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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 2011 MEETING OF THE OSHKOSH PUBLIC MUSEUM BOARD (January minutes were approved at the Feb. 3, 2011 Board Meeting) The regular January meeting of the Oshkosh Public Museum was held on January 6, 2011 in the Lecture Room of the Museum. Vice President Rick Rego called the meeting to order at 3:59 p.m. and the roll was taken: Present: Ms. Drew Absent: Mr. Becker Mrs. Fenrich (came in at 4:20 p.m.) Mr. Haffeman Mrs. Kujawa Mr. Metz Ms. Moldenhauer Mr. Rego Mr. Winkler Ms. Drew was designated to fill the vacancy of Mr. Becker Also present: Museum Director Brad Larson, Assistant Director Michael Breza, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donald Viegut, Auxiliary President Barb Shirtz, Leadership Oshkosh representative Jason Hale and Brenda Hauber recording the minutes. The minutes of the December 2, 2010 meeting were read. Eugene Winkler moved that the minutes be approved. Carol Kujawa seconded the motion. There being no discussion, Mr. Rego called for the roll call vote: In favor: Opposed: Ms. Drew None Mrs. Kujawa Mr. Metz Ms. Moldenhauer Mr. Rego Mr. Winkler The vote was unanimous in favor and the motion was passed. The minutes of December 2, 2010 board meeting were approved. The January 2011 bill listing was read. Ron Metz moved that the bill listing be approved for payment. Eugene Winkler seconded the motion. Following a brief discussion, Mr. Rego called for the roll call vote: In favor: Opposed: Ms. Drew None Mrs. Kujawa Mr. Metz Ms. Moldenhauer Mr. Rego The motion was passed with a unanimous vote in favor. The January 2011 bill listing was approved for payment. Mr. Larson explained that the Durow Trust is specific to decorative arts, and in order for the board to have a better understanding of the size, variety and complexity of the decorative arts, the Board would tour storage led by Curator Debra Daubert. The tour would also reacquaint everyone with the tight storage situation. Mrs. Fenrich came into the meeting. The Board then proceeded to the Carriage House for the tour. At the conclusion of the tour, the two Apache baskets to be considered for deaccession were shown to the Board by Registrar Joan Lloyd. Upon returning to the Lecture Room, Mrs. Fenrich assumed the chair for the rest of the meeting. Mr. Larson made the point that the decorative arts collection is largely unknown. It encompasses over 4,000 pieces and they all need to be cataloged, photographed, evaluated and properly stored. Until that happens it is impossible to make sound decisions on the collection’s use and future. The museum’s sole curator does not have the time to do this in addition to her regular duties. This is the reason for the proposed use of earnings to fund a new position, Curator of Decorative Arts. Mr. Larson said that the proposed plan for the Durow Trust will be voted upon at the February 3 Board meeting. The next item on the agenda is the proposed Statement of Purpose for the Collection Fund. Eugene Winkler moved that the proposed Statement of Purpose for the Collection Fund be accepted. Ron Metz seconded the motion. Through an oversight, the Board never adopted this guiding document, although past uses of the fund earnings were consistent with the statement. Eugene Winkler moved to adopt the proposed Statement of Purpose for the Collection Fund. Ron Metz seconded the motion. After a brief discussion, Mrs. Fenrich called for the roll call vote: In favor: Opposed: Ms. Drew None Mrs. Fenrich Mrs. Kujawa Mr. Metz Ms. Moldenhauer Mr. Rego The vote was unanimous in favor and the motion was passed. The Statement of Purpose for the Collection Fund was adopted. Mr. Larson then explained the next item on the agenda: Request to use Collection Fund earnings. Mr. Barry Bauman has agreed to treat a small painting done by Oshkosh artist Flora th Smith which depicts a World War I battle involving men from Oshkosh’s Co. C, 150 Machine Gun Battalion. His supplies will cost $315 which includes a new stretcher. Rick Rego moved that $315 be appropriated from the Collection Fund to support the supplies needed by Barry Bauman to treat the Flora Smith WWI painting. Ron Metz seconded the motion. After a brief discussion, Mrs. Fenrich called for the roll call vote: In favor: Opposed: Ms. Drew None Mrs. Fenrich Mrs. Kujawa Mr. Metz Ms. Moldenhauer Mr. Rego The vote was unanimous in favor and the motion was passed. $315 was appropriated from the Collection Fund for the supplies needed by Barry Bauman for the treatment of the Flora Smith World War I painting. The next item on the agenda was the deaccession of two Apache baskets. Because the auction estimate was between $10,000 and $15,000 per basket, this action requires Board review and approval. Mr. Larson explained that since the baskets are from the American Southwest, they therefore do not fit into our scope of collections. Eugene Winkler moved that the two Apache grain storage baskets be deaccessioned. Carol Kujawa seconded the motion. The board then discussed this briefly. At the conclusion, Mrs. Fenrich called for the roll call vote: In favor: Opposed: Ms. Drew None Mrs. Fenrich Mrs. Kujawa Mr. Metz Ms. Moldenhauer Mr. Rego With the vote unanimous in favor, the motion was passed. The Board approved the deaccession of the two Apache baskets under consideration. Mrs. Fenrich then asked Mr. Larson to present his Director’s Report. He proceeded to give a summary of the exhibits being planned for 2011 and 2012. Beginning March 19, 2011 an exhibit, Signs of the Times, will be on view. This local history exhibit is intended to bring back thth memories of businesses and stores of the late 19 and 20 centuries. The museum will hold its first Community Free Day of 2011on Saturday, March 19. Beginning July 1, the museum will hold a month-long event and exhibit to coincide with the release of the final installment of the Harry Potter films. The month will culminate on July 31 with a celebration of Harry’s birthday. In September the museum will feature an exhibition of premier examples from the clothing collection in an exhibit named Bling!. Many of the pieces have never been exhibited before. During this exhibit the museum will hold a Community Free Day on November 25. There will be two guest curators to assist with the preparations of this exhibit: Joan Mosling and Scott Jorgenson, a recognized authority on fashion. An exhibit idea created by Megan Del Debbio and Ingrid Law will take its place as the major exhibit in 2012: Chocolate, Coffee and Tea. The exhibit will be experience-based and enable visitors to see, smell and sample coffee, tea and chocolate and presents an opportunity to feature many of our finest decorative arts collection pieces and show how they were used. If the Board approves an allocation of funds, this will be the first exhibit to be supported by earnings from the Durow Trust. Mr. Larson’s final topic in his report is a plan to utilizing eTapestry and its online potential to have a couple of mini fundraising campaigns. The first would be to support the conservation of a silk Civil War flag sewn by Oshkosh women and used by Scott’s Volunteers from April 1861 to the end of the war. The estimated cost of conservation is $22,000. Mr. Larson said that this project would be an opportunity to see how the online portion of the fundraising would be handled, and the amount of staff time required. The Sons of Union Veterans, Camp 8, has committed to helping the museum fund the conservation. With the Director’s Report concluded, Mrs. Fenrich then asked the Auxiliary President for her report. Mrs. Shirtz then happily reported that the second Community Free Day held on th December 19 was a huge success with over 20 dozen cookies being decorated, and $66 was raised from the bake sale. With no further business before the board, Ron Metz moved that the meeting adjourn. Eugene Winkler seconded the motion. The voice vote went as follows: In favor: Opposed: Ms. Drew None Mrs. Fenrich Mrs. Kujawa Mr. Metz Ms. Moldenhauer Mr. Rego The motion to adjourn was passed with a unanimous vote in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 5:43 p.m.