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FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
WHITE HOUSE SCULPTURE GARDEN
THE WHITE HOUSE
NOVEMBER 6, 1998
It's a great pleasure to welcome all of you to the White House, and
to see so many advocates for the arts, as well as some of America's
leading sculptors and their families. Just yesterday, here at the White
House, we held the awards ceremony for the nation's highest honors in
the arts and humanities. And we celebrated -- as we do here -- the
unique and indispensable role that the arts play in shaping our nation and
enriching our lives.
I'm so glad that all of you have just had the opportunity to view the
remarkable works of art that make up our current sculpture exhibit. As
some of you know, when the President and I first moved into the White
House -- we realized that there was not a single piece of sculpture
anywhere on the grounds. So with the help of a friend, designer Kaki
Hockersmith, and J. Carter Brown -- the former director of the National
Gallery of Art -- we began to plan for an outdoor sculpture garden
showcasing America's contemporary artists. The easiest part was
selecting the perfect White House location -- the beautiful Jacqueline
Kennedy garden -- named for the First lady who believed so strongly
that art should be a part of everyone's daily life.
2
As some of you know, my husband and I spent our first date in the
sculpture garden of the art gallery at Yale -- surrounded by the massive
works of Henry Moore. But art has always been a vital part of both of
our lives -- and one of the great privileges of our years here at the White
House has been to work toward ensuring that all Americans --
particularly our young people -- have the opportunity to be enriched and
transformed and engaged by the art in their lives.
This is the seventh sculpture exhibition we have held here since
1994 -- as we continue to showcase America's leading sculptures
provided by museums across the country. But this exhibit of 20th
century American sculpture has a special twist. Each of the pieces
reflects the breathtaking diversity of America's artistic tradition -- yet
they are all inspired by the great French artist, Auguste Rodin. Rodin
has earned the well-deserved title of the "father of modern sculpture" --
both by adhering to convention -- and yet daring to break away from it.
And we see his influence in these magnificent works.
3
Whether using limestone or granite, marble or bronze, each one of
these artists has interpreted the human form in dramatically different
ways, challenging us to re-examine images we thought were familiar --
the softness of a child's hand; a body reaching upward; a family portrait.
Part of Rodin's genius was to create only a partial figure-- so that
we could use our imaginations to complete it. And it's that enlivening
of our imaginations that we are celebrating here today. Particularly as
we approach the next millennium, we look to our artists, and musicians,
and writers and philosophers, to express who we are as a nation -- and
to help us imagine our future.
The very diversity of the works in this exhibit is a reflection of our
democratic heritage -- where different expressions, beliefs and ideas not
only exist side by side -- but deepen our appreciation of our common
humanity.
4
I'm thrilled that three of the artists whose work is displayed in this
exhibit have been able to join us today. I want to welcome Stephen de
Staebler (Deh- STAY-BLER); Bryan Hunt, and George Segal, as well as
their families and friends. I understand a number of family members of
William Zorach (ZOR-ACK) are here as well. Thank you all for joining
us; but more so -- for challenging and delighting us with your work.
I believe I am speaking for most of you when I say that artists are
always indebted to the hard work and generosity of others who have
supported and exhibited their work over the years. And here, I want to
express my deep appreciation to those who made this exhibit possible.
First to Arnold Lehman, director of the Brooklyn Museum of Art -- who
organized and curated this exhibit. The sculptures themselves were lent
by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation; the Brooklyn Museum of
Art; the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut; the Museum of Modern Art
in New York; the National Gallery of Art here in Washington; the
Neuberger Museum of Art, at Purchase College, New York; the Isamu
Noguchi [EE-SAM-OO Na-GOO-CHEE] Foundation in Long Island
City, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
5
I also want to thank Betty Monkman, the White House Curator,
and the members of the Committee for the Preservation of the White
House and the White House Historical Association. We could not do
any of this without your help.
No one -- however -- could undertake the expense of mounting this
series alone. For that, we turned to one of America's greatest arts
patrons, Iris Cantor, along with her late husband, B. Gerald Cantor and
the Cantor Foundation. Iris not only underwrote this exhibit. She also
loaned the two centerpieces of the current show -- the castings of
Rodin's "The Three Shades" -- and "The Thinker." Thank you, Iris, for
being such a devoted friend of the arts -- and such a valued friend of
mine and the President's.
6
It has been such a pleasure for me and my husband to explore and
marvel at the unique pieces of artwork that have filled the sculpture
garden over the past four years. And I hope that all of you -- and the
thousands of visitors who visit the White House every day -- will be
equally moved and inspired by the magnificent tributes to the human
imagination that stand there today. Thank you for coming.
And now, I'd like to invite you to the State Dining Room for a
reception.
7
Serieb
aseus
Rochurg
70in
Beltings
62550
"Carol M. Beach" <cmbeach @ email.msn.com>
11/03/98 01:18:54 AM
rill
Record Type:
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To:
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
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Subject: HRC Column Draft
Draft #1
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
artust
TALKING IT OVER /CREATORS SYNDICATE
COLUMN FOR PUBLICATION NOVEMBER 3, 1998
It was the massive bronzes of Henry Moore that first brought Bill and me
together. After standing in line to register for law school classes one
afternoon, we found ourselves in front of the Yale Art Gallery, which had a
the dealh
joins Bayia
Mark Rothko exhibit inside and works by Moore in the sculpture yard. Sadly,
a labor dispute had closed the doors, but Bill managed to talk his way in by
offering to pick up trash. This was our first date.
