museum studies exhibition seminar portfolio
TRANSCRIPT
Quastler The Life and Work of Ger
Gertrude Quastler The Life and Work
Work of Gertrude Quastler The Life
Life and Work of Gertrude QuastlerRestrike: The Life and Work of Gertrude
Gertrude Quastler The Life and Work
The Life and Work of Gertrude Quastler
3. Research
4. UAG
5. Library of Congress
6. Graphic Design
7. Photography
8. Postcard
9. Flyer
10. Poster
11. Fonts
12. Labels
13. Object labels
14. Intro label
15. Other Panels
16. Title and Quotes
17. Exhibition Documents
18. Exhibition Blueprint
19. Transcriptions
20. The Exhibit
21. The Concept
22. Picking Objects
23. Gallery Layout
24. Installation
25. Final Thoughts
Contents
4
UAG Research
Discovering the research conducted by Mary A. Schmidt author of the exhibition catalogue for the recent Quastler exhibit at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
Speaking with collector Graham Shearing about his Quastler collection.
5
Library of Congress DiscoveriesBiography and personal relationships
Scope and visibility of her professional work
8
EXHIBITION
POSTCARD design
Wood grain textures“Counterpoint” Gallery 1 “Beach” Gallery 3
“Sadness” Gallery 2 “Exodus” Gallery 4
King: Modest typewriter font. Used in exhibition quote panels.
Neue Haas Grotesk: Bold, ‘50s European designer font. Produced for
newsprint. Made popular by: “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012) movie poster,
American Apparel and Instagram logos. Used in this portfolio’s headers. Baskerville Old Face Regular: Transitional style font designed in 1757 with pronounced serifs. Shown to increase “agreeability” among readers. Produced for the publication of Classical works of poetry and literature. Made Popular by: Northwestern University, and the “Canada” wordmark. Used in the exhibition’s object labels, theme labels, and marketing materials.
FONTS
11
13
Gertrude QuastlerDog , 1950Papier-mâché, cloth, and acrylic 1986.1.12
Gertrude Quastler’s explorations into an array of media are renowned. Although primarily a woodcut printmaker, she also worked in silk screen printing, monoprints, and textile work, exhibited paintings in oil, watercolor and gouache, and created sculpture of wire and wood. Many of these techniques allowed Gertrude to serially produce her art quickly and fluidly.
Despite quickly adapting to diversity and innovation in the United States, the creation of this papier-mâché sculpture exposes feelings of European nostalgia. The dog, a subject never before exhibited by Quastler, appears to be a stylistic representation of a collie owned by her family in Austria, as depicted in the photo below, one of a few childhood photos that remained in her possession at the time of her death. Although the use of papier-mâché may suggest a departure from previous techniques, the implementation of fiber is reminiscent of her early life and fashion design career in Vienna and Paris.
What images of childhood nostalgia do you still carry with you?
Gertrude Quastler
Counterpoint #2, 1951Ink and paper1985.01.009
One of two editions, Counterpoint is Gertrude’s most renowned woodblock print. This version initially began to gain exposure with its 1952 publication in the American magazine Perspectives USA as a visual aide for an article about fellow printmaker, William Lieberman. In 1954, the image captured the attention of LIFE magazine, where it was subsequently adopted for an article about the revival of Woodcut printing in North America. A copy of this print was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1952.
A second, slightly different production of this print can be viewed in the Rotunda Gallery.
14Rest
rike-
1 to
strik
e ag
ain.
2 a
new
prin
t mad
e fr
om a
n ol
d lit
hogr
aphi
c st
one,
m
etal
eng
ravi
ng, w
oodc
ut, o
r the
like
.
Gertr
ude Q
uastle
r was
an ar
tist of
excep
tiona
l abilit
y who
se wo
rk wa
s coll
ected
by nu
merou
s pub
lic art
muse
ums in
this c
ountr
y and
inter
natio
nally
in he
r lifet
ime. D
espite
this, v
ery litt
le is k
nown
abou
t he
r work
today
, just 6
0 year
s afte
r her
death
. Rest
rike: U
ncov
ering
the Lif
e and
Work
of Ge
rtrud
e Qu
astler
is inte
nded
to re-
presen
tQua
stler’s
art, ut
ilizing
conte
mpora
ry his
torica
l persp
ective
s and
ne
wly d
iscov
ered a
rchiva
l mate
rials i
n orde
r to pr
ovide
a fres
h und
erstan
ding o
f this a
rtist.
