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When
Dr. Rafter came to Albany in 1998 to receive a Distinguished Alumna
Award from the University, I met with her and Susan to discuss the possibility
of expanding their original exhibition for a fall 2000 presentation
in this museum. We
assembled a campus wide Advisory Committee from among various U/A academic
disciplines, including a number of faculty from the School of Criminal
Justice. With strong support
and encouragement from (then) Dean Dennis Rosenbaum, and now Interim
Dean James Acker, and with the advice and input of the Advisory Committee
(the names are listed elsewhere in the catalog) we moved forward on
the project. I wish to
gratefully acknowledge their assistance, especially that of Dr. Lillian
Williams. I particularly
thank Dr. Frankie Bailey of the School of Criminal Justice for her ongoing
support of the project and for her efforts in organizing the conference.
Other contributions were made by the New York State Writers Institute
(Film Series) and the U/A Center for the Arts and Humanities (Downtown
Forum), and I thank William J. Kennedy, Donald Faulkner, and Dr. Sandra
Buckley for this support. The
curatorial essays, extensive label texts, and exhibition objects are
not only explanatory, but revealing and illuminating as well, shining
light on not so attractive areas in our history of using biological
theories to explain and interpret criminal behavior.
The University Art Museum is extremely grateful to both curators
for the many hours of travel, research, writing and advice they have
given the museum staff throughout the exhibit’s organization.
We feel educated and honored to have worked with them.
We are grateful for their solid presentations that help us process
our own experiences and emotions in a culture ripe with the potential
for violence. During
the organization of the exhibition, an unexpected addition was made
to the curatorial process when Dr. Stanley Burns accepted our proposal
to curate a discreet exhibit from The Burns Archive within the larger
exhibition context. Dr.
Burns, a New York City Opthamologist, has assembled one of the world’s
largest archives of the history of crime photography and other themes.
Both curators join me in expressing our deep appreciation to
Dr. Burns and his wife, Sara, for the loan of works from their collection
and for the extensive label text they provided for each object. Another
aspect of the exhibition is a selection of rare books, and we are indeed
grateful to Bibliographer for Social Welfare and Criminal Justice, Mary
Jane Brustman of the University at Albany’s Dewey Library for her help
in assembling the numerous volumes with their accompanying text. The
University Art Museum is also grateful to the institutions and private
collectors who generously loaned from their collections.
In particular I would again like to acknowledge the importance
of the loans from Grant Romer and his enthusiastic participation.
An
exhibition’s theme and a curator’s intent, no matter how clear in the
curator’s mind, depend on the talent and expertise of an exceptional
designer for their realization, and the University Art Museum is blessed
with one of the best and most talented—Zheng Hu.
This exhibition has been especially demanding.
On behalf of the museum and the exhibit curators we acknowledge
and recognize that without Zheng’s dedication, ingenuity and hard work
and that of the museum’s Preparator, Jeffrey Wright-Sedam, this exhibit
would have collapsed under its own weight.
Zheng and Jeffrey met constantly with the curators, artists and
lenders to design the most appropriate way in which to guide the museum
visitor through complex material and we celebrate and congratulate them
on their accomplishments. The
long hours of their work was supported in great measure by the essential
role that student staff members Donald Rains and Marcia Aitcheson played
in the execution of the Designer’s and Preparator’s plans.
Additional help, where needed, was also cheerfully given by Naomi
Lewis, Brian Caverly and Greg Hitchcock and we thank them as well. From
the beginning of the project Joanne Lue, the museum secretary, has been
essential in every activity and in her own special way has kept communication
flowing between all participants.
Additionally the voluminous exhibit catalog copy and fact checking
fell to her, as well as the Public Program activities scheduling.
She completed a very difficult job in her usual excellent manner. Sue
Wood served as our Registrar for the exhibition and did a first rate
job of negotiating the loans from institutions and artists, coordinating
shipping with the museum’s Preparator, and coordinating checklists with
the curators. We were fortunate
indeed to have her with us on this project. The
Assistant to the Director Corinna Schaming has assembled, along with
other staff members, essential catalog copy, artists’ biographies, media
materials, and images, and performed promotional activities and other
myriad duties so important to the project.
I especially want to thank Corinna for her constant support of
the project and willingness to help in any way. Wren
Panzella, the museum’s Collections Manager, although involved in a major
collections project for the University, also cheerfully pitched in to
help where needed. We are
always glad to have Wren on a project.
We
welcome to the museum staff Graduate Student Assistant Sairam Chinnam
and thank him for the wonderful job he did creating the website for
the exhibition (www.albany.edu/museum).
We also acknowledge and thank Nicholas Lue for his assistance
with the project. Enormous
thanks are due Karen R. Hitchcock, President, University at Albany for
her support of and commitment to the project.
Without this support the exhibit simply could not have been presented.
I also want to acknowledge the Office of the Provost and Vice
President for Academic Affairs for its belief in this project.
We are grateful
to Assemblymen John J. McEneny and Ronald J. Canestrari for their sponsor
support in the form of a New York State Legislative Initiative Grant. A
wonderful job by all members of the museum family--I am very proud and
honored to work with such an exceptional staff.
The University Art Museum is pleased to present the meaningful
exhibition Searching the Criminal Body: Art/Science/Prejudice.
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