In Brief

MAG is in a new frame of mind

A new exhibition now at the Memorial Art Gallery takes a look not at artworks, but the frames that hold them. The Frame in America: 1860-1960 includes nearly 100 American frames made during that time period--plus two from the Renaissance--all exhibited without their original artworks.

In addition, examples in MAG's own collection are flagged with special labels. Plus, an installation featuring six facsimiles of Kensett's A Showery Day, Lake George shows how changing the frame affects the perception of a work.

The exhibit examines the phenomenon in recent years of frames fetching high prices--in the tens of thousands of dollars--at art auctions, the result of a booming art market and a revival of interest in handcrafted objects. It's a stark contrast from the scene in 1969 where collectors, art dealers, and even museum curators routinely removed vintage frames from paintings and relegated them to the trash heap.

The exhibit also surveys the contributions of American designers and craftsmen to the frame as an art form.

While most of the works are carved wood or wood with painted gesso details, the show also includes examples made from metal, Plexiglas, leather, even cotton rope. Together they represent a variety of styles, what exhibition curator William Adair calls "a barometer of taste in each period." These range from elaborate designs by Stanford White, the flamboyant Gilded Age architect, to elegant frames by James McNeill Whistler, whose simple designs represent a reaction to Victorian excess. White and Whistler are two of the examples of a renaissance in American framemaking that stretched into this century.

A number of events will accompany the exhibit, including an exhibition party on Saturday, October 2; lectures; and a workshop on gilding wood frames. Check the Currents calendar for more information.

The Frame in America remains on view through Sunday, November 14.

Calling all EMTs

The University's Medical Center Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) is looking for members. MERT responds to emergencies within the Medical Center and provides medical assistance to visitors, faculty, staff, and patients.

MERT is made up of people who, with the permission of their supervisors, volunteer their time to respond to approximately 200 calls per year. The minimum qualifications to become a MERT member is to be currently certified as a New York State emergency medical technician (EMT), and certified in CPR either by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross.

To become a member, contact David Leven, director of MERT, x5-7411, or e-mail David_Leven@urmc.rochester.edu.

MAG receives $112,500 grant

The Memorial Art Gallery has received a two-year $112,500 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The grant is the maximum offered by the IMLS, which is the only federal source of general operating support for the nation's museums.

This year, 186 institutions out of 973 applicants are sharing more than $15 million in awards, which are merit- rather than need-based. The honorees include art, history, natural history, and children's museums; zoos; nature centers; science and technology centers; botanical gardens; and planetariums.

To qualify, recipients performed complete self-evaluations involving every aspect of their operations, from collections care and maintenance to educational programs and exhibits. Professionals in the museum field, with an average of 13 years of experience, then reviewed each application.

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