Tony Auth, Grim Reminder, October 2, 2009, Ink on paper, H. 11 x W. 13 ½. Collection of the Tony Auth Archive.
As an intern at the Michener Art Museum for the summer, it has been a huge learning experience for me to work here and prepare for the newly installed Tony Auth exhibit, To Stir Inform and Inflame: The Art of Tony Auth. My job pertains to education and new media, which has allowed me to research a lot of Tony Auth’s work and consider how best to present it to young visitors. Auth’s work presents an interesting challenge for young viewers in that it discusses very significant and controversial topics in a medium which is most relevant to a very young audience. The innocence of the cartoon is something I think our society has assumed based on the prevalence of children’s shows and the Sunday paper, but historically the cartoon has been used as political propaganda, and understudies for major works of art. Tony Auth’s work effectively utilizes the cartoon as a tool for reconsidering current events and the general political atmosphere of our country, while using the simplified drawing techniques to satirize his figures. In looking at his work, what characters has he created that you especially appreciate? What makes them humorous or telling? Read More
A Director’s Farewell
Bruce and Jo Katsiff on their BMW motorcycle many years ago. Bruce will continue his ride as artist/photographer after he leaves the museum.
More than four decades ago, a young Central High School boy and his then girlfriend would ride their Vespa motor scooter to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. From the top of those infamous stairs, the two would gaze at the city below, dreaming of their lives together, and their place in the arts. The engine started again, and what ensued was a wild ride through more than 40 years in the arts.
That boy – the son of a Philadelphia butcher and seamstress – got his feet wet in the darkroom of the same high school that stoked the art careers of Thomas Eakins and William Glackens. The young man continued his studies of photography at Rochester Institute of Technology and Pratt Institute, getting his work exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art along the way.
As many of you know, that boy – me — went on to an academic career, spending two decades establishing the art and music department at Bucks County Community College before joining the Michener as director. In fact this institution was an arts center before I officially changed the name, and focus, to the James A. Michener Art Museum. Read More »