As the 20th century nears its end, a group ofpeople in the United States and in Europe have taken the initiativeof creating a new museum: The Museum of European Art in Clarence, NewYork. This decision was made at a time when the confrontation betweenthe superpowers of East and West was coming to an end, and the workfor peace among peoples became the official policy of the world'sleading nations.
In this positive political atmosphere, freecitizens are asked to make a contribution to the society of today aswell as the future. This the Museum of European Art in the UnitedStates does. After 10 years of planning and preparations, the Museumwas established to make the works of 20th century European artistsavailable to the American public, to develop cultural activities topromote contact between the young artist generations of Europe andAmerica, and to contribute, through the medium of art, to betterinternational relations and friendship.
The cultural work of this institution cannot--nordoes it wish to--compete with the great museums that have operatedwith extensive government support for decades. Nevertheless, theMuseum of European Art is a valuable addition to the culturallandscape. It teaches about contemporary artists and presents, inexhibits both within and without, the works of men and women whichwe, due to their style, call "European art." Another objective of ourmuseum is to arouse the curiosity of young people in art which hasits roots in the countries of Europe from which their forefathersonce emigrated. Contact with art enriches our personal lives. Inaddition, it gives us a better understanding and a greater respectfor the cultures of other nations all over the world.
The Museum was founded in cooperation with anumber of prominent European artists, art collectors, and artmuseums. From among the artists who have donated their works to theMuseum or supported its work by their personal engagements, I wouldlike to mention Kurt Arentz, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dali, ErnstFuchs, Renate Stendar, Jan Künster, Helga Tiemann, Gredi Assa,and a number of others.
When speaking of art today, we think first ofthose forms which we encounter every day, art forms which arefamiliar to us through the media or through personal experience:film, theater, pop concerts. We think, too, of contemporary painting,sculpture, and photography.
Over and over, television, radio and thenewspapers tell us what is modern in painting and sculpture, what is"in." The younger among us are impressed, and convinced that all ofwhat the media propagate is really "great art," even though we do notcare for it personally.
Moreover, this influencing of people's artisticvalues is inherent in the freedom of our society. What art historywill show to be lasting, remains undetermined. Only subsequentgenerations will learn which values in art really make an enduringcontribution to human development.
Ultimately, the so-called contemporary art is onlypossible because art and culture have a long development andtradition in the history of humanity. A museum for European art inthe United States has the important task of drawing attention to theroots of art and culture, to reveal the origins of culturaldevelopment in general, and with respect to America and Europe inparticular. Its job is to inform, so that every observer can decidefor himself what he considers art. It has been said: "Listen to yourown inner voice." It will tell you what speaks to you and whatpleases you."
The majority of U.S. citizens are descendants ofEuropeans. Their thoughts, feelings and actions are backed byhundreds of years of tradition and thousands of years of culture.This is true as well for those who allow themselves to be overlyinfluenced by fast-moving modern development.
If we examine more closely the question ofhumanity's origins and development, it is fascinating to discover howmuch agreement there is among highly developed cultures on certainaesthetic questions. This is true even where cultures developed thathad no knowledge of one another.
What we call European art and culture, that whichcomes out of Europe, is not always purely European. Through trade, oreven wars, vastly different cultures have always influenced oneanother whenever the bearers of these cultures came into contact witheach other. We know this from the cultural exchange between Europeand America after the discovery of this continent. Even older is thecultural exchange which took place during the time of Alexander theGreat, when this exceptional ruler built a world empire that extendedfrom Greece over Asia Minor and North Africa to India.
Not only Greek antiquity, but also Christianityand Judaism, have had a marked influence on European culture. Thefact that the noble virtues of American Indians in Europe have alsobeen viewed by generations, especially young people, as worthy ofemulation, is likewise evidence that cultural values unitepeople.
The Museum of European Art in the United Stateswill continue this process. It should be proud of the cultural andartistic values which its work promotes. It should be a place wherethe cultures of all continents may meet. It should help to preservethe classical artistic heritage of humanity, and it must promote apositive understanding of art in which culture is a standard for allpeople.
The Museum owns half of a historical building inClarence, located only steps past the Clarence Town Park, ClarenceHistorical Museum, and the Asa Ransom Restaurant. The originalbuilding was constructed in 1834, which makes it one of the oldest inthe area. At this time, the Museum is open two days a week, onWednesdays and Saturdays, from 10 - 5.
The Museum is a tax exempt, non-profitorganization. We do not receive any funds at all from the government,everything is financed entirely by donations from the general publicand our members.
Sculptures
The image of the human body in its ideal form is the foundation ofthe collection. The young man and the maiden, man and woman, You andI. It depicts the human body as it is -- healthy, strong, noble, andbeautiful. Male and female figures in bronze and marble by artistssuch as Salvador Dali, Arno Breker, Kurt Arentz, Charles Despiau,Paul Belmondo, and Ernst Fuchs are among the high points of ourcollection.
Portraits
Established with the acquisition of the only authorized portrait-bustof the "King of Surrealists" Salvador Dali, this has become one ofthe most interesting aspects of the Museum's art collection. Itincludes the busts of Ronald Reagan, Alexander the Great, JeanCocteau, Arno Breker, Richard Wagner, Konrad Adenauer, Ezra Pund, andErnst Fuchs.
Paintings
The collection was started with the acquisition of the paintingBucephalos, the horse of Alexander the Great, by the Germanpainter Jan Künster, and Margaret Stucki's paintings TheSpace Dream and The Fire of Creativity. Since then,several paintings by other artists have been added.
Animal sculptures.
Established with the acquisition of a group ofbronze sculptures from the hand of the famous German sculptor KurtArentz, this collection includes the bronze sculpture of the rarebald eagle. This sculpture by Arentz has received internationalprominence by becoming the coveted "Ecological Eagle," awardedannually to a prominent personality in the public life who has madeextraordinary contributions to preserving the environment of ourplanet.
Lithographs
Many of the fine graphic works in this collection have been producedin the studio of the French master printer Fernand Mourlot. Thebeauty of this collection lies in the many facets of the variousartists' use of color and line in their depiction of the humanbody.
Included here are lithographs, etchings, andwoodcuts by Salvador Dali, Arno Breker, Ernst Fuchs, Pablo Picasso,Carzou, Charles Despiau, Aristide Maillol, Helga Tiemann, AndyWarhol, and Marc Chagall.
Divina Commedia
We have fortunate to have on loan a collection of 100 fascinatingcolor woodcuts by Salvador Dali. It took Dali 10 years to create thiscyclus of the best illustrations to Dante Alighieri's DivinaCommedia. Each of the 100 unique pictures was inspired by one of thestanza's of Dante's poem. In 1991, Felipe of Asturias, the CrownPrince of Spain, opened a large Salvador Dali exhibition at theNörvenich Castle in Germany, where this cycle was shown as apart of the exhibition.
As I mentioned earlier, the Museum is a non-profitorganization, and we depend for our financial support on donationsfrom the general public.
We have membership applications available forthose of you, who would like to support our work by becoming members.Membership privileges include free admission to the Museum, personalinvitations to our special events and exhibitions, and rentalprivileges of selected works of art.
As part of your membership benefits you will alsoreceive our Calendar of Events and the periodic journalPROMETHEUS, which carries interesting art-related news andarticles, and schedule of major events sponsored by the Museum andother organizations with which we cooperate.
And finally, there is the opportunity to become avolunteer for those interested to become personally involved in thework of the Museum. Being a young institution, we have a number ofopportunities for the right persons to make meaningful contributionsto our work.