I have always loved sculpture and was surprised to find, the day after Bill
suant Hunt
S first inauguration, that there was no sculpture anywhere on the grounds
of the White House. The idea of creating an outdoor sculpture garden,
get segal
featuring the works of contemporary American artists, took shape that very
day.
It was easy to pick the perfect location the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden,
named for the First Lady who believed so strongly that art must be a part of
everyone S life. When I first moved to the White House, I spent a lot of
time in this peaceful refuge, which appears to have been designed with
sculpture in mind.
With the help of my friend and designer Kaki Hockersmith, White House
ms-canter
Curators Rex Stouten and Betty Monkman and many noted artists and
historians, a plan for a series of White House sculpture exhibits, featuring
contemporary outdoor art on loan from museums and other public collections,
museum
was created and approved.
The first exhibit represented an overview of 20th century sculpture and
included George Segal S Walking Man, Alexander Caldwell S Five Rudders,
Wisterns
Louise Nevelson S Tropical Tree III and Judith Shea S Shield.
Subsequent exhibits have featured works by Deborah Butterfield, Georgia O
Betty
and
Keefe, Joel Shapiro, Tom Otterness, Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein,
presents
David Smith, Isamu Noguchi and Native American artist Allan Houser.
camelel
Among my favorites of the 83 pieces that have come to the White House are
those that incorporate movement. During the second exhibit, Bill and I
A
would often just sit and watch George Rickey S Two Lines Oblique, Atlanta,
a 35-foot stainless steel sculpture that quivered slowly in the wind. And,
I found myself repeatedly reaching out to touch Harry Bertoia S Tonal
help
Sculpture, just to hear the lovely sounds it would send floating over the
garden.
This week S opening of the seventh exhibit in the series marks a departure.
Subtitled, Inspired by Rodin, this group of 12 sculptures includes three
pieces by the French master.
Often called the father of modern sculpture, Rodin worked in Paris in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. But his influence on American artists
has been dramatic and can be seen in several of the works included in this
group, among them de Kooning S Clamdigger, Segal S Girl Standing in
Nature and Noguchi S Woman.
Rodin often took traditional allegorical, literary or historical themes as
his subjects, imbuing them with a power and emotion rarely expressed by
earlier artists. Among the pieces on loan to the White House is his most
famous, The Thinker. When describing his intended effect, Rodin
explained, What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his
brain, his distended nostrils, and compressed lips, but with every muscle of
his arms. back and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes.
It has been such a privilege to bring this exceptional body of art to the
White House. But it has also been a privilege to witness the unflagging
generosity of those who have worked so hard to make it happen. Dozens of
galleries and museums have been involved in choosing appropriate pieces and
making loans of the art.
But none of these galleries alone could have undertaken the expense of
mounting such a series. For that, we turned to one of this country S most
important arts patrons. Iris Cantor, who agreed not only to underwrite the
expense of each of the exhibits, but also to loan the two centerpieces of
the current show The Thinker and The Three Shades,
As I look at the extraordinary work assembled in the Sculpture Garden this
week, I see not only the variety, diversity and richness of American
contemporary sculpture but also the variety, diversity and richness of
American life. And I m reminded once again just how vividly art reflects
life and its capacity to provoke imagination, stir hope and inspire human
progress.
Visitors to the White House can see Twentieth Century American Sculpture
at the White House: Inspired by Rodin through October 1999. Visitors to
the White House website can take a virtual tour of the exhibit at
www.whitehouse.gov
(750 words)
Message Sent To:
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1
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 1994
Remarks by the First Lady
At Reception for the opening of 20th-Century Sculpture Exhibit
The First Ladies' Garden
Good afternoon. Welcome. Welcome to the White House and
welcome to this garden. I am particularly pleased that this
event could be held during October, which is Arts and Humanities
Month, and that so many of you who are such strong advocates and
supporters of the arts and humanities could join us here this
afternoon. There are many people whom I wish to thank and will
do so toward the end of my remarks because it is an unusually
large number of people who have contributed to this occasion.
Sculpture, has been one of my favorite art forms ever since
I was a young girl. And not simply, as lore might have it,
because my first date with my husband was in the sculpture garden
of the Yale Gallery, but because of the way it spoke to me and
hat it has always meant to me.
I know that all of you believe, as I do, that art has the
capacity to provoke our imaginations. And I believe where there
is imagination there is hope, and where there is creative
expression there is potential for human progress. And hope and
progress are concepts and ideals that are as important to us
today as they always have been in the history of our country.
Looking at the wonderful pieces that have been assembled in
this garden, we can see the variety and diversity and richness of
contemporary American sculpture. And we can also see reflections
of ourselves and our society over the last one hundred years.
The idea for this exhibition was inspired, in part, by First
Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. My brief, much too brief
friendship with her, left as indelible impression on me as she
did on the lives of so many. And of course, this garden, which
is the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, is a lasting, living tribute to
the extraordinary contributions she made to the White House.
Now some of our finest American artists and their art will
be available to an entirely new audience. The thousands of
visitors who pass through the White House each day will be able
to look out the Colonnade windows and will be able to share in
the aesthetic beauty and the emotional power of these sculptures.
That is extremely important to the President and myself.
We believe that art is not a marginal part of society, is
not a luxury, but that it has such extraordinary power and is
entered in our personal and collective experiences. Art
herefore should be as accessible to as many people as possible.
2
I have been lucky in my own life to live in places where
great art was close at hand. I grew up in Chicago, I went to
college in Boston, I was in law school at Yale and was always
exposed to the museums, galleries and other places where art
thrived. And it was in New Haven that I first saw works of some
of the sculptors represented here today.