The M
useum
Studie
s Sem
inar c
lass is
prou
d to p
resen
t this e
xhibi
tion, w
hich d
raws o
n the
Unive
rsity
Art G
allery
’s perm
anen
t collec
tion o
f 150
Qua
stler w
orks, d
onate
d by P
ittsbu
rgher
Johan
na
Zimme
rman
, the a
rtist’s
sister-
in-law
, after
the a
rtist’s
death
. Doc
umen
ts unc
overe
d this
fall fr
om
Quast
ler’sp
apers
at the
Librar
y of C
ongre
ss inc
luding
photo
graph
s, pers
onal l
etters
and o
ther
corre
spond
ence,
journ
al entr
ies, an
d poe
try ha
ve be
en in
corp
orated
into
the ex
hibitio
n as w
ell. Th
ese
artifa
cts ar
e bein
g pres
ented
for th
e first
time, a
nd pr
ovide
addit
ional i
nsigh
t into t
he life
and c
areer
of thi
s cele
brated
artist
.Fou
r main
them
es are
the fo
cus o
f this e
xhibi
tion: B
iograp
hy, Pr
ocess
, Poetr
y, and
Inter
nal St
rugg
le. Alt
houg
h man
y aspe
cts of
her li
fe are
still u
nkno
wn, m
uch c
an sti
ll be le
arned
abou
t how
Qua
stler’s
status
as a r
efuge
e, her
travel
s, her
life-lo
ng th
irst fo
r learn
ing, an
d her
chron
ic illn
ess aff
ected
her a
rt. Th
e artis
t’s int
erest i
n the
writt
en w
ord, es
pecia
lly po
etry, i
nspire
d and
stimu
lated
muc
h of h
er wo
rk.
Her in
tensiv
e focu
s on p
rocess
and e
xperi
menta
l tech
nique
s offe
rs a de
tailed
look a
t the s
kill, ti
me, an
d pe
rsiste
nce r
equir
ed to
prod
uce th
ese w
orks, p
articu
larly h
er wo
odcu
ts for
which
she w
as be
st kno
wn.
Quast
ler’sh
ealth
issues
sometim
es res
ulted
in w
orks fo
cused
on da
rker su
bject m
atter,
and r
eveal h
er use
of ar
t mak
ing as
a the
rapeu
tic too
l. We in
vite y
ou to
explo
re the
se ga
lleries
and c
onsid
er an
ew th
e ach
ievem
ents o
f this f
orgott
en ar
tist.
This
exhi
bition
was
orga
nize
d by
the H
istor
y of A
rt &
Arch
itectu
re’s
Mus
eum
Stud
ies Se
min
ar cl
ass
and m
ade p
ossib
le wi
th th
e gen
erou
s sup
port
of Th
e Fin
e Fou
ndati
on; th
e Offi
ce of
the C
hanc
ellor
, th
e Sch
ool o
f Arts
and S
cienc
es; an
d the
Hist
ory o
f Art
and A
rchi
tectu
re D
epar
tmen
t of t
he
Unive
rsity
of Pi
ttsbu
rgh.
The s
how
is co
-spo
nsor
ed by
the E
urop
ean
Union
Cen
ter of
Ex
celle
nce/E
urop
ean
Studie
s Cen
ter EU
CE/ES
C.
Spec
ial th
anks
to Ja
net M
cCall
, Exe
cutiv
e Dire
ctor,
Socie
ty fo
r Con
tempo
rary
Cra
ft an
d ins
tructo
r of
the M
useu
m St
udies
Sem
inar
; Uni
versi
ty Ar
t Gall
ery C
urato
r Isa
belle
Cha
rtier
, and
grad
uate
teach
ing a
ssista
nt A
nnika
John
son f
or th
eir gu
idanc
e and
supp
ort o
f thi
s Mus
eum
Stud
ies p
rojec
t. W
e also
ackn
owled
ge, w
ith gr
atitu
de, th
e adv
ice an
d assi
stanc
e of G
raha
m Sh
earin
g, Ch
uck B
iddle
and C
once
pt A
rt Ga
llery
, Nata
lie Sw
eet, a
nd M
aria
Castr
o.
