Curator Talk: Andrew Wallace at the Figge Art Museum -- September 2.

Thursday, September 2, 6:30 p.m.

Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA

The works of two artists with long, distinguished careers in photography and painting will be explored in a September 2 curator talk hosted by the Figge Art Museum, with the Davenport venue's director of collections and exhibitions Andrew Wallace speaking on the recently opened exhibition Jim Dine & Lee Friedlander: Work from the Same House.

Friends since the early 1960s, photographer Lee Friedlander and painter Jim Dine formed an early bond when Friedlander gave Dine a photograph he made on a trip to Cincinnati – not realizing Dine had been raised there. Since then, both artists have established themselves as giants of 20th-century visual art, and while similarities between their output may not at first be apparent, they share an eye for nuance and detail. As the combinations of photographs and etchings found in Work from the Same House – a collaborative portfolio created by the artists in 1969 – attest, the details are the primary subject of each’s work. The interesting and sometimes comic pairings found in Work from the Same House will challenge Figge visitors to see what the artists see.

As stated on Artnet.com, Jim Dine “is an American artist and poet known for his contributions to the formation of both Performance Art and Pop Art. Employing motifs which include Pinocchio, hearts, bathrobes, and tools, Dine produces colorful paintings, photographs, prints, and sculptures. 'I grew up with tools. I came from a family of people who sold tools, and I’ve always been enchanted by these objects made by anonymous hands,' Dine has said.

“Born on June 16, 1935 in Cincinnati, Ohio, he studied poetry at the University of Cincinnati before attending the University of Ohio where he received his BFA in 1957. After moving to New York in 1958, Dine became part of a milieu of artists which included Allan Kaprow and Claes Oldenburg, with whom he began to stage performances at sites in the city that later became known as Happenings. By the early 1960s, he had switched his focus towards painting, drawing on his interest in popular imagery and commercial objects. Though he was shown alongside Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, Dine never considered himself a member of the Pop Art movement. His works are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, among others.”

Lee Friedlander, meanwhile, is “a seminal American photographer known for his innovative images of city streets. Often featuring candid portraits of people, signs, and reflections of himself in store front windows, Friedlander’s street photography captures the unexpected overlaps of light and content in urban landscapes. 'I’m not a premeditative photographer,' he has said. 'You don’t have to go looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out and the pictures are staring at you.'

“Born on July 14, 1934 in Aberdeen, Washington, he studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena before moving to New York in 1956. Influenced by the work of Eugène Atgetand Walker Evans, he attempted to see things as if a step removed, spontaneously reacting to all the potential images in front of him. Along with Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand, Friedlander was represented in the historic New Documents exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in 1967, curated by John Szarkowski. He went on to publish his acclaimed photobook The American Monument in 1976. In 2010, Friedlander published America by Car, a book which was accompanied by an exhibition at the Whitney Museum and featured a series of photos that were taken on road trips from behind the wheel of rental cars. His photographs are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among others.”

Andrew Wallace presents his curator talk on Jim Dine & Lee Friedlander: Work from the Same House at 6:30 p.m. on September 2, a virtual option to the live program is available, and participation is free. The exhibit itself will be on display through November 14, and more information is available by calling (563)326-7804 and visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.

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