The Chrysler Museum Celebrates the Power of Community this Fall with Collection-based Exhibition

Ken Heyman (American, born 1930), Israel (Closeup of Men Holding Hands), 1965, Gelatin silver print, Gift of Dr. Donald and Alice Lappe ©Ken Heyman, 2005.29.18

NORFOLK, Va. (Sept. 1, 2020) –This fall, the Chrysler Museum of Art encourages everyone to consider the bonds between us with Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering.  On view Oct. 11, 2020–Jan. 3, 2021 at the Museum and in outdoor locations in Norfolk, the exhibition will feature more than 100 artworks drawn from the Chrysler’s collection and digital photography submitted by community members. Visitors will see many works that are rarely on view and masterpieces from all areas of the collection, including photography, painting, sculpture and installation works.  Four themes—Together in Celebration, Together in Purpose, Together in Justice, and Together in Love—will highlight the many ways artists examine the joys and complexities of “coming together” and showcase how communities are linked by activities, celebrations, demonstrations, love and family.

“As many have faced unprecedented isolation this year and grappled with social distancing, we believe the time is perfect to celebrate the most powerful things that draw us together. Images of love, dancing, making music and working together will lift visitors’ spirits and inspire them to reflect,” said Lloyd DeWitt, Ph.D., the Chrysler Museum’s Chief Curator and Irene Leache Curator of European Art.

Come Together, Right Now was conceived in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when people grappled with the new restrictions spawned by social distancing while also uniting in a struggle to control the devastating disease. The public killings of Black and brown people intensified the sense of separation and division and the need to create community as we address uncomfortable but necessary questions about racism and intolerance and chart the course toward an inclusive future. Artwork reminds us of the value of community and prompts us to consider creative solutions to the impediments we face as we work to come together. It also helps us to discover all that we can learn right now from self-examination and each other through our common experiences, causes, celebrations and struggles. “Curating this exhibition was a cross-departmental effort. As we organized this show, we conferred with the entire Chrysler team. Staff from all areas of the Museum considered the themes that bring us together and offered insight into the works from the collection that best celebrate the ways in which we come together,” said Museum Director Erik Neil.

Together in Celebration includes images of dancing, sports, parties and picnics that demonstrate how times of ease, play and celebration draw us together. A Mayan ceramic work showing a ball game, contemporary photographs by Tseng Kwong Chi and Preston Gannaway’s Baptism, and historical works by Oskar Kokoschka and Anthonie Palamedesz and others display how we share life’s greatest triumphs and draw together in solidarity around our most profound beliefs and highest ideals.

Together in Purpose features images of people bound together in common cause, occupation or campaign. The works highlight purpose in a wide range of art, including photographs of Soviet women harvesting grain, rulers like the Roman Emperor Nero projecting power, James Tissot’s masterpiece of artists celebrating the opening of the annual French Salon and Norfolk artist Maizelle’s woven rug paying tribute to ancestors.

Together in Justice features historical material and highlights the Chrysler Museum’s tremendous holdings of photography from the Civil Rights Movement that brought people together in protest, solidarity and support.

Together in Love examines affection, attachment and passion as the most intense and positive motivations for coming together.  Love takes the form of friendship, as Robert Mapplethorpe bore witness in his lifelong friendship with musician Patti Smith, while Elizabeth Boott commemorates her deceased lover in a memoria still life.   The artwork in this section will present loving relationships of all kinds and express the boundless, wonderful power of love to draw us together, heal and restore.

Some Norfolk neighborhoods will become living art galleries with Come Together, Right Now OUTSIDE. The Chrysler will reproduce several artworks from the exhibition and display them outside with questions that encourage viewers to consider the artwork further, discuss the theme and reflect. The outdoor displays will also ensure those who have reservations about gathering indoors still have access to the Museum’s collection.

Programming

Live with… Mark Peterson and Brian Palmer
Sept. 20 at 2 p.m.
Free for Museum Member, $15 for non-members │ Registration required

Artists Mark Peterson and Brian Palmer will share their experiences photographing the Black Lives Matter protests in Richmond, Va. and using photography for social justice during a conversation with Seth Feman, Ph.D., the Deputy Director for Art & Interpretation and Curator of Photography. Peterson’s work has been featured in several notable publications, including New York Times Magazine, Fortune, Time and Newsweek. Palmer, a Peabody Award-winning journalist, served as a CNN correspondent and a Beijing bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report before turning to a career as a freelance journalist in 2002. This program will be hosted via Zoom.

Member Preview Days
Oct. 9–10 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Free │ Registration required

With consideration for the health and well-being of all, the Chrysler Museum will not host an exhibition opening party for Museum members. Instead, Museum members are invited to enjoy an exclusive first look at Come Together, Right Now before it opens to the public. To learn more about Museum membership and to register for the member preview, please visit chrysler.org.

Together in Justice Book Club Series
Free │ Registration required

Presented in tandem with Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering,  we will discuss powerful books about race and justice. Each book club meeting will be hosted via Zoom. All book selections are available for purchase from The Museum Shop. Registration is required at chrysler.org.

Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. │ This is What I Know About Art

The first installment of the Together in Justice Book Club Series is great for teenagers and adults. This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew examines the longstanding connection between art and protest. Drawing on her personal experiences with art and activism, Drew challenges us to create space for the change we want to see in the world.

Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. │ White Fragility

Author Robin DiAngelo examines how White people can understand and combat institutionalized racism in America. This New York Times bestseller examines some of the roadblocks to meaningful dialogue across races, including fear, anger and guilt.

Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. │ Between the World and Me
What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? How can we honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Consider the answers to these questions during a discussion of this book by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Dec. 12 at  3 p.m. │ Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative to defend those who were poor, wrongly convicted or facing other adverse circumstances. In this New York Times bestseller,  he describes his career and his search for the true meaning of justice.

Teacher Professional Development: Community Building through Art in the Virtual Classroom
Nov. 12 at 4 p.m.
Free │ Registration required

How do we develop listening skills, empathy and community in the virtual classroom? Art may be one answer. Join us on Zoom to discover how to bring artwork from Come Together, Right Now into the virtual classroom. Learn to use pieces in the exhibition to get students talkng about themselves, their communities and the things that matter to them. Register at chrysler.org.

ABOUT THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART

 The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums, with a nationally recognized collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The core of the Chrysler’s collection comes from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., an avid art collector who donated thousands of objects from his private collection to the Museum. The Museum has growing collections in many areas and mounts an ambitious schedule of visiting exhibitions and educational programs each season. The Chrysler has also been recognized nationally for its unique commitment to hospitality with its innovative gallery host program.

The Perry Glass Studio is a state-of-the-art facility on the Museum’s campus. The studio offers programming for aspiring and master artists alike in a variety of processes including glassblowing, fusing, flameworking, coldworking and neon.

In addition, the Chrysler Museum of Art administers the Moses Myers House, a historic house in downtown Norfolk, as well as the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. For more information on the Chrysler Museum of Art, visit chrysler.org.

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