I also want this exhibition to celebrate the artists
themselves. Most of us don't have the courage it takes to be an
artist. The courage to unveil one's most profound emotions and
visions to outside scrutiny. By sharing their feelings and their
ideas with us, these artists not only add beauty to our
surroundings here and around our country, they keep us from
becoming too sedate, too numb, too inured to the complexities and
the challenges of life. So on behalf of the President and
myself, I would like to thank all of the artists--not only those
represented here, but those throughout our country who contribute
so much to the richness of our culture. I would like to thank
the supporters of art and artists who help insure that art
reaches more and more of our people.
And I would like to thank all Americans for allowing us to
display this exhibit in the White House, which is in fact the
only home of a head of state anywhere in the world that does have
tourists come in nearly every day. And we have now increased so
dramatically the numbers of tourists, that there will be, in the
onths that this exhibit is on display, nearly a million people
no will see this, in this garden for the first time.
I would like to thank particularly the people who have made
this exhibit possible and I'd like to start with George Neubert,
the curator of this exhibit and the Director of the Sheldon
Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden at the University of
Nebraska, at Lincoln. He has been an extraordinary help and
guide to this entire project and we are very grateful. I would
also like thank Dr. Graham Spanier, the Chancellor of the
University of Nebraska, for giving George Neubert and the Sheldon
Art Gallery staff the time to work on this exhibit.
I also want to thank our dear friends from the Iris and B.
Gerald Cantor Foundation, whose generosity helped make this
possible. And the Cantors have been such great friends, not only
of art and sculpture through the years, but of the President and
mine and we are very grateful for your being here and seeing this
come to fruition.
I'd also like to thank my friend, J. Carter Brown, who
worked diligently to.take a concept and bring it to this
wonderful reality and also to wish him a belated happy birthday,
which he spent here at the installation in the sculpture garden
on Saturday.
And some of the artists whose works are represented in this
exhibit are with us today. We thank, Richard Hunt, Bryan Hunt,
Ellsworth Kelly and George Siegal, without whose artistry we
would not be here celebrating this great occasion.
And those lending institutions from my part of the country,
e Mid West, who have lent their treasures: the Sheldon
3
Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, the Washington
University Gallery of Art, the Akron Art Museum, the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago,
the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Minnesota Museum of American Art,
the Laumeler Sculpture Park and Museum in St. Louis, the Columbus
Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio, and the Walker Art Center in
Minneapolis. I am particular pleased that all of these
institutions could have contributed to this exhibit and that we
can say to all who ask how proud we are that these institutions
are a part of this White House first for us.
I also particularly want to thank and ask to stand as a
group, the members of the White House Preservation Committee and
the White House Historical Association, if you all would stand
because certainly we could not do any of this without your help.
Thank you all very much. I also want particularly to thank Rex
Scouten, the Curator of the White House, who knows everything
that happens here and ever did happen here. And Sylvia Williams,
from the Smithsonian who is the President of the Association of
Art Museum Directors who helped make this exhibit possible. And
really to thank all of you for caring about this wonderful house
and for caring about art.
It has been a real pleasure for both the President and me
during the months we've been privileged to live here, to explore
the nooks and crannies and to study with great interest and
elight the wonderful book, Art in the White House, to uncover
any of the treasures that are here and to try to add to the
impact that the White House can bring to the art and culture of
our times. So with that, let me say thank you and please join me
for a reception up on the State Floor. Thank you all very much.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 15, 1995
Remarks by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
at Sculpture Garden Opening
MRS. CLINTON: Good morning. Good morning. Oh please be
seated. We're so pleased to have you on this glorious day here
at the White House. It is always a pleasure to have guests and
particularly those who have come from other parts of the country
to be in Washington. And today it is especially a pleasure to
have so many friends and lovers of art as we celebrate the second
exhibition of contemporary American sculpture in the First Lady's
Garden.
At a time of great debate about the role of art in society,
I am particularly pleased that we can showcase American Art and
artists at the White House. The president and I have always
believed that art is not a marginal part of our culture nor a
luxury that should only be accessible to those who can afford it.
Art evokes our emotions and provokes our ideas. It enlarges our
understanding of the world around us. It tells us who we are and
what we can be and it ought to be experienced and shared by all
Americans.
The twelve pieces assembled for this exhibition represent
American sculpture since 1965. Like the sculptures in the first
exhibit which some of you saw while they were on display in the
fall, these sculptures embody the rich diversity of American
artistic tradition and reflect the power of creative expression
in our culture. I hope that you and the tens of thousands of
visitors and guests who pass through here over the next few
months will feel the same sensations of joy, excitement,
inspiration, and intrigue, and challenge as I do looking at these
particular sculptures.
I often come here at twilight after I try to do my daily
exercise and sit and look at these sculptures as I did at the
first ones that were here and find myself constantly being
motivated and enjoying greatly the gifts that all of you have
helped make possible. I hope that in seeing this exhibit all
Americans will be reminded of the vital role that art plays in
strengthening the democratic ideals upon which our nation is
founded.
As some of you know, the idea for this exhibition was
inspired in part by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. My
all too brief friendship with her left a lasting impression on me
as it did on so many others. It is a fitting tribute to her and
the extraordinary contribution she made to the White House to
keep alive her appreciation of the arts through this ongoing
exhibition of contemporary American sculpture.
Many people have helped us realize this dream. And I am so
pleased that today we are able to again thank some of you who
have worked hard over the last years to take an idea and
translate it into reality. Once again, I want to thank the Iris
and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation for their extraordinary support
of this exhibition and for sculpture in general. Thank you.
