Drawing on Gustave Baumann’s archives, curator Hannah Abelbeck will talk about the 1920s Fiesta controversies during our free Baumannia Community Day on Sun., Sept. 28, 1:45 - 2 p.m. at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.
Abelbeck will talk in particular about the Pasatiempo parades, which were a watershed moment when Gustave Baumann, along with his collaborators, and helped shape Santa Fe’s identity.
Hannah Abelbeck is the curator of photographs and archival collections at the New Mexico History Museum and oversees the History Library and Photo Archives. Abelbeck is an advocate for making the library and archival resources more accessible to the public and promoting better understanding of New Mexico’s past,
Join us for a day honoring the life and legacy of artist Gustave Baumann at the New Mexico History Museum, in partnership with the New Mexico Museum of Art. We’ll be offering free admission and a whole lot of fun! The museum celebrates the recently digitized Ann Baumann Trust Collection of Gustave Baumann Materials and Photographs by hosting a day of talks, activities, and a Baumann studio tour in the Palace Press. Archivists and Baumann experts will share some of the treasures from the Archive and show how you can explore the life and work of this remarkable artist. Learn more about the Baumann exhibition, Gustave Baumann: The Artist’s Environment, and Baumanniaactivities hosted at the New Mexico Museum of Art at https://nmculture.org/gustave-baumann.
Schedule of Events:
11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tours of Baumann Studio at the Palace Press
See a re-creation of Gustave Baumann’s studio including his tools, press, pigments, and reproductions of his gorgeous wood block prints, and other printing projects, from serious to silly. The Palace Press historic collection includes unique presses showing the progress of printing technology, the special tools of the printing trade, a variety of books and prints, and the processes of making everything from a newspaper to a four-color woodblock print. Drop in to take a tour of this historic building and see history up close.
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Block Printing Activity, Palace Courtyard
Use reproduction blocks to create your own Baumann-esque progressive print. Discover the changes that result when colors are layered in different orders. Perfect for the "non-artistic" and for people of all ages. Children younger than 10 years old must be accompanied by an adult. Free, all materials supplied.
12 – 1 p.m. Screening of Craft in America’s "Miniatures" episode, Auditorium
Join us for a screening of "Miniatures" from the amazing Craft in America series, which tells the tale of Gustave Baumann applying his craftsman’s hand to arts as small and large as puppet-making, printing, and furniture making. This colorful documentary also features Mark Murphy, Alexander Girard, Leandro Gómez Quintero, and other artists whose work focuses our eyes on the world found in the smallest detail.
1 – 1:15 p.m. Mini Lecture: ANN BAUMANN: WITH 2 ENS, presented by Gala Chamberlain, Ann Baumann Trustee, Auditorium
Ann’s mother, Jane Henderson Baumann, studied English diction in London and French diction in Paris. This influence had a lasting impact on Ann who was known to humorously chide her friends for their grammatical errors. Spelling was also important and her personal license plate, WITH 2 ENS, hinted at the frequency of correcting the spelling of her last name. Learn more about Ann and how she worked with Gala Chamberlain to organize the items that are now part of the archive collection.
1:15 – 1:45 p.m. Presentation: That Able Helpmeet Jane: The Life of Jane Henderson Baumann, with Archivist Alice Wehling, Auditorium
Though wives can often be overshadowed by better-known, though not necessarily more accomplished spouses, Jane Henderson Baumann was notable in her own right. Join archivist Alice Wehling as she shares more about Jane’s vibrant and multi-faceted life.
1:45 – 2 p.m. Mini Lecture: Remaking Fiesta: Protest, Puppets, and Parades, with Curator Hannah Abelbeck, Auditorium
Drawing on Gustave Baumann’s archives, curator Hannah Abelbeck will talk about the 1920s Fiesta controversies. In particular, the Pasatiempo parades, which were a watershed moment when Baumann, along with his collaborators, helped shape Santa Fe’s identity.
2 – 2:15 p.m. Mini Lecture: Discover the Baumann Archive, with Archivist Sarah Rounsville, Auditorium
Join archivist Sarah Rounsville for information about the contents of the Ann Baumann Trust Collection of Gustave Baumann Materials and Photographs, the largest and most comprehensive archival collection of Gustave Baumann related documents, photographs, and audio recordings. Discover what the archive is, what is in the collection, and how the archive came to live at the History Museum’s Chavez Library.
2:15 – 2:30 p.m. Mini Lecture: This is Gustave Baumann Speaking, with Archivist Hall Frost, Auditorium
Hear the voice of celebrated printmaker Gustave Baumann in a newly digitized collection of 37 recordings. You’ll hear Gus, who surprisingly has no German accent, reading his manuscripts and giving talks about art and life in Santa Fe, always signing off his recordings with "this is Gustave Baumann speaking." But you’ll also find audio letters exchanged with Jane Baumann’s sisters, Mary and Belle; recordings of the family together at holidays; talks given in Santa Fe, including Randall Davey discussing the life of John Sloan; and a marionette show including the background audio used for the shows.
2:45 – 3:15 p.m. Presentation: Bookish Things: Unpublished and Unfinished Works of Gustave Baumann, with author and Baumann expert Tom Leech, Auditorium
When Gustave Baumann announced a new studio on Canyon Road in early 1919, he promised new prints and "some bookish things that the Koshare Press has condescended to publish." The making of books is a little-known aspect of Baumann’s career, but the life-long pursuit of that promise presented him with successes and unresolved challenges. Thomas Leech, former curator of the Palace Press at the History Museum and co-author of multiple books about Baumann will discuss some of Baumann’s lesser-known and unpublished books.
3:15 – 3:30 p.m. Mini Lecture: Baumann, Poetry, and Books as Art, with Erin Hodges, Museum of New Mexico Press Publisher and Director, Auditorium
Erin Hodges will talk about the Museum of New Mexico Press’ latest release, Printing the Spirit: Gustave Baumann’s Santos. The book features a fascinating conversation between Baumann and the santeros whose work he sought to celebrate, as well as between poet Peggy Pond Church and Baumann’s prints. Church’s poems are examples of ekphrasis, or poetry about art, and serve to highlight how Baumann’s work continues to inspire conversation and collaboration.
3:30 – 4 p.m. Presentation: Baumann Family Slide Night, with Baumann Biographer Martin Krause, Auditorium
Join us for a fun and unconventional glimpse into Baumann family life as captured through newly digitized slides and photographs. See rare images of Gus, Jane, and Ann throughout their travels, their friends in Santa Fe, and adventures throughout the Southwest and beyond. Noted Baumann scholar and biographer, Martin Krause, will share "casual-like" anecdotes illustrated with now-accessible archival images.