The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) Announces the Appointment of Corrie Siegel as Executive Director
Glendale, CA The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is thrilled to announce that after a year long public search it has selected Corrie Siegel to serve as the Museum’s Executive Director. Siegel officially began her role on April 1st, 2020. She has taken over fully from Kim Koga who retired from her post of 20 plus years in July 2019. MONA is grateful for the leadership of Interim Director Laura Darlington in this time, as well as the visionary leadership of Koga over the past two decades as we look forward to a new chapter of MONA.
Siegel brings to MONA twenty years of experience working to empower and engage communities through the arts. Her work as a museum professional is rooted in collaboration, creativity, and pedagogy. Siegel’s experience as a gallery director, exhibit curator, museum educator, museum administrator, and artist provides her with
a solid foundation for the role as Executive Director at MONA. As a Co-Founder and Director for Actual Size Los Angeles Siegel has championed contemporary art and audience engagement for over a decade. In addition, she has worked in museum education and administration at LACMA, The LA Philharmonic, The Armory Center for The Arts, The Norton Simon Museum, The Fowler Museum, and The Corita Art Center. Corrie embodies values that MONA represents—creativity, curiosity, community, and preservation.
In her role as Executive Director, Siegel will work to deepen community connections to MONA, support new artistic production and experimentation, and safe-guard historic signage and art through new educational, artistic, and funding initiatives. “My professional experience as a museum educator and gallery director has made clear the transformational capacities of the arts. I am dedicated to education, arts, and cultural outreach and have been enchanted by neon signage since I was young. Illuminated signs are a democratic art form accessible to so many walks of life. Once a visitor to MONA takes the time to learn about neon art or signage, they can bring the spark of curiosity with them into the city, transforming their world into a glowing museum. I am thrilled to join such an amazing team,” says Siegel.
The Museum of Neon Art encourages learning, curiosity, and expression through the preservation, collection and interpretation of neon, electric, and kinetic art. Located in the heart of Glendale, The Museum of Neon Art is the only museum in the world devoted exclusively to art in electric media, exhibiting electric and kinetic fine art, and outstanding examples of historic neon signs, for over three decades.
At the crossroads between scientific principles, artistic expression, and historic preservation, MONA aims to kindle curiosity and the energy of engagement within its walls and beyond.
Throughout its 40 year history, MONA has fostered an awareness of historic neon signage through its LUMENS project with the City of L.A. and its popular bus tour, the Neon CruiseTM. The MONA facility in Glendale has a classroom on the premises where visitors can watch skilled neon craftspeople fabricating and processing the neon tube and take hands-on classes to learn this fascinating art form.
Join us in welcoming Corrie Siegel to the MONA family!
And Now a Video by Stuart Rapeport and Eric Minh Swenson
PAINTING A NUDE WITH STU RAPEPORT
Film by Eric Minh Swenson. The brushes are made of cast bronze with bristles made from human hair, dog hair and nylon right tool brushes come with a letter of authenticity signed by the artist. Future gift brushes include: Medusa Brush for releasing anger onto the canvas the expressionism brush. Snake Brush for cautious strokes. Snail brush for slow mediations of nature. The pleinaire painting brush through the head for conceptual work Right tool History... Valley Vista: Art in San Fernando Valley, ca 1970-1990 was an exhibit that chronicled the culture of Valley life. The exhibit was featured through early October, in the CSUN Art & Design Center. It highlighted the work of people who have truly experienced Valley life. The showcase acknowledged the creative presence of Valley artists and their contribution to the contemporary L.A. art scene. The pieces were an unexpected reflection of what one might find in this supposedly conventional, suburban desert. Rapeport always had an interest in art and, though he hadn’t initially come to the university to study that craft, he was fortunate to find his calling at SFVSC. He asserts that he got the best art education in the Valley. Two professors who left a lasting impression on him were Hans Burkhardt and Walter Gabrielson. Burkhardt was an artist himself, painting his own works while teaching painting courses at SFVSC. In addition to teaching Lithography at CSUN, Gabrielson was a painter, sculptor and founder of the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art. Professor Gabrielson gave his class advice that Stuart has taken with him throughout his career. “You might as well have fun because nobody cares what your art looks like,” he said, laughing. “Do what you want to do. Don’t try to please anybody.” Discussing how his artistic style has evolved over the years, he says that he has no particular style or pattern from one piece to the next. However, each idea inspires the next. In that way, there is a connection between each of his works. Since graduating in 1972, Rapeport has produced work featured in galleries internationally. Despite his travels, Rapeport still manages to return to his alma mater. Addressing the way that art in the Valley varies from art in the greater LA area, Rapeport said that he never really considered them as separate. He recalled: “The Valley had a lot of funkier stuff than the city did, but it wasn’t like the city was more sophisticated.” ….Andrelisa Livingston For more info on Eric Minh Swenson visit his website at thuvanarts.com. His art films can be seen at thuvanarts.com/take1 Search for Eric Minh Swenson at Huffington Post Arts http://m.huffpost.com/us/author/eric-minh-swenson/
During these Weird Times Go Visit Stand-By Studios
Look what Dave Lovejoy started! Go check out other people’s studios!