Iris, stand up. I also want to thank the Committee for the
Preservation of the White House and the White House Historical
Association some of whose members I see in the audience and I'd
like to ask all the members of these important organizations to
please stand and be recognized.
I owe a special debt of thanks to J. Carter Brown who has
helped to shepherd this idea and to Rex Scouten, curator of the
White House, both of whom have been extraordinarily helpful. I
am so personally pleased to welcome back George Newburt, the
director of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden
at the University of Nebraska who curated the first exhibit and
got us off to such a great start when we began with sculptures
from the midwest.
Today it is a special honor and pleasure for me to thank the
curator of this exhibit, someone whom I have known for a long
time, admired and appreciated, and had nothing to do with his
selection. The Association of Art Museum Directors, in its
wisdom, chose Townsend Wolfe, the director and chief curator of
the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, to be the curator of
this exhibit and we are very excited about that, Townsend. Thank
you so much.
I would also like to thank Betsy Braun, the director of the
National Museum of American Art, and Larry Rieger for their
efforts to save and preserve our nation's outdoor sculptures
through the Save Outdoor Sculpture Program which they have helped
to implement.
The twelve sculptures behind me are from the southeast and
they focus on American Sculpture from 1965. I am very grateful
to the institutions which have lent their sculptures to this
exhibit. It is not an easy decision to make.
I know that there are many of you here in this audience who
are devoted benefactors and enjoy greatly the works in the
institutions who are participating and we are so pleased that you
would be willing to do this.
I'm also delighted that we have some of the artists with us
who created these sculptures and, in fact, I think we have eight
2
of the eleven living artists with us and we thank them for adding
beauty to our daily surroundings, for preventing us from becoming
complacent about the lives we lead and the world we live in, and
I would like all the artists who are with us to please stand for
a moment.
This is a very exciting time for us in our country as we
confront very challenging decisions about the kind of people we
are, the kind of society we wish to have, the country that we
will live in as we move into the 21st century and I am grateful
that so many of you here for this ceremony are people who have
supported the arts in your local communities and throughout the
country. It is a major contribution that you make, not only to
the arts but to the quality of our life together. And I would
like now to invite you to again walk through the garden and then
join me in the Blue Room upstairs for a reception, then in the
State Dining Room. Thank you all very much. (Applause)
###
3
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
REMARKS FOR THE OPENING OF THE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION
EAST ROOM, THE WHITE HOUSE
JANUARY 5, 1996
It is an honor and a delight to have all of you here today.
I am so sorry the government shutdown in November forced us
to postpone the original opening and deeply regret any
inconvenience the sudden postponement may have caused you.
And while we are again in the middle of another partial
shutdown, we are finally able to hold this ceremony because
the White House appropriations bill was passed.
I am happy to report to you that this exhibit did open in
October, in time for the Arts and Humanities celebration at
the White House. At least a thousand people had an
opportunity to see the sculptures then, and thousands more
were able to appreciate them during the December holidays.
Today, we celebrate the third in a series of exhibitions of
Twentieth Century American Sculpture in the Jacqueline
Kennedy Garden at the White House. As most of you know, this
exhibit was inspired, in part, by Mrs. Onassis. My much too
brief friendship with her left an indelible impression. This
garden is a lasting, living tribute to the extraordinary
artistic and cultural contributions she made to the White
House.
The pieces in this exhibition represent the diverse and rich
talents of our country's sculptors from the West and
Southwest. I am thrilled that the seven living sculptors
whose works are exhibited could be with us today. These
beautiful and intriguing sculptures embody the
transformations of both twentieth century art and society.
Among them is an abstract sculpture by Georgia O'Keefe, whom
many of us casual art lovers knew only as a painter. In a
house full of two-hundred year-old antiques, it also
wonderful to have objects that represent the era we live in.
The President and I believe that art should be accessible to
everyone because it has the power to evoke in each of us a
deeper understanding of our lives and of the world around
us. And during this particularly difficult time in
Washington and in our country, art can make our spirits soar
and remind us of life's possibilities -- of our powers to
imagine and to create.
It gives me great satisfaction and joy to know that the
thousands of visitors who pass through the White House have
been and will be able to look out the Colonnade window and
share in the extraordinary power of these sculptures.
I also want this exhibition to celebrate the sculptors
themselves. Anne Tucker once said "All art requires is
courage." So on behalf of the President and myself, I would
like to thank the artists who are featured in this exhibit.
I would also like to thank and recognize the people who have
made this exhibit possible. It took enormous generosity,
dedication, and wisdom to make this happen.
[Special thanks to Peter C. Marzio, Director, Museum of Fine
Arts, Houston, and Alison de Lima Greene, Curator at Museum of
Fine Arts, Houston and of this exhibit; the Iris and B. Gerald
Cantor Foundation; J. Carter Brown; the lending institutions;
White House Preservation Committee and the White House Historical
Association; White House Curator Rex Scouten; The Association of
Art Museum Directors and its president Sylvia Williams]
###
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
REMARKS FOR THE OPENING OF THE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION
EAST ROOM, THE WHITE HOUSE
JULY 22, 1996
Today, we celebrate the fourth and final installment in a
series of exhibitions of Twentieth Century American
Sculpture at the White House. As most of you know, this
exhibit in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden was inspired, in
part, by Mrs. Onassis and her extraordinary artistic and
cultural contributions to the White House. There is no
place more appropriate for this celebration of American art
than in the garden named in her honor.
