Collections Summer 2013 Volume 96 | Page 2

FROM THE EXECUTIVE Director Coming Soon to the CMA: Annie Leibovitz Karen Brosius Executive Director Coming in October of 2013, enjoy an exhibition featuring one of America’s bestknown living artists. Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage Unlike her staged and carefully lit portraits made on assignment for magazines and advertising clients, these photographs were taken simply because Leibovitz was moved by the subject. Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage is an evocative and deeply personal statement by a photographer, whose career now spans more than 40 years, encompassing a broad range of subject matter, history and stylistic influences. The work shows Leibovitz at the height of her powers and pondering how photographs, including her own, shape a narrative of history that informs the present. Join or renew today Don’t miss out on any of the exciting opportunities this exhibition provides. Membership benefits include free admission, discounts on events and shop merchandise, and invitations to exclusive parties. Engage your mind and enrich your spirit with the benefits and rewards of being a member of the Columbia Museum of Art. Visit columbiamuseum.org or call 803.343.2198. Above: Annie Leibovitz, Annie Oakley’s heart target, private collection, Los Angeles, California, 2010. © Annie Leibovitz. From “Pilgrimage” (Random House, 2011) Front Cover: Steven Naifeh, Saida XXX: Venetian Blue, (detail), 2012. Acrylic on 60 canvases, 120” × 120”. 2 columbiamuseum.org When we have an artist with international roots who lives in our state, it brings to life our mission of celebrating art from around the world and embraces an artist in our midst. The CMA is presenting this summer the large, geometric and colorful sculptures and paintings of Steven Naifeh in the first retrospective exhibition of his work. Naifeh, an Aiken, South Carolina resident, has truly been a magnanimous participant in the creation of this exhibition, and his generosity in sharing his work with our visitors is sincerely appreciated. It is hardly surprising that Naifeh’s childhood in the Middle East educated his eye to the rigorous forms of Arab and Islamic art. The art of the Islamic culture is deeply beautiful and reflects a sensual delight in the precision of geometric formulas. Islamic culture has been so essential to the development of mathematics worldwide that many mathematical terms – algebra and algorithms, for example – entered English from the Arabic language. The geometries of Islamic art, with their ornamental counterpoint, are the basis of Naifeh’s art. This joyful, mathematical alignment of color, material, shape and line brings to light an intricate and versatile body of work that is visually compelling and worthy of profound contemplation. Found in Translation is destined to inspire our community and open doors to understanding cultures beyond our own. It shows visitors that what we share culturally is perhaps greater than what separates us. Abstract art is capable of expressing complex ideas like unity and continuity. We hope every visitor is inspired with a deeper understanding of the art of the Middle East, Northern India and Northern Africa and takes the time to reflect on its synergy with contemporary Western art. This exhibition is representative of the CMA mission to celebrate artistic creativity as expressed by diverse cultures both here and abroad and introduce exciting work to our community, state and region. I am most grateful to Steve Naifeh for his commitment to show the first U.S. retrospective of his work at our museum, and to a superb and talented staff that worked diligently to bring this exhibition to fruition. It is surely a delight for everyone to see this beautiful integration of cultures.