New director sculpts Art Gallery's future

By Diana Tuite

Courtesy of the Yale Office of Public Affairs Jock Reynolds, future director of the YUAG

Reynolds received his graduate degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1969, and went on to teach for some time before heading to art school. At the University of California at Davis, Reynolds trained in sculpture, obtaining a master's degree in the fine arts. After graduate school, he communicated his artistic vision by designing sets for several experimental theater companies. It was in this environment that he met Suzanne Hellmuth, his wife and artistic complement.

Whether working on studio-based artwork for gallery circuits or large-scale installations, Reynolds and Hellmuth have collaborated since 1975. They often work on institutional commissions which involve extensive historical research. The two particularly enjoyed an installation they did for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the subject of military technology. After delving into the university archives for information on World War II, they collected data and images for a subequent installation on radar technology.

In 1995, Reynolds and Hellmuth installed an architectural and photographic piece at the University of Wash-ington's medicinal herb garden in Seattle. They designed cedar buildings and outdoor furniture for the entrance to the botanical garden, the largest medicinal herb garden in this hemisphere.

Reynolds, who is on the board of directors of the Will-iamstown Art Conservation Center, has recently become fascinated by the conservationist aspects of the art world. Along with Dr. Richard Powell, who heads the history of art department at Duke University, Reynolds has forged ahead to preserve the art collections of six historically black colleges. The two have arranged for 12 student interns to become involved in the conservation process, which is conducted out of the Williamstown Center. Reynolds explained that they are trying to "recruit students at an undergraduate level to an awareness of conservation as a career." The project will culminate in an exhibition of these works at the Addison Gallery.

When asked about his familiarity with the YUAG collection, Reynolds recalled physical visits to the gallery, as well as a sense of historical inevitability. During his decade at the Addison, Reynolds came to New Haven frequently, either to catch exhibitions or visit faculty friends at the school of art. He noted that "there are many overlapping points in history between Andover and Yale." Charles Sawyer, class of 1929, was dean of the Yale School of Art before his appointment as first director of Andover's Addison Gallery, and, as Reynolds pointed out, "He was the man who brought Joseph Albers to Yale."

On the day that he decided to take the job at the YUAG, Reynolds wound his way from the basement of the gallery to the top floor. He could not move through the collection of Greek art without being reminded of the Iliad and the Odyssey, staples of the Yale English curriculum. Despite his strong background in American art, Reynolds knew he would be comfortable making the transition to a gallery replete with Greek, Etruscan, and pre-Columbian work.

The many facets of Reynolds's experience--artist, educator, curator, and museum administrator--have made him eager to address the plurality of gallery functions. Both he and his wife grew up in university communities, and thus cannot conceive of the University as insular in its resources. At Andover, Reynolds coordinated a number of gallery visitation programs with local elementary schools and other community-based groups, as well as the construction of living space for artists in residence.

"I feel very encouraged talking to President Levin, GRD '74, about his commitment to making New Haven thrive as a city," Reynolds commented. Through funding from the President's office, the gallery will remain open this August in order to provide more access to Yale's collections while the Center for British Art continues to undergo roof repairs. A significant part of the gallery's effort to extend its involvement with the city and the University will come with a centrifuge of renovation and revitalization in the near future. According to Reynolds, Yale administrators have pledged to rebuild and expand many facilities along the Chapel Street corridor; the school of art, for example, can expect a new digital art center. As Reynolds tells it, the Administration is exploring the logistics for a gallery renovation which would not impinge on their public programming. Reynolds anticipates that "programs will have more intersections between all of the art institutions, and traditional boundaries of cooperation will be expanded."

Although the YUAG's permanent collection includes over 80,000 objects and paintings, the majority of the collection is currently in storage, with a portion on display in off-site locations. Typically, museums do not display the majority of their works; rather, they arrange for the collection to be made available for study. This is the situation which Reynolds hopes to improve the most. "We have to determine how to make the entire collection more accessible as a teaching resource through study storage areas," he said.

Opening the entire collection in this manner will also yield advantages for the future holdings of the gallery. Reynolds seems well-acclimated to his role as director and main fundraiser when he admits that a gallery redesign would encourage people to continue bequeathing their collections to the University. "No one wants to give works that become entombed," he said.

Reynolds hopes to achieve a balance between the historical and the contemporary through ongoing acquisition of collections. He expressed surprise at the extent of contemporary art showcased in the current exhibition "Now and Then: Art Since 1945 at Yale," but still hopes for more. For this exhibition, Joachim Pissarro, the Seymour H. Knox Jr. Curator of European and Contemporary Art, borrowed perspicaciously from other institutions. Reynolds hopes to continue this practice, showing greater continuity in Yale's own collection, and enabling a greater rotation of the artwork. Rotation, in turn would permit the gallery to organize more traveling exhibitions.

In his preoccupation with the dialogue between contemporary and historical collections, Reynolds shares a simpatico attitude with much of his curatorial staff. "I think that, like myself, the staff can stretch into the historical to put up an exhibition, but does not do so exclusively." Their talents, Reynolds asserts, carry them from Rembrandt to Mel Bochner. With spatial issues solved, the museum could begin to host more paintings from other museums and galleries as a supplement to its lacunae. And in addition, Reynolds looks to represent Yale artists who have not yet been collected.

In his new post, Reynolds expects not only to continue working on his own art, but also to teach a graduate course in the future. As the gallery looks to the future, Reynolds demands the same artistic engagement from the University and general public: "Under my leadership, I hope we will expand the interaction with the art history department, the school of art, and others beyond the University--people who make their livings with their hands and eyes."

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