The 12 pieces in this exhibition represent the diverse
visions and rich talents of sculptors from the Northeastern
part of our country. Many of these sculptures have been
inspired by the Northeastern landscapes and environments.
The sculptors have incorporated such "found objects" as
twigs from a backyard, old tires, pennies, leaves, and
sardine skeletons into their works. Tom Otterness created
his bronze sculpture "Head" with the intention of using New
York's Wall Street as a backdrop.
The President and I believe that art should be accessible to
everyone because it can offer each of us a deeper
understanding of our lives and of the rich cultural
traditions we share as a nation and a people. Art can make
our spirits soar and remind us of our powers to imagine and
to create.
It gives me great satisfaction and joy to know that the
thousands of visitors who pass through the White House have
been and will be able to look out the Colonnade window and
share in the extraordinary power of these sculptures.
This exhibition also celebrates the sculptors themselves.
Anne Tucker once said "All art requires is courage. So on
behalf of the President and myself, I would like to thank
the artists who are featured in this exhibit.
I would also like to thank and recognize the people who have
made this exhibit possible. It took enormous generosity,
dedication, and wisdom to make this happen.
[Special thanks to Marcia Tucker and the staff of The New Museum
of Contemporary Art who curated and organized this exhibit; the
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation; J. Carter Brown; the
lending institutions; White House Preservation Committee and the
White House Historical Association; White House Curator Rex
Scouten; The Association of Art Museum Directors]
1
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
TALKING POINTS FOR "HONORING NATIVE AMERICA" EXHIBIT
THE WHITE HOUSE SCULPTURE GARDEN
NOVEMBER 5, 1997
Welcome to the White House and to the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. I
would like to begin this afternoon of honoring Native American artists by
calling on Phillip Minthorne [Mint-Horn] to deliver a blessing in Nez-Perce
[Nez-Purse] language.
Thank you. I could not imagine a better way of opening "Honoring Native
America" -- the first showing of Native American sculpture in our nation's
capital. This exhibition is the sixth in a series of shows presenting 20th
century American sculpture at the White House. Each exhibition has been
drawn from museum collections around the nation; each has reflected a
different region of the United States.
Though the art we celebrate today comes from a long way away, it seems to
be at home here. These works of sculpture are so vibrant and alive they feel
almost as if they grew up in this space.
We are honored by the presence of so many tribal leaders. You have come to
help us recognize the living tradition as well as the individual statements of
these artists. I hope these works will serve as an important reminder to the
thousands of people who pass through the White House every day of the
irreplaceable contributions of Native Americans.
Of the 12 artists whose works you see, 10 are here today. The two who are
no longer with us -- Allan Houser and Willard Stone - are powerfully present
in their sculptures and through the family members who represent them.
Each work is unique. Yet each reflects the heritage of a visual arts tradition
and other more contemporary influences, which are translated into clay,
wood, stone, and metal.
Each sculpture stands on its own. Yet each tells a story of how traditions are
passed from one generation to the next. Not only does this exhibit feature a
piece by Allan Houser, it also features works by his son, Bob Haozous [Hah-
Seuss], and a former student, Doug Hyde.
Nora Naranjo [Nar-Hahn-Oh] Morse's work is represented here. I just came
from an exhibit which displayed her mother's pottery at the National
Museum of Women in the Arts. And Nora's niece, Roxanne Swentzell,
made the remarkable clay piece exhibited in the East Entrance area. There is
something uniquely American about how stories of continuity are constantly
refreshed by new vision.
Each piece here deserves our attention and respect. The works in this exhibit,
by the artists I mentioned and the others who are represented -- R.E. Bartow
[Bar-Toe], Susie Bevins-Ericsen, John Hoover, Truman Loew, George
Morrison, and Doug Coffin -- are all works of tradition, of imagination,
healing and love. As the White House looks ahead to a new millennium, we
will continue to host a series of events that celebrate creativity. This
exhibition and your presence at the White House truly express our
millennium themes: to honor the past and imagine the future.
I want to thank the Heard Museum of Phoenix, Arizona, its director Martin
Sullivan, and its curator of Fine Art, Margaret Archuleta. [Are-Chah-Let-
Ah] They and the museums and other leaders in Oklahoma, Santa Fe and
Alaska made this exhibition possible, along with the generosity of the Mobil
Corporation and its chairman, Lou Noto. The beautiful installation of these
pieces was assisted by the National Park Service and the National Gallery of
Art.
Now I invite you to join me for a receiving line and a reception upstairs.
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
REMARKS FOR THE OPENING OF THE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION
EAST ROOM, THE WHITE HOUSE
JULY 22, 1996
Today, we celebrate the fourth and final installment in a
series of exhibitions of Twentieth Century American
Sculpture at the White House. As most of you know, this
exhibit in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden was inspired, in
part, by Mrs. Onassis and her extraordinary artistic and
cultural contributions to the White House. There is no
place more appropriate for this celebration of American art
than in the garden named in her honor.
The 12 pieces in this exhibition represent the diverse
visions and rich talents of sculptors from the Northeastern
part of our country. Many of these sculptures have been
inspired by the Northeastern landscapes and environments.
The sculptors have incorporated such items as twigs from a
backyard, old tires, pennies, leaves, and sardine skeletons
into their works. Tom Otterness created his bronze
sculpture "Head" with the intention of using New York's Wall
Street as a backdrop.
The President and I believe that art should be accessible to
everyone because it can offer each of us a deeper
understanding of our lives and of the rich cultural
traditions we share as a nation and a people. Art can make
our spirits soar and remind us of our powers to imagine and
to create.
