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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview with Jacquelyn Serwer

Aired January 03, 2004 - 09:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Not all masterpieces are meant to stay framed on the wall. At least that's the thinking at Washington's oldest art museum. The Corcoran Gallery's chief curator, Jacquelyn Serwer, explains the exhibit as she joins CNN's Robert Novak in this week's edition of The Novak Zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone.

We're at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from the White House. And we're with the chief curator of the gallery, Jacquelyn Serwer.

We are standing right in the middle of a very large sculpture, and if somebody is familiar with Impressionistic art, they might recognize this as a painting by Monet, "The Garden at Saint Adras (ph)."

Tell us what this is about, Jacqui.

JACQUELYN SERWER, CHIEF CURATOR, THE CORCORAN GALLERY: This is one of a number of tableaus that we have in this exhibition, Beyond the Frame: The Impressionist Sculptures of J. Seward Johnson. And in this scene, as in all of them, Seward Johnson has taken the opportunity to present very famous, beloved paintings in a three- dimensional version.

And so it allows our visitors to have not only a visual experience, but a physical experience as well.

NOVAK: This is a -- really something different. It's not been done before, has it, to take paintings and make them three- dimensional?

SERWER: No, it really hasn't. This is a special take on these well-known masterpieces by J. Seward Johnson, and he wanted to demystify the museum experience and invite visitors to engage, to interact, to enjoy the art in a way that is not usually possible.

NOVAK: Well, I understand, of course, we always tell little kids that they can't touch, don't feel, don't touch the statue.

SERWER: That's right.

NOVAK: But they can really touch and get involved with these, can't they?

SERWER: Yes, they can. It's one of the nice aspects of the exhibition that parents and grandparents come with their children. And for once, instead of saying, No, you can't do this, no, you can't do that, they can sit on the pieces, they can touch them. They can take pictures of themselves inside the tableaus. And so it's been a wonderful way to introduce our audience, our multigenerational audience, to the museum.

NOVAK: And you've had good reaction from the people who have come in?

SERWER: Yes, we have. Many people come, and they are so relieved to be in an exhibition that they can really share and enjoy, that families can share and enjoy.

NOVAK: Jacqui, what's been the reaction from the art world, the art establishment, if you will?

SERWER: Well, the art establishment, they are a little bit wary of this exhibition. But I think as far as ordinary people go, they've really been thrilled and delighted and surprised at how much fun it is.

NOVAK: Now, this work that we're standing in the middle of, these statues, these are stone statues?

SERWER: No, they are not. They are -- they're bronze. They're done in the lost-wax process, which is one of the oldest ways of producing sculpture. And what's interesting is that Seward Johnson has combined that old technique with new digital techniques to create the backgrounds for these tableaus. So it's a combination of the old and the new, and we like that idea.

NOVAK: How many other pieces of -- are in this exhibition?

SERWER: There are 17 pieces altogether. And then there is the very large piece outdoors, that you may have seen as you came to the building. That is one of Renoir's dancing couples. There are three in the exhibition, but one of them we chose to have produced in 20- foot version, and that is outside the museum. And it's a way of letting people know what's inside and leading them to the museum for this special show.

NOVAK: And you have a Van Gogh as well in this?

SERWER: Yes, we have two Van Goghs. We have the three- dimensional version of "L'Arlesienne." Seward Johnson calls it "The Landlady," because she was the landlady of the restaurant and the rooming house where Van Gogh lived in Arles. And then we have Van Gogh's bedroom, which is...

NOVAK: Famous (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SERWER: Very famous. There are several versions of it. And this one is based on the version in the Art Institute of Chicago. And it's quite wonderful. You can come in, you can climb on his bed, you can get a sense of the way he viewed the world with the slanted walls and the texture that you see of the paint on the surfaces.

NOVAK: You also have a famous Renoir piece, "Lunch of the Boating Party."

SERWER: Yes, we do, "Luncheon of the Boating Party." It's especially fun for our Washington audience, because it's one of the most famous paintings in the Philips Collection nearby, and those people who have been looking at the painting for years to come and find that they can actually walk through it and examine individual figures and take pictures of themselves inside, and in a sense join the party, makes it really very entertaining and a lot of fun.

NOVAK: Jacqui, you have a painting here by Mary Cassat, and the three-dimensional representation next to it?

SERWER: Yes, we do. It is the one case in which we were able to juxtapose the original painting with the 3-D version. It's a young girl at a window. And it's great fun for people to come in and to be able to compare the two, because it gives them an idea of J. Seward Johnson's process, and the way in which he selected the aspects of the painting that he wanted to emphasize in the 3-D version. So that's well worth seeing.

NOVAK: And now for the big question for curator, chief curator Jacquelyn Serwer.

Jacqui, what is future of this imaginative art, when you go beyond this three-dimensional representation? Do you get to movement, sound? What do you think's the future?

SERWER: Well, I think there are a lot of possibilities. And I think the wonderful thing about this show is that it has opened up a number of avenues. And I think we just have to wait and see. I think J. Seward Johnson was quite imaginative in coming up with this approach, and I think it allows us to revisit older art, but also allows us have a new experience.

And I think that idea, that there are different ways to experience art, is something that will take hold. And I think we'll just have to wait and see how other artists take the clues that Seward Johnson has provided.

NOVAK: Thank you, Jacquelyn Serwer.

