“Maira Kalman: The Elements of Style”
June 6–September 1, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 14, 2014)—The Frist Center for the Visual Arts presents Maira Kalman: The Elements of Style from June 6–September 1, 2014, in the Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery. The exhibition features paintings by artist, illustrator and author Maira Kalman, which were created to illustrate a 2005 re-publication of William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s classic composition guide The Elements of Style.
Renowned as an authoritative treatise on clear and effective writing, The Elements of Style has offered distinctive guidance to readers since its debut in 1919 as a classroom text by Cornell University professor William Strunk Jr. In 1957 the author E.B. White, a former student of Strunk’s, was asked to edit what was known around the Cornell campus as “the little book,” for the general public. Today, after multiple printings and editions, The Elements of Style remains a delightful and famously idiosyncratic handbook for writers.
Charmed and inspired by what she calls the “glorious, nutty, cinematic, eccentric and wise” language of the text, Maira Kalman decided to create illustrations to accompany the text for a new edition. The result, The Elements of Style (Illustrated), was published by Penguin Books in 2005, and features paintings that respond to the text’s exacting grammatical decrees and peculiar usage examples, e.g., “It was a unique eggbeater,” with wit, whimsy and the artist’s own vivid imagination. “Kalman embraces all that she observes and experiences. Her joie de vivre is infectious,” says Dr. Susan H. Edwards, executive director of the Frist Center. “We as readers and viewers feel empowered to make expansive leaps back and forth recalling her voluminous sources from literature, art and poetry, as well as her delightful appreciation of everything from a donut to the idea that a person wearing alligator shoes would have an alligator on each foot.”
Kalman’s 56 paintings, all gouache on paper, feature strong colors, flattened spaces, floating objects, and childlike figures that provide settings for riddles. The viewer asks: How does the image reflect the text, and what, if anything, is wrong with the text, anyway? This provides enjoyable experiences in both literary and visual literacy. Reflecting on the painting “‘Be Obscure Clearly’ Be wild of tongue in a way we can understand!” Dr. Edwards notes, “Kalman’s accompanying illustration is a table filled with special treats: champagne, champagne glasses, chocolates, anemones, tulips, compotes, crystal goblets, teacups and plates with a rose pattern…all pink and white and red on a neutral tablecloth in a caramel colored room. It is clearly articulated for us. Eat dessert first.”
Nico Muhly, a contemporary classical music composer who has collaborated with a number of classical and pop/rock artists, created an accompanying song cycle scored for soprano, tenor, viola, banjo and percussion. In the Frist Center installation, visitors will be able to listen to the music while viewing the paintings. “The addition of Nico Muhly’s composition adds an unexpected twist,” says Frist Center Chief Curator Mark Scala. “Just as the artwork grew out of a literary text, the songs exemplify ways that inspiration can cross disciplines to delightful effect.” Looping the exhibition into another dimension, Kalman will also curate, in the gallery, a table of objects that were used by her friends and family to make soft percussive noises in the performance of Muhly’s composition. Visitors may listen intently to identify the sound that a cup and saucer might make.
As a special aspect of the installation, Kalman will hand-paint the exhibition’s title onto the wall during the media preview. Scala explains that Kalman’s hand is in such evidence throughout her paintings, “that we thought it would be wonderful to have her participate in the actual design of the exhibition. By performing this action in front of an audience, she will remind viewers that an exhibition is, among other things, the ‘theater of presentation.’”
About the Artist
Maira Kalman achieved international acclaim with her cover illustrations for the New Yorker, which include the renowned New Yorkistan, a “map” made in collaboration with Rick Meyerowitz that playfully designates various boroughs and neighborhoods with the Asian geographical suffix “istan.” She has also created illustrated blogs for the New York Times and written such books as The Principles of Uncertainty (2006–07) and The Pursuit of Happiness (2008–09). In 2010, The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia) organized Kalman’s retrospective Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World), which was also seen at The Jewish Museum (New York City), the Skirball Cultural Center (Los Angeles), and the Contemporary Jewish Museum (San Francisco). She has been represented by the Julie Saul Gallery in New York since 2003.
Exhibition Credit
This exhibition was organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, Tennessee.
Elements of Style composed by Nico Muhly. Used by Permission from St. Rose Music, New York.
Sponsor Acknowledgment
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is supported in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Related Public Programs
Saturday, June 7
Artist’s Tour: Maira Kalman: The Elements of Style Presented by Maira Kalman
12:00 p.m.
Gallery admission required; members free
Meet at exhibition entrance
Illustrator Maira Kalman insists that one needn’t be an English major to have fun with the rules of grammar. Join the artist for a discussion of her sources of inspiration for her delightful drawings for William Strunk Jr., and E. B. White’s The Elements of Style and her experiences working with composer Nico Muhly to create a song cycle inspired by the wordsmiths’ perennially popular treatise.
CONTACT
Buddy Kite: 615-744-3351, ”
Ellen Jones Pryor: 615-243-1311, ”
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About the Frist Center
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit art exhibition center dedicated to presenting and originating high quality exhibitions with related educational programs and community outreach activities. The Frist Center offers the finest visual art from local, regional, national, and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions that inspire people through art to look at their world in new ways. Located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tenn., the Frist Center’s Martin ArtQuest Gallery (open until 5:30 p.m. each day) features interactive stations relating to Frist Center exhibitions. Information on accessibility at the Frist Center is found at http://www.fristcenter.org/accessibility”>http://http://www.fristcenter.org/accessibility. Gallery admission to the Frist Center is free for visitors 18 and younger and to members. Frist Center admission is $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for seniors, military and college students with ID. College students are admitted free Thursday and Friday evenings (with the exception of Frist Fridays), 5–9 p.m. Discounts are offered for groups of 10 or more with advance reservation by calling (615) 744-3247.The Frist Center galleries, Café and Gift Shop are open seven days a week: Mondays through Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. and Sundays, 1–5:30 p.m., with the Frist Center Café opening at noon. Additional information is available by calling (615) 244-3340 or by visiting our website at http://www.fristcenter.org.
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