Arts
Sheldon
Gallery
approval
in danger
■ Recent American
Association of Museums report
threatens reaccreditation.
BY MELANIE MENSCH
Reaccreditation for the
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery is
in jeopardy because of four
areas of concern determined by
a recent evaluation report.
The American Association
of Museums has put the
gallery’s application for reac
creditation on hold for one year
until the gallery strengthens its
weak areas.
A gallery or museum
accredited by the AAM means
the institution voluntarily
meets a rigorous criteria of
excellence and accountability.
If the Sheldon fails to retain the
AAM’s seal of approval, it could
lose certain benefits, like access
to traveling exhibits and addi
tional funding.
“Accreditation sets high
standards,” said Janice
Driesbach, the Sheldon’s direc
tor, who began her directorship
Sept. 1 after previously serving
as the curator for the Crocker
Art Museum in Sacramento,
Calif. "I think the reviewers real
ly exercised diligence in prepar
ing the report. It was prepared
with intention to provide the
museum with guidelines.”
After the review of the
Sheldon’s renewal application
and a May visit by two museum
professionals, the AAM report
listed four concerns the gallery
must address immediately.
First, the report stated the
unclear relationship between
the gallery and the Nebraska Art
Association, a support organi
zation of the Sheldon, needed
to be outlined.
Driesbach said the Sheldon
needed a better definition of the
interdependence between the
two institutions.
“Part of the process is iden
tifying and exploring the issue
of the autonomy of the organi
zations,” she said.
Also, the Sheldon needs to
create a comprehensive budget
plan, filing the funding from
sources like UNL, the Nebraska
Art Association and other
grants, into a single document.
"We don’t have a really
detailed financial operation
budget of the museum,”
Driesbach said.
The gallery must also
improve its upkeep of the
Sheldon’s extensive collection
and maintenance of the build
ing. Creating safer artwork stor
age, controlling inside tempera
ture and humidity, maintaining
better space usage and rotating
collections are concerns the
report mentioned, Driesbach
said.
The report also concluded
UNL had questionable support
and involvement at the
Sheldon, which Driesbach said
she hoped to improve immedi
ately.
Driesbach’s ideas included
inviting non-art related disci
plines like history, philosophy
and sociology into the Sheldon,
using the gallery as a learning
channel outside the traditional
classroom.
In six months, the Sheldon
must submit an interim report
of possible solutions to combat
these concerns. Then again in
August 2001 the gallery must
produce a final report and cal
endar of strategies.
Nichole Schulze, an AAM
public relations assistant, said
suspension of accreditation
rarely occurred.
“Out of the 9,000 institu
tions in the United States, only
750 are accredited,” she said.
“Once a gallery is accredited, it’s
important to keep it up. It’s very
rare that we revoke that status.
We want to make sure institu
tions are still performing at the
same level they were accredited
at.”
Schulze said 12 months was
the maximum time span gal
leries are given to rectify any
problems.
"I don’t think the standards
are unreasonable,” she said, “
but it is challenging to be at the
top of the profession.”
I)t M.n.i \ugelou luis no need 10 "how her
head. She is noi only a strong woman, hui pile
nomrnalh also a poet, historian, authoi. at Iress.
prod m ei. di ret lor. p I a \ui igh I journalisl. i iv il
rights arm ist and eurrentlv a Keynolds prolessor in
the ( ollege ol 1 litmanities al W ake I oresi Unix ersi Iv
in Winston-Salem. \.(
Dr \ n gel on is the author of I I best sellers,
including "I Know Why llu* (.aged Hi id Sings,"
"Phenomenal Woman" and " I he Km k ( t ies ()nt I'o
Us today, the poem read at the 1994 inauguration
of President < linton.
I'he woman who has conquered numerous
aspects of the arts and activism will speak tonight at
the I ied ( enter for Performing \rts in a sold-out
event sponsored hy the University Program
Council. •
I he collaboration ol two committees within the
HIM made Dr. \ngelou s ret urn to I incoln alter a
1994 visit to the Per siting \udilorium possible
Tonight’s event is l IP( ,'s first reallv big event in a
very long lime, said \ikki I ulkner. juniot sot iology
major and ( hair ol the Minority Programs commit
t ee.
9 I ulknei and juniot I nglish major kvIieWolf.
chairwoman ot the (render Issues entnmitlee. took
on the challenge ol bringing \ngelott hack to
him uln aider suggestions In the \ssociation of
Students ot the Universitv of Nebraska and also to
meet student bod\ s needs, said Wolf.
“Maya is an awesome role model foi our ram
pus, and she is extremely popular with students."
Wolt said. "She encompasses both mmorit\ and
gender issues that are important to our student
programs' missions." '
Dr. Angelou’s popnlariw iTnd nnjvei salilx is rec
ognized In main classes on campus that utilize her
work I Know \\ In I he ( aged Bird Sings as texts.
