UMFA exhibit invites families to clown around
By Glen Warchol
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Feb 15 2012 02:41PM
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts exhibit of the clown prints of French artist Georges Rouault seems to be a perfect fit for the museum’s outreach to children — and the adults they happen to drag along.
Depicted in brilliantly colored costumes and grease paint, the clowns of the "Circus of the Shooting Star" display the outward "spangles," as Rouault puts it, of life.
Kids, of course, know as well as any 20th-century French artist that clowns have their dark secrets. Rouault called them a "reflection of paradise lost."
"The colors are intensely bright. Then when you look closely at these portraits — it’s a sad show," says Jenny Woods, who, as museum services liaison, organized the exhibit. "We really wanted something for a family audience, but have something that’s not just for children."
Indeed, Rouault and his clown prints offer a door into 20th-century art and history for children and adults alike. Born in 1871, Rouault lived through the misery of two world wars that unleashed weapons of mass destruction on civilians and devastated France. The artist considered the clown a true symbol of human suffering. (Note to high-school teachers: Sounds like a research project.)
At the same time, Rouault’s early years make the basis for an eye-popping children’s pop-up book. His grandfather, a small-time art collector, took little Georges to galleries where he introduced the boy to art, including the realism of Gustave Courbet. As a teenager, Georges apprenticed with craftsmen who restored stained-glass windows. A glance at the thick, black borders of his Fauvism-influenced clown prints, and any kid can see Georges carried his experiences with him.
When Rouault became an artist in his own right, he was briefly as well-known as Matisse. He had exhibitions in New York at the Museum of Modern Art in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Then, Rouault dropped off the radar of a rapidly changing art world. He died in 1958. Cue sad clown and teardrop.
As part of the Cirque de l’Étoile Filante exhibit, the UMFA is offering a series of related events (see box).
Beginning in April, the museum will offer Wednesday evening showings of the PBS documentary "Circus."
UMFA Director Gretchen Dietrich says that although the museum is on the campus of the University of Utah, it has a special role as "Utah’s museum" and reaches out to the broader community.
"I love this show because it’s youth- and community-friendly," Dietrich says of the Rouault exhibit. "Families are a big audience for us."
gwarchol@sltrib.com; facebook.com/nowsaltlake
