Moon bright

Friends of the Princeton University Art Museum salute Asia.

By: Christian Kirkpatrick
   Red paper lanterns led the way Saturday night to a temporary entrance on the side of the Princeton University Art Museum. Pots of bamboo, shivering in the brisk February air, stood guard outside as guests glided through, into the museum’s gallery of Asian art.
   This door, ordinarily used by the staff, has been the entrance to the museum since construction began on the front of the building in the fall. Thus, the planners of this year’s benefit, A Lunar New Year Celebration, made a virtue of this necessity. They took inspiration for their theme from the Asian collection, which the temporary entrance leads into.
   And the stars — or at least the moon — seemed to be in their favor. "Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year," observed Eir Danielson, co-ordinator of the Friends of the museum.
   Upstairs, the nearly 400 guests chatted and sampled appetizers with Asian flavors. Many talked about the exhibit of watercolors by Cézanne exhibit that had just closed. It was quite a hit, drawing record numbers of viewers.
   This is only a beginning, according to Friends President Irene Schragger of Lawrenceville. "I want to make people in the community more aware of the museum and how wonderful it is," she said, adding that she would like to see membership grow by 10 percent.
   Susan Taylor, the museum’s director, described what new members will have to look forward to. "This is the most active exhibition schedule in a few years," she said with pride.
   On March 8, The Art of Structural Design: A Swiss Legacy will open. It will celebrate the aesthetics of four engineers who are regarded as the most innovative structural designers of the 20th century. The exhibition is curated by Prof. David P. Billington, who has taught engineering for 45 years at the university. A scholarly publication by Prof. Billington will accompany the exhibition.
   Shuffling the Deck: The Collection Reconsidered will open on March 29. It will feature works that four contemporary artists created in response to pieces in the museum’s collection. Each new work will be hung beside its inspiration, within the permanent collection galleries, to encourage viewers to think about how these pieces relate to each other and the collection as a whole.
   Other exhibitions coming soon include Edward Ranney: Photographs: The John B. Elliot Collection (opening Saturday); The New Vulgarians: New York Pop (opening March 29), and In Pursuit of the Past: Provenance Research at the Princeton University Art Museum (opening April 25).
   While some gala guests were talking about the museum’s future, Milly King was commenting on a more immediate event — dinner. The Princeton resident and museum Friend described how she found seats for all the gala guests at Prospect House, where dinner would be served. It was like putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle, she said with a laugh.
   Gala co-chair Mary Heilner mentioned that the Friends had decorated Prospect House for dinner and dancing by filling it with orchids. Her co-chair Inez Scribner said she was thrilled with how everything had turned out.
   Corporate donors for A Lunar New Year Celebration included American Re-Insurance Company, Bloomberg, Johnson & Johnson, and PNC Bank and PNC Advisors. Proceeds will benefit the museum’s educational programs.