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MUSEUM OF ART

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Director's
Message
Truly there is no rest
for the weary at UF's
Harn Museum of Art.
Fortunately, the Harn
staff is resilient, action-oriented and empowered by
positive thinking. At this time of year in 2005, we were
putting the finishing touches on the spectacular new
Mary Ann Harn Cofrin Pavilion, which opened in
October of that year. With barely a moment to catch
our collective breath, the Harn team embarked on a
major renovation of the 1990 building. By September
2006 it looked as good as, or better than, new. This year
the physical transformation of the Harn continues,
but behind the scenes, such that our visitors will not
experience the slightest disruption in their enjoyment of
the permanent collections and changing exhibitions.

Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, a gift from private donors and contributions
from the state of Florida, a project budget of some
$700,000 makes possible the renovation and expansion
of the Ham's art storage facilities. As the collections
grow by gift and purchase, state-of-the-art space to store,
conserve and study the collections is essential to the
Museum's success. Until the end of 2008, your friends at
the Harn Museum of Art will be scurrying behind the
scenes to realize this essential project. The results may
be invisible to you, our loyal members and friends, but
the impact is truly transformative. Thank you for your
support of our work at the Harn.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Martin Nagy, Ph.D.
Director

Elsa Mora, Loss ofSense (Perdadesentido), 2001, lent by Patricia and Howard Farber,
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Acquisitions

By Kerry Oliver-Smith
Harn Museum Curator of Contemporary Art

The contemporary collection has an important new
painting with the acquisition of Nets-Infinity (TWOS) by
Yayoi Kusama, often called "Japan's greatest living artist."
The acquisition was made possible through funds provided
by the David A. Cofrin Art Acquisition Endowment and
friends of the Harn Museum. Nets-Infinity (TWOS) is
currently exhibited in International Contemporary Artfrom
the Ham Museum (C ,lli nf, in the Mary Ann Harn Cofrin
Pavilion.

A prolific artist, Kusama has lived and worked in New
York City and Japan while creating a large body of work
in 'p ,li il ., sculpture, collage, installation, film and
performance. She arrived in New York in 1958 and gained
considerable recognition during the 1950s and 1960s when
she exhibited her work along with many influential artists
like Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns.
Kusama returned to Japan in the 1970s.

Kusama's work has an affinity with Abstract Expressionism
and is considered to have anticipated aspects of Pop art,
Minimalism and Post-minimalism. She has an obsessive
interest in proliferating patterns and repetitive shapes, often
in polka dot and cell-like forms. Among her best known
early works are "net paintings," large-scale abstract works
with circular and repetitive patterns. The Harn Museum's
acquisition is a recent version of the artist's signature work.
Juxtaposing thick red paint against white ground, the
painting suggests a dialectic of opposing forces in time and
space.

Kusama has represented Japan at the Venice Biennale
in 1993; shown at prestigious museums in Asia and
Europe; and had a major retrospective that traveled to
Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Tokyo, among other venues. She has
received many awards in Europe and the United States,
along with Japan's National Lifetime Achievement Award,
the Praemium Imperiale, in 2006 for painting.

Yayoi Kusama, Nets-Infinity (TWOS), 2004, acrylic on canvas
Museum purchase, funds provided by the David A. Cofrin Art Acquisition Endowment
and friends of the Harn Museum, 2006.40, International ContemporaryArt

Support the Harn Museum

A museum is known by its collections. The growth of
the Harn Museum of Art collection has been steady with
some remarkable acquisitions. Whether there is one
object acquired or a number of objects gifted, the careful
development of the collection defines the museum.

The Harn collects in the areas of African, Asian, modern
and contemporary art and photography. You can help
collections growth through several gifting options.

Gifts of cash, securities and property can be directed to
the museum's unrestricted General Acquisitions Fund.
The curators utilize this funding source to implement
their acquisitions plans.

Endowments can be established specifically for the
purchase of artwork. This perpetual source of funding
favorably impacts the growth of the collection.
Endowments can be collection specific or unrestricted.
An endowed fund generates approximately four percent
annually. Depending on the size of the endowment, these
funds are sometimes combined with other dollars to make
an acquisition.

Artwork gifts are a traditional source of collection
growth. The best way to make a gift of art is to contact the
curator to determine the appropriateness for the Ham's
collection. A work of art may be artistically significant
but it may not be appropriate for the Museum's collection.
The development office works with donors and curators
regarding these special gifts. As with all gifts of personal
property, tax and estate issues should be considered with
your professional advisors.

In addition to any tax benefits that you can gain from
supporting collections growth at the Harn, the real benefit
will be for the generations of future museum visitors who
come to see the art. That is quite a lasting gift.

Phyllis DeLaney
Director of
Development
pdelaney@harn.ufl.edu

Chinese, Baluster Vase, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
Porcelain, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Magoon, in honor of Sam and Bessie Proctor

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