October 9, 1974
The three permanent exhibitions and Brooklyn’s Comic Book Artists, a temporary exhibition on view through November 3, will open simultaneously at The Brooklyn Museum on Wednesday, October 9. The permanent exhibitions are The New Japanese and Korean Galleries, The New Installation of Pewter, Silver and Toleware, and Cross-Influences in the Ceramic of China, Persia, Turkey and Egypt. Several of the newly-installed permanent galleries have been closed for many years.
The New Japanese and Korean Galleries present a survey of the entire history of Japanese art beginning with Jomon pottery of the 3rd millenium B.C. and ranging through all the important media and types to include contemporary ceramics and prints. In addition, a small but comprehensive selection of Korean objects dating from the 2nd through the 19th centuries -- ceramics, gilt bronze Buddhist sculpture, metalwork, furniture and paintings -- is on view for the first time in several years. The galleries, with the use of natural wood and modular proportions suggesting Japanese construction, are easily adaptable to frequent changes of exhibits. The installation was directed by Robert Moes, Curator of Oriental Art, and designed by Daniel Weidmann, Chief Designer, with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
A Community Gallery Exhibition of the work of 13 Brooklyn professionals, Brooklyn’s Comic Book Artists includes original drawings and layouts by the creators of such popular comic books as “Batman” (Carmine Infantino) , “Green Lantern” and “Spiderman” (Gil Kane) , “Captain America” and “Fantastic Four” (Jack Kirby), “Little Anny Fanny” (Harvey Kurtzman) , “Richie Rich” (Dom Sileo) , and “Flash Gordon” (Al Williamson). Other comic books represented are “Deadman” (Neal Adams), “The Spirit” (Will Eisner) , “Tommy Tomorrow” (Lee Elias) , “Archie” (Victor Gorelick) “Tarzan” (Joe Kubert) , “El Diablo” (Gray Morrow) and “Creepy Comics” (Angelo Torres). A photographic essay explains the process of comic book production from conception to newsstand delivery. Organized by Phil Seuling, a Brooklyn high school teacher and founder of the annual New York City Comic Art Convention, the exhibition was installed by Richard Waller, Coordinator of the Community Gallery, with the aid of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.
In the New Installation of Pewter, Silver and Toleware Collections, galleries closed since 1970 re-open with improved facilities for viewing the Museum’s Poole Collection of American pewter; American, European and Latin American silver, including a selection of Jewish ritual artifacts; and 19th century French, English and Dutch toleware. The adjacent Morrison Collection of 17th to 19th century English silver remains on view. Directed by Dianne Pilgrim, Associate Curator in Charge, the installation is part of a larger program in anticipation of the Bicentennial, when the Decorative Arts floor will be the only comprehensive American collection on view in the New York area; the Metropolitan Museum’s American Wing will be closed at that time because of construction.
Cross-Influences in the Ceramics of China, Persia, Turkey and Egypt consists of 30 glazed ceramics from China and the lands of Islam displayed to show points of mutual influence in their shapes, colors, motifs, and designs. From the 9th to the 19th centuries, glazed ceramics travelled the breadth of Asia through trade and as gifts. While certain ceramic features remained unique to the country of origin, new styles evolved from the blending of the foreign with the native, with the differences in seeming copies as important as the resemblances. The long and arduous routes of ceramic interchange are illustrated through explanatory texts as well as geographical and chronological maps. Selected by the staff of the Department of Middle Eastern Art and Archaeology, the installation was made possible by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.
The Brooklyn Museum is open to the public Wed, through Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; holidays, 1 to 5 p.m. Closed Mon. and Tues. Admission to the Museum is free.
Beginning October 16, the Museum will be open on Wed. from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wed, evening openings are made posthible by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Transportation: 7th Ave. IRT Eastern Pkwy.-Bklyn Museum stop.
Photographs and further information available from Herbert Bronstein or Pat Hannigan, The Brooklyn Museum 638-5000 ext. 296 - 7.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1971 - 1988. 1974, 036-37. View Original