It gives me great satisfaction and joy to know that the
thousands of visitors who pass through the White House have
been and will be able to look out the Colonnade window and
share in the extraordinary power of these sculptures.
This exhibition also celebrates the sculptors themselves.
Anne Tucker once said "All art requires is courage. " So on
behalf of the President and myself, I would like to thank
the artists who are featured in this exhibit.
I would also like to thank and recognize the people who have
made this exhibit possible. It took enormous generosity,
dedication, and wisdom to make this happen.
[Special thanks to Marcia Tucker and the staff of The New Museum
of Contemporary Art who curated and organized this exhibit; the
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation; J. Carter Brown; the
lending institutions; White House Preservation Committee and the
White House Historical Association; White House Curator Rex
Scouten; The Association of Art Museum Directors]
###
Gale's Quotations
+
Malvina Hoffman
1887-1966
American. Sculptor
at heart we are really working for the angels.
What counts is the lasting integrity of the artist and the
enduring quality of his work.
-- Quoted in "Malvina Hoffman, " Famous American Women by
Hope Stoddard 1970
Born: June 15, 1887 in New York, NY. Died: July 10, 1966 in New York, NY.
Career Highlights: Her greatest achievement: group of 101 life-size bronze
statues, Races of Mankind, for the Field Museum, Chicago, 1930-35.
1
Copyright (c) 1995 Gale Research Inc.
Noa A. Meyer
/02/98-04:55:2
©
PM
G
Record Type:
Record
To:
Laura E. Schiller/WHO/EOP, Christine N. Macy/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: art quotes
"Art is not a luxury, but a necessity" Rebecca West
"Art is the signature of civilizations" Beverly Sills
"Art is how a culture records its life, how it poses questions for the next generation and how it will 3
be remembered" marske narmer 3 US playners it
"Real art is religion, a search for the beauty of God deep in all things."
amily can
"The idependence of the artist is one of the great safguards of the freedom of the human spirit"
C.V. Wedgwood
Und
33
1
REVISE 9/12/97
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
TALKING POINTS FOR SCULPTURE GARDEN EVENT
SEPTEMBER 15, 1997
It gives me great pleasure to join with you today to celebrate this remarkable exhibit
of 20th Century American sculpture. For almost a year, these works have given joy not only to
those of us who have the privilege of living and working here, but to the more than a million
people who pass through the White House every year. This exhibition is the fifth in a series
showcasing American sculpture. I would like to take the time today to thank those who worked
so hard to make it possible.
The relationship between these twelve sculptures and this building is an important
one. The White House -- the people's house -- is a direct expression of our democratic ideals. It
was designed to reflect simplicity and openness, not grandeur.
The art we celebrate today is another reflection of our democratic heritage. Only in a
free and open society -- one in which different ideas, experiences, and beliefs live together --
could art of such power and vibrancy be created. Democracy liberates the power of individuals to
make the most of their God-given promise. That includes artistic expression. In short, this
exhibit, like the White House, says much about who we are.
For this reason, our artistic and cultural traditions take on a special meaning as we
approach the next millennium. Artists have always helped us to see ourselves. As we leave the
20th century and enter the next millennium, we must summon our artists to help us honor the
past and imagine the future. Their contribution is indispensable to helping us chart our nation's
course. To this end, the sculpture garden will present the works of American artists through the
year 2000, so that all visitors to the White House may join with us in rejoicing in American
creativity. The next exhibition will bring together the works of Native American contemporary
sculptors.
I would like to thank four artists whose work is featured in this exhibition and who
are here with us today: Richard Hunt [former member, National Council on Arts; did not
receive direct funding from NEA, but has been involved in Art in Public Places grant projects,
which do receive grant money from NEA], Judith Shea [NEA visual art fellowships in 1984,
1986], Joel Shapiro [NEA visual art fellowship in 1975], and Immi [Emmy] Storrs. I am
delighted, too, that the memories of the late Alexander Archipenko [Are-cha-peng-ko],
Alexander Calder [participated in Art in Public Places Projects], and David Smith [served on
National Council on the Arts] are being honored today by members of their families, who are
here in attendance.
1
The sculpture we celebrate today is a tribute not only to our cultural energy, but to
our great national cultural institutions, which preserve and present our artistic treasures for all
to see. These works were lent to us by the National Gallery, the National Museum of American
Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. They reflect the
richness and diversity of the sculpture collections here in our nation's capital.
This exhibit would not have been possible without the wisdom, commitment, and
generosity of many individuals and institutions. I would like to thank the Iris and B. Gerald
Cantor Foundation, whose support has allowed us to focus on 20th century American sculpture. I
would also like to thank the directors, curators and staff from the participating institutions -- and
especially Rusty Powell, director of the National Gallery, who curated this exhibition. Let me
express my gratitude to Rex Scouten, Betty Monkman, the Park Service, and George Neubert
[New-bert], the curator of the first Sculpture Garden exhibition.
As some of you may know, sculpture will always hold a special place in my heart.
For our first date, the President and I went to a Henry Moore exhibit at the Yale University Art
Gallery. Because of a labor dispute, the gallery was closed. So Bill found a guard and asked him
if we could get into the exhibit if we picked up some garbage. The guard accepted Bill's offer.
And, well, the rest is history.
2
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
WHITE HOUSE SCULPTURE GARDEN
THE WHITE HOUSE
NOVEMBER 6, 1998
It's a great pleasure to welcome all of you to the White House, and
to see so many advocates for the arts, as well as some of America's
leading sculptors and their families. Just yesterday, here at the White
House, we held the awards ceremony for the nation's highest honors in
the arts and humanities. And we celebrated -- as we do here -- the
unique and indispensable role that the arts play in shaping our nation and
enriching our lives.
