Lindsay France/University Photography

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, shown with Leo Villareal's LED installation "Cosmos," holds a 40th anniversary celebration Sept. 20.

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art opened its doors May 23, 1973, with Herbert Johnson and architect I.M. Pei in attendance. The campus welcomed the new museum, which offered much larger facilities than those in its previous location, A.D. White House.

“Its concrete walls will tower to 107 feet, affording magnificent views to Lake Cayuga, Ithaca and the Cornell campus,” an announcement during construction stated. “In sixteen climate-controlled galleries it will house the university’s growing art collection and feature major temporary exhibitions. The museum’s active educational program will be oriented primarily toward the Cornell community, but it will also serve as an important art resource for the entire Finger Lakes region.”

On Sept. 20, a public reception and 40th anniversary celebration will show contemporary Cornellians, alumni returning for Homecoming and the local community that the spirit of the museum’s 1973 mission is very much alive, with expanded programs and galleries, a recent major renovation and free admission throughout the year.

Provided

More than 40 works are featured in "Laylah Ali: The Greenheads Series," a new exhibition at the Johnson Museum.

“This is a way to celebrate the past and to highlight the new programs and projects happening at the museum,” said Stephanie Wiles, the Richard J. Schwartz Director of the Johnson Museum. “The whole spirit behind this celebration is that the community means so much to us, and it always has for 40 years.”

The reception, held throughout the museum from 5 to 7 p.m., includes light refreshments and cake, and invites visitors to the exhibition galleries to connect over art from different time periods and cultures, including the new “Greenheads Series” display by artist Laylah Ali.

The celebration continues from 7 p.m. to midnight, with performances around the museum and a dance party.

• “Depot/Centralia/Tiber,” 7-8 p.m. in the sixth-floor Lynch Conference Room, features works filmed by art professor Michael Ashkin at a decommissioned upstate New York military depot, in a central Pennsylvania mining town and along the Tiber River in Rome – accompanied by a live improvised soundtrack on piano, electronics and percussion by music lecturer Annie Lewandowski and former lecturer Tim Feeney.
• Ithaca-based Mother Mallard, founded by David Borden in 1969 and known as the world’s first synthesizer ensemble, has played at the museum regularly since 1973. Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co. performs 8:30-9:30 p.m. in the 2L lecture room; with premieres of variations on “Happy Birthday” from Borden’s “Earth Journeys.” The performance will be dedicated to the memory of the museum’s founding director, Thomas Leavitt, who died in 2010.
• At 9:30 p.m., the Cornell Avant Garde Ensemble performs music inspired by Leo Villareal’s LED light installation, “Cosmos,” underneath the installation on the Mallin Sculpture Court.
• The student Museum Club hosts a ’70s dance party from 10 p.m.-midnight with music, art and activities; ’70s dress encouraged.

The museum has had three directors since 1973. Wiles succeeded Franklin Robinson in 2011 – and like Robinson and Leavitt, she is a cheerleader for community engagement.

“We are highlighting Leo Villareal, and the music collaborations that we’ve been actively pursuing over the past year,” Wiles said. “On view are paintings by Roger Shimomura that connect with the New Student Reading Project, Vietnamese ceramics and new contemporary shows. We work hard to continue the museum’s great legacy of engaging many different kinds of art and different audiences in exciting new ways.”