15
Restriking PoetryLike the visual arts, the written word has pervaded every aspect of Gertrude Quastler’s life. Handmade creations such as handwritten birthday poetry, and woodcut printed greeting cards were among her favorite gifts to give. In casual correspondence with friends, intimate letters to her husband Henry, and professional contact with galleries and buyers, Gertrude commonly chose old-world pen and ink over typeface and phone call.This affinity with the literary crafts extended far into the lives of her friends. Gertrude and Henry held weekly poetry gatherings, inviting many of their closest friends from the University of Illinois, along with renowned Shakespearean scholar, Charles Shattuck, to sketch and paint social works of art inspired by open readings in their Urbana home.We invite you to continue in Quastler’s tradition and “restrike” poetry inspired by Quastler’s works of art. Simply use the materials provided to reimagine her artistic vision through your own words and experiences. When you are done, tack your completed poem near the work or works that inspired you.
Uncovering QuastlerResearch for this exhibition was conducted in both the
archives of the University Art Gallery and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Although the UAG’s holdings include dozens of letters of correspondence between Mary A. Schmidt, author of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art’s Quastler retrospective catalogue, and various friends of the late artist, the largest quantity of Quastler’s personal documents exist at the Library of Congress.
These documents include letters of submission (and rejection) to and from various galleries and museums, birthday and holiday cards, poetry, love letters, family photographs and much more. These artifacts open a window into the life and context of the artist, her professional goals as well as her personal relationships, and provide an unedited autobiography written and read in her own handwriting.
Various facsimiles of these documents are on view throughout this exhibition. We invite you to search through these letters and files as we have and discover the artist on terms invisible through her art work alone.
*Thes
e lab
els w
ere m
odifi
ed fo
r exh
ibiti
on
"It brings art history alive when you deal with those kinds of sources."
-Mary A Schmidt
"Her work betrays the physical suffering that must have been a part of her life every day. The more of Gertrude's work that people can enjoy, the better, because it is pleasurable. It is happy."
-Mary A Schmidt
"Quastler is by no means alone among artists in that she and her work slipped from sight with her death. The chance translation of her work to Pittsburgh and its dispersal, partly preserved them but partly concealed them"
-Graham Shearing
Quastler carved her first woodcut in 1950 using an "old crate and some scalpels" from her husband Henry.
-B. Monica Klippstein
"Neither my wife nor I can think of any couple we've encountered more indivisible"
-Richard Diebenkorn
"Henry was a bit of a loner and Gertrude painted and did her prints with almost no sources of appreciation or encouragement"
-Richard Diebenkorn
"What Henry 'Did' was a mystery to all f us. But we, including Henry, took this for granted."
-Richard diebenkorn
"Gertrude did not "teach" -she encouraged, suggested, and criticized."
-E. der Mateosian
"My work is meant for my contemporaries. It should decorate a room, give some fun and some pleasure. It should tell about the things I love, like trees and open fields, the movements of people, the expression of a face."
-Gertrude Quastler
”"When I fall in love with a new subject I explore it thoroughly in many, many drawings until the shapes I have seen in nature are completely absorbed. Only when the impressions have been distilled and clarified do I start painting, carving, or print."
-Gertrude Quastler
"Dear Miss Dickinson: Thank you for your letter of May 27. Let me answer your last question first. We are American citizens since 1945, -as I have never painted in Europe I think, I should be called an American painter."
-Gertrude Quastler
19
“Maps are not funnyWe want to pin
That gigantic [view]To a definite point in the landscapeThat way it looks more like a game
And that does goodTo our haunted souls”
Tra
nscriptions
Final Thoughts From scouring the Library ofCongress for a “Big Idea” to thedeinstallation of the final print,Restrike: The Life and Work ofGertrude Quastler has been anenlightening and educational pre-professional adventure.
The success of the show is due toour teachers and mentors JanetMcCall, Isabelle Chartier, andAnnika Johnson, as well as myDocumentation group membersKatherine, Ryan, Deanna, andDanny, and my curatorialteammates Mariah, Michaela, andSarah.
Special thanks to Graham Shearing; TheFine Foundation; the Office of theChancellor, the School of Arts and Sciences;and the History of Art and ArchitectureDepartment of the University of Pittsburgh.The show was co-sponsored by theEuropean Union Center ofExcellence/European Studies CenterEUCE/ESC.