C.R. art museum showcasing tiny, big works for summer

Visitors will feel both big and small viewing the summer exhibitions at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

The three back galleries on the main floor may even evoke a claustrophobic feeling while guests stroll among the 24 pieces in “Thinking Big: Large-Scale Works from the Collection,” curator Julia Jessen said, “because there are these very large things that are surrounding you.

“It’s an interesting experience to move from one gallery that has depictions of wide-open spaces that are very large, and you have more space, into another gallery (that’s) a little smaller and you have very large-scale depictions of interior spaces. You feel kind of a change in how your body feels in those different galleries.”

Go to the back gallery upstairs, and even the smallest visitors will feel like giants when viewing the 54 pieces in “Tiny Wonders: Small-Scale Works from the Collection.”

“It's quite a few more than we typically have in that gallery,” Jessen noted, “because they are quite small.”

She devised the summer pairing to offer joy for all ages.

“Having these two exhibitions going on at the same time seemed like a fun way to have two really playful exhibitions on their own, but then also exhibitions that could play off of each other,” she said, “and give our visitors the experience of viewing some very, very small artworks. And then also seeing what it feels like to go from viewing very small artworks to these very large works as well, and how that experience differs.”

They also let viewers learn about artists working at very different scales, she said, adding that working in miniature can be just as time-consuming and challenging as working on large pieces.

Tiny Wonders

The museum’s website says the “Tiny” exhibition “highlights small works of art from the collection that make a big impact. Working small allows artists to emphasize minuscule details and focus the viewer’s attention on otherwise unnoticed elements of a scene or object. Tiny artworks encourage close looking and a greater intimacy between the object and the viewer. These small-scale creations can nonetheless elicit oversized emotions.”

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All ages are gravitating toward Yinka Shonibare’s 2002 “Untitled” dollhouse that measures just 13 inches by 8 inches by 9.5 inches. Fully furnished, it’s displayed with the interior facing out, so visitors can see the fine details.

“We wanted to focus on the interior, and the tiny little furniture and tiny artworks that are decorating it, that you are able to see inside,” Jessen said.

“This one’s really interesting because the artist is inspired by his own home in London. But he’s also thinking about identity. He’s thinking about his own African heritage as well as a British African person. And so he’s thinking about a lot of different things there,” she said, noting the dollhouse contains upholstery with an African batik fabric.

“It’s very much inspired by what the artist is thinking about, as far as identity and culture.”

The “Tiny” exhibition also features prints, drawings, paintings, pins with metal elements, a tiny book, a stamp set with an ink pad, where the stamp is the art, and three-dimensional objects, including “very small” turned-wood vessels.

“I’ve seen quite a few people being captivated by those, just with the skill required to be able to create tiny turned-wood vessels,” Jessen said.

Grant Wood also is represented, with his self-portrait in brass from about 1925, measuring just 3 inches by 2 inches by 1 inch.

Thinking Big

On the opposite end of the size spectrum, the museum’s website says “Thinking Big” is designed to “investigate the effects artists can achieve by working big. Large-scale art can dominate a space and immerse the viewer, creating a sense of importance and impact. These artworks demand attention not only through their size, but also through the monumental visions of their creators.”

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For example, Fred Easker’s 1978 oil painting, “David’s Fantasy Wall,” measures 78 inches by 48 inches, and the pieces in the late Ulfert Wilke’s 1980 abstract tryptic, “The Fourteenth of July,” measure 64 by 44 inches, 70 inches by 94 inches, and 64 inches by 44 inches.

Easker of Cedar Rapids typically uses light in his realistic paintings. Jessen said in this instance, it casts a shadow that looks like a superhero cape on his Art Center guard, and the sunglasses create a kind of mask. (Side note: Easker previously served as the assistant director at the Cedar Rapids Art Center.)

“He’s thinking about this whole imagined fantasy that the security guard could be having while he’s very bored, standing in the gallery observing things. And so in that way, he also becomes kind of monumental or over-lifesize in his fantasy world,” Jessen said. “It's interesting the ways that artists are depicting things.”

Wilke, who served as the first director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art when it opened in 1969, was part of the abstract expressionism movement, and was fascinated by calligraphy. While Cedar Rapids Museum of Art officials aren’t sure of the significance of titling his tryptic “The Fourteenth of July,” executive director Sean Ulmer noted that date was the late artist’s birthday, so perhaps that was the inspiration. Wilke, born in Germany, died in Hawaii in 1987 at age 80.

In the work’s accompanying label, Jessen said: “We’ve talked mostly about his interest in calligraphy — thinking about language, and much of his work being derived from abstract interpretations of shades of colors, and meanings of writings that he’s found throughout his study of poetry, and ancient engravings that he was looking at (from Asia and the Middle East).”

Free Summer

From July 2 to Sept. 1, admission to the museum will be free for all ages. It’s the 15th year of the program.

“We’re excited to be welcoming more audiences in during that time,” Jessen said, “taking down one of the barriers to access. We want to make sure that we’re being as accessible as we possibly can. And these seem like great exhibitions to have up during a time when we’ll hopefully be seeing more traffic.”

She’s confident kids will enjoy the “Tiny” and “Big” displays, too.

“In ‘Thinking Big,’ I think they may feel kind of odd — or hopefully inspired — by seeing these huge works of art that might make them feel even smaller in comparison. And then in ‘Tiny,’ I think everyone — not only kids — is often very fascinated and charmed by very small, minuscule things. And so I think there’s a lot to offer in that exhibition that will make them feel very charmed and kind of enchanted by these different things that we have on display.”

The museum welcomes children, and offers scavenger hunt sheets across from the front desk to enhance their experience. Kids also are encouraged to bring a sketchbook and pencil (not colored pencils or pens), and if they need a hard surface to write on, to use a bench, the floor or a friend’s back — not the walls or artifact cases.

While the building used to house the city’s public library, talking is allowed in the museum, using soft voices, as well as soft footing as they walk, so others can enjoy their visit, too.

And finally, don’t touch the art. That’s a reminder for all ages, Jessen said.

“It’s not only true for children. Sometimes adults have problems with that, too,” she said. If that’s the case, she recommends holding your hands behind your back as you walk through the galleries.

“We want to make sure that we’re preserving things for as long as possible. The more that we touch, the more that we transfer any oils or dirt or grime from our hands onto the artwork, the less longevity they’ll have. Although you may not immediately see any damage, it’s something that does accumulate and does end up impacting the work into its future.”

Grant Wood Studio

Also free is admission to Grant Wood’s studio/home a few blocks away, at 5 Turner Alley. He and his mother lived there from 1924 to 1934, and the Eastern Iowa native painted his most famous work, “American Gothic,” in the loft apartment that sits atop a former carriage house. He created hideaway niches for beds, closets, tables and cupboards.

“In a way, that’s also an interesting space to think about in relation to ‘Tiny Wonders,’ ” Jessen said. “We can think about his home and studio as being kind of like an example of tiny house living — maybe not to the scale that we see it today on all of these different shows. But there is definitely an element of really maximizing the space that they have there, and doing really creative things to utilize those spaces in different ways.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com