the 1950s (David Cateforis); and de Kooning and the continu- 

 ity of tradition (Carter Ratcliff). 



Other public programs presented in conjunction with the 

 de Kooning exhibition used age-specific learning approaches 

 and the film medium to deepen understanding of the artist's 

 work. "Children, Clay, and de Kooning" (October 23 and No- 

 vember 13) introduced children to making sculpture with a 

 gallery visit and a one-hour hands-on workshop to make a 

 "masterpiece." A "Currents" seminar (October 31) invited area 

 high-school ]uniors to explore de Kooning's work and cultural 

 context in a half-day of discussions, gallery visits, film clips, 

 and slides. The Hirshhorn's film series featured programs 

 highlighting de Kooning: "De Kooning I" (October 28) included 

 a selection from films by Erwin Leiser, the noted Swiss filmmaker 

 and friend of the artist's; the selections chronicled the artist at 

 work in his Long Island studio. "De Kooning II" (November 4 

 and 6) featured Robert Snyder's 1968 short that included archival 

 footage of de Kooning discussing Abstract Expressionism with 

 artist Franz Kline and critic Harold Rosenberg and relating his 

 influences and inspirations. Also shown was Chaim Souttne, in 

 which de Kooning discusses the work of this School of Paris 

 painter. "De Kooning III" (November 18) presented Charlotte 

 Zerwin and Courtney Sale Ross's portrait of the artist from 1981, 

 de Kooning on De Kooning, narrated by Dustin Hoffman. 



The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden won the 

 Graphics Design Award at the Second Annual Smithsonian In- 

 stitution Exhibition Awards Ceremony for its graphics design 

 for the Willem de Kooning exhibition. 



The Mordes Lecture in Contemporary Art, sponsored by 

 Dr. Marvin and Elayne Mordes of Baltimore, was inaugurated 

 on October 31 with a lecture by Germano Celant, an Italian cu- 

 rator and essayist. Currently curator of contemporary art at 

 the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Celant 

 championed Italy's Arte Povera movement in the late 1960s 

 and, more recently, the diverse work of Rebecca Horn, Mario 

 Merz, and Claes Oldenburg. The Mordes Lecture in Contem- 

 porary Art is now an annual series at the Hirshhorn Museum 

 and Sculpture Garden. 



Following that ma|or exhibition, full-scale exhibitions at 

 the Hirshhorn continued with "Gary Hill" (February 17— May 

 8, 1994). Organized by Chris Bruce, senior curator at the 

 Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington in Seattle, 

 the exhibition brought together nine video installations by 

 the Seattle-based artist. Hill's seamless integration of form, 

 movement, and language, widely known in Europe, was re- 

 flected in such works as Crux. 1983—87, in which video images 

 ot the artist's hands, feet, and head as he walks down a hillside 

 appear in a larger-than-life, cross-shaped composition of moni- 

 tors. Installation of the exhibit presented unique technical 

 challenges for Hirshhorn staff. After launching its six-ory na- 

 tional tour at the Hirshhorn, the exhibition traveled to Seat- 

 tle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York In 

 coniunction with the Gary Hill exhibit, the Hirshhorn tea- 

 turcd a talk by the artist on February 17. A richly illustrated 

 catalog with several essays accompanied the exhibition 



Another full-scale exhibition at the Hirshhorn was 

 "Felix Gonzales-Torres: Traveling" (June 16-September II, 

 1994). This Washington, D.C., version of a ma|or, three-part 

 collaborative touring show was the first large-scale museum 

 ptesentation of works by Felix Gonzales-Torres, a Cuban- 

 born, New York — based artist. In his mixed-media installa- 

 tions, Gonzales-Torres transformed wrapped candies, stacks of 

 paper, and strings of lights into ruminations on personal expe- 

 rience, the body, and social issues. Co-organized by Hirshhorn 

 curator Amada Cruz and curators from the Museum of Con- 

 temporary Art in Los Angeles, where the venue-specific show 

 began its tour, and the Renaissance Society at the University 

 of Chicago, where it closed, the show illustrated unique col- 

 laboration among the museums and the artist in presenting 

 the works in three parts. In addition to designing a book with 

 essays to accompany the exhibition, the artist spoke at the 

 Hirshhorn on June 28. New York — based art historian and 

 critic David Deitcher conducted a lecture titled "The Every- 

 day Art of Felix Gonzales-Torres" on July II at the Hirshhorn, 

 attracting a lively dialogue in the audience. The lecture, sup- 

 ported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution Educa- 

 tional Outreach Fund, was cosponsored with the 

 Smithsonian's Lesbian and Gay Issues Committee. 



The "Directions" series of one-gallery solo shows, mean- 

 while, continued with three distinct installments underscor- 

 ing the vitality of contemporary art. "Directions — Glenn 

 Ligon: To Disembark" (November II, 1993-February 20, 

 1994), an exhibition of new work by New York — based artist 

 Glenn Ligon, explored issues of identity in ptints imitating 

 19th-century runaway posters and the title pages of slave narra- 

 tives, cratelike sculptures invoking Henry "Box" Brown's he- 

 roic self-shipment to freedom in 1849, and wall drawings of 

 texts by Zora Neale Hurston on "being colored." Taking its 

 title from Gwendolyn Brooks's 1981 book of poems, the exhibi- 

 tion was accompanied by a free, illustrated brochure with an 

 interview by organizing curator Phyllis Rosenzweig. 



"Directions — Sue Coe" (March 17-June 19, 1994) included 

 large-scale, mixed-media narrative drawings from the past ten 

 years by Sue Coe, a British-born, London-educated artist now 

 based in New York. Her work is typified by emblematic sce- 

 narios of violence against women, racism, worker exploitation, 

 and war unfolding in dark interiors, streets, or landscapes. A 

 free, illustrated brochure with an interview by Frank Get- 

 tings, the Hirshhorn's curator of prints and drawings, accom- 

 panied the exhibition. 



"Directions — Jeanne Dunning" (July 21-November 2, 1994), 

 an exhibition of 10 new color photographs, mostly incorporating 

 body imagery, and two video works by this Chicago-based artist, 

 highlighted Dunning's use of extreme close-ups, alterations in 

 scale, latex, and evocative ob|ects like food and toys to create com- 

 pelling, often bizarre and witty images. Organized by curator 

 Amada Cruz, the exhibition was accompanied by a free, 

 illustrated brochure with an essay by Cruz. The exhibition trav- 

 eled to the Museum of Contemporary An in Chicago after leav- 

 ing the Hirshhorn. 



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