And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 3, 2004 - 09:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Not all masterpieces are meant to stay framed on the wall. At least that's the thinking at Washington's oldest art museum. The Corcoran Gallery's chief curator, Jacquelyn Serwer, explains the exhibit as she joins CNN's Robert Novak in this week's edition of The Novak Zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone.

We're at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from the White House. And we're with the chief curator of the gallery, Jacquelyn Serwer.

We are standing right in the middle of a very large sculpture, and if somebody is familiar with Impressionistic art, they might recognize this as a painting by Monet, "The Garden at Saint Adras (ph)."

Tell us what this is about, Jacqui.

JACQUELYN SERWER, CHIEF CURATOR, THE CORCORAN GALLERY: This is one of a number of tableaus that we have in this exhibition, Beyond the Frame: The Impressionist Sculptures of J. Seward Johnson. And in this scene, as in all of them, Seward Johnson has taken the opportunity to present very famous, beloved paintings in a three- dimensional version.

And so it allows our visitors to have not only a visual experience, but a physical experience as well.

NOVAK: This is a -- really something different. It's not been done before, has it, to take paintings and make them three- dimensional?

SERWER: No, it really hasn't. This is a special take on these well-known masterpieces by J. Seward Johnson, and he wanted to demystify the museum experience and invite visitors to engage, to interact, to enjoy the art in a way that is not usually possible.

NOVAK: Well, I understand, of course, we always tell little kids that they can't touch, don't feel, don't touch the statue.

SERWER: That's right.

NOVAK: But they can really touch and get involved with these, can't they?

SERWER: Yes, they can. It's one of the nice aspects of the exhibition that parents and grandparents come with their children. And for once, instead of saying, No, you can't do this, no, you can't do that, they can sit on the pieces, they can touch them. They can take pictures of themselves inside the tableaus. And so it's been a wonderful way to introduce our audience, our multigenerational audience, to the museum.

NOVAK: And you've had good reaction from the people who have come in?

SERWER: Yes, we have. Many people come, and they are so relieved to be in an exhibition that they can really share and enjoy, that families can share and enjoy.

NOVAK: Jacqui, what's been the reaction from the art world, the art establishment, if you will?

SERWER: Well, the art establishment, they are a little bit wary of this exhibition. But I think as far as ordinary people go, they've really been thrilled and delighted and surprised at how much fun it is.

NOVAK: Now, this work that we're standing in the middle of, these statues, these are stone statues?

SERWER: No, they are not. They are -- they're bronze. They're done in the lost-wax process, which is one of the oldest ways of producing sculpture. And what's interesting is that Seward Johnson has combined that old technique with new digital techniques to create the backgrounds for these tableaus. So it's a combination of the old and the new, and we like that idea.

NOVAK: How many other pieces of -- are in this exhibition?

SERWER: There are 17 pieces altogether. And then there is the very large piece outdoors, that you may have seen as you came to the building. That is one of Renoir's dancing couples. There are three in the exhibition, but one of them we chose to have produced in 20- foot version, and that is outside the museum. And it's a way of letting people know what's inside and leading them to the museum for this special show.

NOVAK: And you have a Van Gogh as well in this?

SERWER: Yes, we have two Van Goghs. We have the three- dimensional version of "L'Arlesienne." Seward Johnson calls it "The Landlady," because she was the landlady of the restaurant and the rooming house where Van Gogh lived in Arles. And then we have Van Gogh's bedroom, which is...

NOVAK: Famous (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SERWER: Very famous. There are several versions of it. And this one is based on the version in the Art Institute of Chicago. And it's quite wonderful. You can come in, you can climb on his bed, you can get a sense of the way he viewed the world with the slanted walls and the texture that you see of the paint on the surfaces.

NOVAK: You also have a famous Renoir piece, "Lunch of the Boating Party."

SERWER: Yes, we do, "Luncheon of the Boating Party." It's especially fun for our Washington audience, because it's one of the most famous paintings in the Philips Collection nearby, and those people who have been looking at the painting for years to come and find that they can actually walk through it and examine individual figures and take pictures of themselves inside, and in a sense join the party, makes it really very entertaining and a lot of fun.

NOVAK: Jacqui, you have a painting here by Mary Cassat, and the three-dimensional representation next to it?

SERWER: Yes, we do. It is the one case in which we were able to juxtapose the original painting with the 3-D version. It's a young girl at a window. And it's great fun for people to come in and to be able to compare the two, because it gives them an idea of J. Seward Johnson's process, and the way in which he selected the aspects of the painting that he wanted to emphasize in the 3-D version. So that's well worth seeing.

NOVAK: And now for the big question for curator, chief curator Jacquelyn Serwer.

Jacqui, what is future of this imaginative art, when you go beyond this three-dimensional representation? Do you get to movement, sound? What do you think's the future?

SERWER: Well, I think there are a lot of possibilities. And I think the wonderful thing about this show is that it has opened up a number of avenues. And I think we just have to wait and see. I think J. Seward Johnson was quite imaginative in coming up with this approach, and I think it allows us to revisit older art, but also allows us have a new experience.

And I think that idea, that there are different ways to experience art, is something that will take hold. And I think we'll just have to wait and see how other artists take the clues that Seward Johnson has provided.

NOVAK: Thank you, Jacquelyn Serwer.

And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com