Perhaps Dr. Angelou’s strength lies in the fact that,
“she intertwines academies with her experiences,"
1 ulkner said.
Dr. \ngelou was born April 4, 1928 as
Marguerite Johnson in St. I oms, hut was raised in
»
segregated Arkansas. She began her career in
drama and dam e, bill (ben discoverer! a career in
pi ml journalism.
While liv ing in (.aim. Tgvpt, I >1. Angelou edited
t he Arab Observer." (he only I nglisb language
newspaper in the Middle I ast. Dr. Angelou also
sei ved as an editor of “The African Review" in
(.liana.
Dr. Angelou worked with Dr. Martin l.uther
King, Jr. as a coordinatoi of the Southern (ihristian
I eadershij) (.onference, and was appointed by both
President (ierald Lord and President Jimmy Carter
for political commissions.
( urrently I >r. Angelou is on the board of the
American I i I in Institute and is one of I he few
female members ol the I )irector’s (mild.
Throughout Dr. Angelou’s endeavors, she has
maintaimxl the vitiffi t\ of truly living and appreciat
ing life. A force of inspiration, her words and spirit
challenge .ill audiences.
1 h. Angelou once wrote to the United Nations,
It is possible and imperative that we discover a
brav e and startling truth.” In an interview with
reporter Da\ id Lrost, he asked Dr. Angelou to
describe that truth.
"I think we have to start to love life ... We have
got to start lov ing life and the liv mg. We have to
respect that thing which wecannoi create, which is
life, and slop taking it fiom people,” Dr. Angelou
responded.
Lrost also asked which virtue Angelou viewed as
the greatest. Dr. Angelou immediately answered, "It
is (outage ... because without courage you can t
jiractice any other virtue consistently. You can prac
tice any v irtue erratically, but nothing consistently
without courage.”
Stall writer Tricia Ireland from "The ()rion” said,
" Angelou relates in the issues of contention, pain,
love, loss and stirv ival... (she) brings out images we
associate with the struggle of being black, being a
womad and being human.
Please see ANGELOU on 9
“Phenomenal Woman ”
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when l start to tell them,
They think I 'm telling lies.
I say,
It ’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A. hive of honey bees.
I say,
IPs the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They tryi so much
But they canyt touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they stdl can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of.my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
Tm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud,
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the dick of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand\
The need of my care,
‘Cause Vm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Organ concert series sounds off Abendmusik season
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON
Communion just wouldn’t
have quite the reverence. Funeral
homes would be eerily musicless
and baseball games just wouldn't
have the pep to make Americans
slither out of their seat to stretch
come seventh inning.
Such are the stereotypes of the
musical instrument the organ, but
these barbs come from those who
have not heard world renowned
organist Frederick Swann.
“People think of the organ as
an instrument just for church and
funerals, but there is an enormous
literature on it,” Swann said.
Tonight, the instrument grabs
the limelight at Lincoln's First
Plymouth Church when the first
of two world-famous organists
play for the Abendmusik: Lincoln
Fine Art concert series.
Also collaborating on the
show are the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln School of
Music and the Lincoln Organ
Showcase.
Abendmusik will kick off a 10
concert season when guest artists
Swann and David Briggs perform
on First-Plymouth Church’s
organ, which can wake any sleep
ing usher with its 3,000 pipes.
“This is the largest pipe organ
in the midlands, and it has been
receiving international acclaim,”
John Levick, artistic director of
Abendmusik, said of First
Plymouth’s organ.
Levick said it comes very close
in comparison to the world
famous Mormon Tabernacle
organ in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Its a superb organ, unique
and different in many different
ways,” Swann said.
Swann will perform tonight,
accompanying Abendmusik’s res
ident ensemble and chorus and
will also play one soloist piece.
Swann now resides in Los
Angeles, but is most widely known
throughout the world as the
organist who played on national
television weekly at the Crystal
Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif.
Swann has 60 years of experi
ence at his side; he started his
training at the age of 10.
On Friday, England’s premiere
organist David Briggs will demon
strate the organ as a soloist instru
ment, featuring crowd pleasing
classics, “Flight of the Bumblebee”
and "Clair de Lune.”
Briggs knows how to gather a
crowd, having played before an
estimated radio audience of 350
million people in a Christmas Eve
service from King’s.
“These are both two world
renowned organists,” Levick said.
"We plotted this out since last
spring.”
It will also be a chance for the
audience to see the organ in a few
various forms.
“Frederick Swann is showcas
ing the accompanying side of the
organ, and David Briggs will dis
play the organ from a soloist and
improvisational perspective.”
Performance Preview
Frederick Swann
David Briggs
—C Where:
—C When:
First Plymouth
Congregation
Church,
20th & D St.
Tonight & Fri.#
8 p.m.
Swann: Tonight
Briggs: Friday
Adults $15
Sr. Citizens $12
Students $8