I'm so glad that all of you have just had the opportunity to view the
remarkable works of art that make up our current sculpture exhibit. As
some of you know, when the President and I first moved into the White
House -- we realized that there was not a single piece of sculpture
anywhere on the grounds. So with the help of a friend, designer Kaki
Hockersmith, and J. Carter Brown -- the former director of the National
Gallery of Art -- we began to plan for an outdoor sculpture garden
showcasing America's contemporary artists. The easiest part was
selecting the perfect White House location -- the beautiful Jacqueline
Kennedy garden -- named for the First lady who believed so strongly
that art should be a part of everyone's daily life.
2
As some of you know, my husband and I spent our first date in the
sculpture garden of the art gallery at Yale -- surrounded by the massive
works of Henry Moore. But art has always been a vital part of both of
our lives -- and one of the great privileges of our years here at the White
House has been to work toward ensuring that all Americans --
particularly our young people -- have the opportunity to be enriched and
transformed and engaged by the art in their lives.
This is the seventh sculpture exhibition we have held here since
1994 -- as we continue to showcase America's leading sculptures
provided by museums across the country. But this exhibit of 20th
century American sculpture has a special twist. Each of the pieces
reflects the breathtaking diversity of America's artistic tradition -- yet
they are all inspired by the great French artist, Auguste Rodin. Rodin
has earned the well-deserved title of the "father of modern sculpture" --
both by adhering to convention -- and yet daring to break away from it.
And we see his influence in these magnificent works.
3
Whether using limestone or granite, marble or bronze, each one of
these artists has interpreted the human form in dramatically different
ways, challenging us to re-examine images we thought were familiar --
the softness of a child's hand; a body reaching upward; a family portrait.
Part of Rodin's genius was to create only a partial figure-- so that
we could use our imaginations to complete it. And it's that enlivening
of our imaginations that we are celebrating here today. Particularly as
we approach the next millennium, we look to our artists, and musicians,
and writers and philosophers, to express who we are as a nation -- and
to help us imagine our future.
The very diversity of the works in this exhibit is a reflection of our
democratic heritage -- where different expressions, beliefs and ideas not
only exist side by side -- but deepen our appreciation of our common
humanity.
4
I'm thrilled that three of the artists whose work is displayed in this
exhibit have been able to join us today. I want to welcome Stephen de
Staebler (Deh- STAY-BLER); Bryan Hunt, and George Segal, as well as
their families and friends. I understand a number of family members of
William Zorach (ZOR-ACK) are here as well. Thank you all for joining
us; but more so -- for challenging and delighting us with your work.
I believe I am speaking for most of you when I say that artists are
always indebted to the hard work and generosity of others who have
supported and exhibited their work over the years. And here, I want to
express my deep appreciation to those who made this exhibit possible.
First to Arnold Lehman, director of the Brooklyn Museum of Art -- who
organized and curated this exhibit. The sculptures themselves were lent
by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation; the Brooklyn Museum of
Art; the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut; the Museum of Modern Art
in New York; the National Gallery of Art here in Washington; the
Neuberger Museum of Art, at Purchase College, New York; the Isamu
Noguchi [EE-SAM-OO Na-GOO-CHEE] Foundation in Long Island
City, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
5
I also want to thank Betty Monkman, the White House Curator,
and the members of the Committee for the Preservation of the White
House and the White House Historical Association. We could not do
any of this without your help.
No one -- however -- could undertake the expense of mounting this
series alone. For that, we turned to one of America's greatest arts
patrons, Iris Cantor, along with her late husband, B. Gerald Cantor and
the Cantor Foundation. Iris not only underwrote this exhibit. She also
loaned the two centerpieces of the current show -- the castings of
Rodin's "The Three Shades" -- and "The Thinker." Thank you, Iris, for
being such a devoted friend of the arts -- and such a valued friend of
mine and the President's.
6
It has been such a pleasure for me and my husband to explore and
marvel at the unique pieces of artwork that have filled the sculpture
garden over the past four years. And I hope that all of you -- and the
thousands of visitors who visit the White House every day -- will be
equally moved and inspired by the magnificent tributes to the human
imagination that stand there today. Thank you for coming.
And now, I'd like to invite you to the State Dining Room for a
reception.
7
Exhibition VII
TWENTIETH CENTURY
This seventh exhibition in the series Twentieth Century American Sculpture
AMERICAN SCULPTURE AT THE WHITE HOUSE:
at the White House is subtitled Inspired by Rodin. The French sculptor Auguste
Rodin (1840 1917) created highly original figure studies that have inspired gen-
INSPIRED BY RODIN
erations of American artists. The twelve works on view in the Jacqueline
Kennedy Garden, selected from public collections in the Northeast, are indebted
to Rodin's ability to capture the moods and manners of the human body.
