by the Women’s Division of Orthodox Congregations of America, and “The Suffering Survivor,” a poetic account of the Holocaust. She is also a frequent guest lecturer on how erotic art relates to human sexuality at several Pasco-Hernandez community colleges in New Port Richey and Brooksville.

Diversity and Tolerance are Themes of New Art Exhibit at Jewish Museum of Florida

The Joys of Tolerance – Reflecting Florida Diversity Through the Twelve Tribes exhibit, which opens today at the Jewish Museum of Florida, is the visual product of an extensive multidisciplinary search for the origin and formation of the Jewish people.

The integrated exhibit by renowned Mexico City multimedia artist Anette Pier has two types of visual elements. The first is 12 paintings representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel, which stem from Jacob’s 12 sons and from whom they obtained their name, according to the Book of Exodus. The second is a set of 12 photocompositions or “collages” which, in a similar vein, refer to each of the Tribes and include a portrait of a Floridian whom the artist believes embodies the characteristics and personality traits of the particular Tribe. 

The 12 oil paintings are each 48 inches by 48 inches and are presented in a precise order of four rows with three pieces per row, contained within one wall. The artist’s intention in her grouping is the recreation of Aaron’s breastplate used exclusively by the High Priest while serving in Solomon’s Temple 3,000 years ago. This garment was attributed to possess mystical powers that allowed for heavenly consultation on special occasions.

The awareness of and appreciation for diversity is also emphasized in the collages, which are each 36 inches by 40 inches. The collages complement the installation by amplifying the concept of diversity and its great benefits, and do so by integrating four different panels – symbol, color, important historical scenes related to the life of the Tribe and a retouched photographic portrait of a Floridian, who, according to the artist, embodies the characteristics and personality of the Tribe.

The 12 Tribes and their characteristics are Reuben (impulsive), Shimon (aggressive), Levi (dedicated to divine service), Judah (passionate), Issachar (wisdom), Zebulun  (merchant), Dan (warrior), Naphtali (graceful), Gad (military), Asher (happy and satisfied), Joseph (self-control) and Benjamin (modesty).

The exhibit is a contemporary artistic approach to the understanding and recognition of the diversity of the Jewish people and Jewish identity. It demonstrates the individual characteristics and universality of humankind and illustrates that tolerance is essential to the well-being of mankind.

“Through the use of the personal symbols and scenes that help define each Tribe, its essence and individual characteristics are illuminated,” Ms. Pier said. “In this manner I have tried to validate in an original, modern and aesthetic manner how the Jewish People, even at its inception, have always been much more than a group of individuals that practiced the same rites, worshipped similarly and dressed alike.”

The concept for the exhibit originated when the artist lived in Miami Beach from 1997 to 2001. “By no means is this a coincidence,” she explained. “During those years I had the opportunity of meeting a large variety of people stemming from all parts of the U.S.A. as well as from many other countries. I feel there is a great parallel between the diversity of the 12 Tribes and the diversity of the people of Florida.”

The Museum’s founding executive director and chief curator, Marcia Zerivitz, said she chose the exhibit for display because it supports the Museum’s mission of examining how Jews form part of a dynamic mosaic of ethnic groups in Florida, all seeking to balance the traditions of their heritage with the values and customs of a larger society.

The exhibit will be on display through February 26, 2006. Exhibit sponsors are American Express, the Dade Community Foundation and the Historical Museums Grants-in-Aid Program of the Bureau of Historical Museums, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, Secretary of State.

The Jewish Museum of Florida, which collects, preserves and interprets the Jewish experience since 1763, is located in a restored historic Art Deco building on South Beach that was formerly an Orthodox synagogue. The focal point of the Museum is MOSAIC: Jewish Life in Florida, its core exhibit, as well as temporary exhibits. A Collections & Research Center, several films, Timeline Wall of World, American and Jewish history and a Museum Store complete the experience for visitors of all ages and backgrounds. The Museum, accredited by the American Association of Museums, is located at 301 Washington Avenue, South Beach. Open daily 10am to 5pm except Mondays and civil and Jewish holidays. Admission: Adults/$6; Seniors and Students/$5; Families/$12; Members and children under 6/Free; Saturdays/Free. 

For information, call 305-672-5044 or visit www.jewishmuseum.com.