Film Program at CMA

After the renovation of CMA's original 1931 building, and specifically the transformation of our auditorium, we will launch a revitalized film program. The auditorium's new projection system, new sound system, and NEW SEATS will make for a dramatically improved viewing experience.

Film programs at museums are very common, and usually focus on screening foreign and domestic art films (that is, films that are artfully made, critically-acclaimed, and that offer an alternative to big-budget Hollywood fare), films important to the history of the medium, films made by art world personalities, experimental films, and documentaries.

Since the Wexner Center already does such a great job presenting this type of program, we want to do something different.

Conversation is a core value to CMA, and any film program we organize will be designed specifically to promote audience discussion. Years ago, when the OSU Photography and Cinema Alumni Society worked with us to present Friday-night screenings, the pre- and post-movie discussions were frequently the highlight of the night. The social interactions prompted by the screenings were what kept audiences coming back.

So, in the spirit of promoting conversation with our audience, I'd like to ask what kinds of film programming folks would like to see at CMA in the future. Would you like to see forgotten Hollywood classics, hosted by a film historian? Would you be interested in a 3-week Saturday afternoon film theory course? Would you rather watch full features or excerpted clips hosted by a guest lecturer? Have an innovative idea no other museum has presented? Let us know in the comments!

-Jeff Sims, Educator for Adult Programming/Multimedia Producer

The Clark Family

Recently, we put on display a selection of portraits from our permanent collection depicting the Clark family of Morrow County. The portraits,  painted in 1844, were recently "rediscovered" by Michael Hall, our adjunct curator of folk art. Through the generosity of a local donor, we were able to have the works conserved, but then the question became, who were these people? We put out a call to find any living descendants and were fortunate to have Cedric Coonfare, a descendant of Eliza Clark Barr, contact us. We were thrilled to be able to have Mr. Coonfare in to see the works and presented him with his own reproduction of Eliza's portrait. The Columbus Dispatch ran a wonderful piece on the discovery.

Art Speaks. Join the Conversation.

Nannette Maciejunes
CMA Executive Director

3-d Mona Lisa

This video from Scientific American is a news story about something going on in China. They took artwork and digitized it and made it into 3-d interactive pieces. It's very interesting.

Check it out here.

~Thomas Deliduka
Director of Information Technology

Three weeks and counting

In three weeks we'll be moving equipment into Beaton Hall. I'm getting quite excited because this will mark the end of 10 months of planning and preparation and the beginning of a new network and phone system for the Museum.

With this new network comes a brand new server room which will house all the systems that will power the museum including our front desk, Palette, membership database, and more.  To give more details would to compromise our computer security but suffice to say, a new day is dawning for the information technology needs at the CMA. It is all very exciting for a tech-head like me.

~Thomas Deliduka
Director of Information Technology

Changes..

There’s a French expression that says “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,” which most Americans know as “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”  Well, I can tell you unequivocally that there are big changes going on at the CMA and that things are not going to be the same.  The most visible change for those who know us is that, in preparation for the major renovation of our 1931 building (the one that faces Broad Street), we are reconfiguring the Museum Drive Lobby (that’s the north side of the museum that faces our parking lot).  All of the great books that David Tweet, our Museum Store manager selects for us have been moved out of the big lobby niche and put into the main Store area.  The formerly free-standing museum admissions desk will be moving into the book niche, thereby increasing lobby space for larger gatherings.  The walls of the Lobby are being clad in dry-wall, painted, and hung with a selection works from our permanent collection that will include a Monet, Corot, Bellows, Bierstadt, Ann Hamilton, and others. 

While our historic 1931 building is under renovation, other permanent collection works will be installed on the stairwell landings and in the spaces outside the final gallery of the “Chihuly Illuminated” exhibition.  Our visitors will have the chance to see some of their favorite paintings along with a great early Dan Flavin light piece that has not been on view in a number of years and a George Segal installation that is on loan to us.  All in all, the changes will bode well for things to come and the results will be a beautiful, renovated original building along with a new and fascinating reinstallation of our permanent collection, the plans for which the Curators and Educators are already working on.  Definitely, things will not be “la même chose” so stay tuned for great changes equaling  great experiences with great art at the CMA.

Dominique H. Vasseur

Curator of European Art