While Rodin worked in Paris in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his
October 1998
importance was quickly understood in the United States. Numerous American
I have always loved sculpture. My husband and I spent our
artists, such as Malvina Hoffman, Andrew O'Connor, and William Zorach,
responded to his creative energies. More recently, contemporary artists whose
first date in the garden of an art gallery filled with American sculp-
work focuses on the body, including Louise Bourgeois, Willem de Kooning, and
ture. We hope this exhibition of 20th century American sculpture
George Segal, can credit the power of Rodin's imagination in their own work.
inspired by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin will delight, chal-
With the profound ability to fuse the division between figuration and abstraction,
lenge, and inspire the thousands of visitors who pass through the
Rodin has engaged those who employ either style. Non-representational artists
who evoke the figure, like Stephen De Staebler, Bryan Hunt, and Isamu Noguchi,
White House every day.
have found in Rodin a guide to diverse aesthetic issues concerning balance, ges-
This is the seventh in a series of sculpture exhibitions show-
ture, scale, materials, and public installation.
casing works from museums in various regions of our country. It
We hope that visitors to the White House will be moved by this exhibi-
tion, for it is the ongoing creative effort of American sculptors to imbue their
is fitting that this exhibit, like its six predecessors, is installed in the
work with challenges to the viewer, to provoke us to make fresh discoveries.
garden created by and named for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
On behalf of the Trustees of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, I wish to
Mrs. Kennedy believed that art could and should be part of all of
express our gratitude to President and Mrs. Clinton for the honor of organiz-
our lives. Now these works of contemporary art can be seen and
ing this exhibition, one in a series conceived by Mrs. Clinton that reflects her own
deep commitment to the art of our time. We are grateful as well to Iris Cantor and
appreciated by a wider audience than ever before.
the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation for their support. Mrs. Cantor and her
The works selected for this exhibit reflect the rich and diverse
late husband, Bernie, philanthropists and distinguished friends to many
sculpture of today's American artists. Each piece embodies the spe-
American museums, have bestowed their generosity on all who have the pleasure
cial genius of these artists and their enduring capacity to stir our
of visiting this exhibition. Our good friend J. Carter Brown has given us his wise
counsel throughout the planning of this project, for which we are most apprecia-
imaginations and touch our hearts.
tive.
I hope this celebration of our country's creative spirit will
Since 1994, my colleague museum directors Peter C. Marzio, George
enable each of us to gain a greater appreciation of the vibrant cul-
Neubert, Rusty Powell, Martin Sullivan, Marcia Tucker, and Townsend Wolfe
tural traditions we share as a nation and as a people.
have organized outstanding exhibitions in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden; their
contributions have been significant to our present planning. At the Brooklyn
My special thanks go to Iris Cantor, the Iris and B. Gerald
Museum of Art, the team of Elizabeth Easton, Linda Ferber, Charlotta Kotik, Ken
Cantor Foundation; Arnold L. Lehman, director of the Brooklyn
Moser, and Brooke Kamin Rapaport coordinated the selection and received extra-
Museum of Art; and to the other lending institutions, for their
ordinary support from the expertise of White House Curator Betty Monkman and
her able staff.
time, energy and wisdom in making this exhibition possible.
We salute the achievement of the artists represented in this White House
exhibition. American artists have always been at the forefront of innovation and
have been critical to sustaining our nation's cultural energy.
Arnold L. Lehman
HilaryRochem Clinton
Director
Brooklyn Museum of Art
New York
A
L
Jacqueline Kennedy
G
Garden
J
I
H
B
TWENTIETH CENTURY
AMERICAN SCULPTURE AT THE WHITE HOUSE:
INSPIRED BY RODIN
A Auguste Rodin (French, 1840 1917)
D Willem de Kooning (American, b. Holland,
G Auguste Rodin (French, 1840 - 1917)
J Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904 - 1988)
Memorial Relief (Hand of a Child), C. 1905
1904 1997)
The Three Shades, 1881 - 86; enlarged in
Woman, 1983 85
Marble
Clamdigger, 1972
1898; cast in 1991
Basalt with granite base
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.,
Bronze, edition 2/7
Bronze
The Isamu Noguchi Foundation, Inc.,
Gift of Elizabeth Merrill Furness
Whitney Museum of American Art,
Coubertin Foundry, cast 2/4
Long Island City, New York
New York, Gift of Mrs. H. Gates Lloyd
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
B Louise Bourgeois (American, b. France 1911)
Decontracteé, 1990
K William Zorach (American, b. Lithuania,
Pink marble and steel base
E Stephen De Staebler (American, b. 1933)
H Andrew O'Connor (American, 1874 - 1941)
1887 1966)
Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York,
Standing Figure with Blue Shoulder, 1983
Tristram and Iseult, 1928
Wisdom of Solomon, 1966
Purchased with funds given by Mary Smith
Bronze, edition 3/3
Limestone
Casota limestone
Dorward Fund, the Contemporary Art
Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College,
Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York,
Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York,
Council, the David H. Cogan Foundation,
State University of New York, Gift of Mr. and
Dick S. Ramsay Fund
Bequest of Lester Avnet
Inc., Harry Kahn, Mrs. Carl Selden; and gift
Mrs. David Guss on the occasion of Roy R.
of Edward A. Bragaline by exchange
Neuberger's 85th birthday
I George Segal (American, b. 1924)
L Auguste Rodin (French, 1840 1917)
C Malvina Hoffman (American, 1887 - 1966)
Girl Standing in Nature, 1976
The Thinker (G.M.), 1880; enlarged in
F Bryan Hunt (American, b. 1947)
Ivan Mestrovic, c. 1925
Bronze with white patina
1903 4; cast C. 1960
Big Twist, 1978
Bronze
Presented to the Town of Greenwich,
Bronze
Bronze with cement base
Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, Gift of
Connecticut, by the Greenwich Arts
George Rudier, cast 10/12
Mr. Felix Warburg and Mrs. Edward C. Blum
The Museum of Modern Art, New York,
Council in commemoration of the
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation,
Gift of Carl D. Lobell
Bicentennial Year, 1776 1976
Promised Gift to the Iris and B. Gerald
Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford
University