Rehauled, rehung: Yale art exhibits new director

KATHERINE ALDRICH/YH Yale University Art Gallery Director Jock Reynolds leads a photo criticism session.

Reynolds' social skills are immediately evident in the classroom setting. He seems at ease with the students in the photo criticism session, his colleagues, and the various museum assistants with whom he works on a daily basis. Despite having arrived at YUAG a mere six months ago, Reynolds, a visual artist by training, has integrated himself seamlessly into the Yale community and assumed the position of Gallery director with grace and poise. He has forcefully and enthusiastically begun his career at YUAG by assuming an active role within both the museum and the larger Yale community, pushing for the establishment of a range of programs to enhance the arts at Yale.

Museum on a mission

Reynolds emphasizes the primary role of the Gallery as a teaching museum, designed to provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to experience the art that they are studying in class first-hand. He praises Yale's extensive art resources, commenting, "What makes this museum unique, beyond the greatness of its collections, which rival a lot of the great city museums anywhere, is the fact that the primary mission of this institution is to be a teaching museum." Seeing the originals of works discussed in class adds an entirely new dimension to the study of art, providing students with a strong sense of connection to the artistic medium and to iconographic artists working within that medium. In accordance with this mission, the photography study session that Reynolds conducts is typical of programs in which Yalies gain exposure to pieces of art from the Gallery's storage collections. Any Yale student can seek out this kind of intimate interaction with specific works of art simply by making an appointment with the staff.

Reynolds hopes to incorporate the greater New Haven community into more programs for the arts at Yale. In accordance with University President Richard Levin's, GRD '74, initiative to integrate Yale and the community, Reynolds runs various programs to draw city residents to YUAG. One such program brings public-school children to the Gallery to expose them early on to great art, something that often fosters a lifelong love for the visual medium. The International Festival of Arts and Ideas, a two-week summer festival sponsored by both Yale and New Haven, provides another link between the University and the city. Reynolds hopes to expand upon these kinds of programs to integrate Yale and New Haven to an even greater extent in the future.

Taking art apart

Since September 1999, when he began his tenure as YUAG director with an adjunct faculty appointment in the Yale School of Art and the history of art department, Reynolds has initiated significant changes within the museum. He first recognized the general deficit of skilled museum staff while serving as director at the Addison Gallery in Andover, Mass. to maintain 12,000 pieces. Reynolds has hired five new art handlers since the beginning of the Yale academic year and has trained more temporary handlers for times when the collection is in great demand.

Reynolds has also initiated the rehanging of all of the Gallery's permanent installations, many of which have not been touched for several decades. Since June, every piece of art on display has been rearranged, and the interior gallery spaces have been renovated. "If you're creating this philosophy to have your collection used and made more accessible," Reynolds said, "you have to also get some practice in rotating these collections more quickly, getting to know your collections better, moving things around, and realizing that sometimes just changing the position of a painting, putting it next to another painting, makes it very exciting." He also stressed that the rehanging program functions as practice for future renovations that will change the entire look of the gallery.

These renovations will not only affect YUAG, but all of Yale's art departments. Since the mid-'90s, faculty members and administrators have been planning an overhaul of Yale's art facilities. After Reynolds arrived, a programming committee convened to identify the collective needs of the YUAG faculty, staff, and student patrons, and drafted a plan for the Gallery's expansion.

KATHERINE ALDRICH/YH YUAG plans to dramatically increase its gallery space for exhibitions.

In the next several years, the University will begin renovations on the two buildings between YUAG and Street Hall on Chapel Street. YUAG plans to extend its public galleries into these buildings, dramatically increasing its gallery space and permitting the exhibition of a much greater percentage of the collection. The museum is also currently raising money for the construction of a separate building to house the portions of their collections now in storage, specifically the contemporary art, American decorative art, and African art collections. The new facility will have ready-access storage areas with study classrooms next to them, giving students and professors convenient and direct access to Yale's holdings. Expansion of the existing Digital Media Center, construction of a new history of art building located next to the current Art & Architecture building, an arts library, and a new theater are among the additional projects proposed for the near future.

To facilitate access to all of the works in the University's possession, YUAG, in addition to Sterling Memorial Library and the Beineke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, is in the process of compiling a digital card catalog using The Museum System, a software program that serves such museums as the Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The catalog keeps relevant information and images of each work of art on file in a comprehensive database. In the next couple of years, the catalog will be completed. Yale students will then be able to view the entirety of the University's art collection, possibly from terminals located throughout YUAG, in addition to other locations.

`Defining Moments' with undergrads

The Gallery has many new exhibits planned for the spring and fall of this year. This spring, YUAG is running "Modern Gothic," an exhibition focusing on the development of Gothic sensibilities in art and architecture, a subject relevant to the design of many buildings on the Yale campus. Next year, the Gallery is planning a large show, "Defining Moments," as part of Yale's tercentennial celebration. The exhibit will trace the history of the Gallery since John Trumbull founded it in 1832, combining the artistic and architectural aspects of the Gallery with the notable individuals who have been involved in its operation. "Imagining African Art: Documentation and Transformation" will trace the influence of African visual arts on the development of American culture. It will include works of contemporary African art and photographs. Among other shows, YUAG also plans to host an exhibit of Philip Guston's works, a show of American miniature portraits featuring images of mourning, love, and loss, and an exhibit focusing on the advent of the camera and the corresponding influence of photography on portraiture, among other shows.

Reynolds places as much importance on the Gallery's relationship with Yale's undergraduate community as he does on the art that YUAG exhibits. A number of programs are currently in place to incorporate undergrads into YUAG. They include a new student Gallery Guide program run by undergraduate volunteers, the established student docent program, the production of an undergraduate art journal, and a storytelling program that incorporates New Haven public school children into the University community. In addition, Reynolds hopes to keep the Gallery open at least one Thursday or Friday night each month to make the collection more accessible to busy students.

Reynolds' reception by student volunteers who work with him at YUAG has been quite favorable. "Jock Reynolds has been a tremendous advocate for our program," Alexandra Rethore, student coordinator of the docent program, remarked. "He brings an enthusiasm for the various mediums and a more technical understanding about the construction and display of art objects than a strictly art historical background would otherwise have provided. Jock is an incredible asset not only for the Gallery Guides, but also for the Gallery as a whole."

Controversy and excellence

Although students received Reynolds warmly, rumors of criticism of the appointment of a practicing artist rather than an art historian have circulated through the Yale community. Reynolds denied that any prominent museum figures resigned as a result of his appointment. He added that he received an enthusiastic welcome from the University's art faculty. His reception, he believes, has not been influenced by preconceptions, but rather has been determined by his ability to lead the Gallery and to mediate between students, faculty, and community members. He asserts that he was cordially accepted because of his desire to "reinforce inquiry, curiosity, enjoyment, and excellence on every front."

With a combination of these progressive goals and an energetic approach to every aspect of running the Gallery, Reynolds seems to be a great asset to the University as a whole. His knowledge and vision have already effected significant change within the YUAG, and if his philosophy of administration translates into action, Yale will continue to benefit greatly from Reynolds' presence on campus. "Yale already has programs and facilities in the arts unmatched by any major university in the world," Reynolds said. And he hopes that under his direction, Yale will continue and strengthen this reputation, both in the art world and among its students.

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