Literary launch
Menil Collection toasts new tome on Dominique and John de Menil, Art andActivism
Photo by George D. Hixson
Photo by George D. Hixson
Photo by George D. Hixson
Photo by George D. Hixson
Photo by George D. Hixson
Photo by George D. Hixson
Photo by George D. Hixson
Photo by George D. Hixson
Photo by George D. Hixson
When Belgian painter René Magritte visited the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1965, it represented a most peculiar moment in the life of the iconic Surrealist. Yet an acclaimed artist donning a 10-gallon hat wasn't necessarily such an anomaly in the Houston of John and Dominique de Menil.
That visit by Magritte is just one of myriad tales documented in the new book on the couple, Art and Activism: Projects of John and Dominique de Menil, which was toasted on Wednesday evening at a reception at the Menil Collection. The event included an address by Menil director Josef Helfenstein, who edited the book along with Laureen Schipsi. Also in the audience were a handful of the book's long list of 22 contributors, including William A. Camfield, Mel Chin, Stephen Fox, Deloyd Parker, Pamela G. Smart, Simone Swan and Africanist Kristina Van Dyke.
"The decision to publish Art and Activism was made almost seven years ago," Helfenstein told the crowd. "It grew out of the realization that while John and Dominique de Menil are recognized as the makers of this museum, much less is known about their other social endeavors to which they devoted similar time and resources."
As detailed in the book, these endeavors included funding scholarships and civil-rights campaigns like school integration, building an ecumenical chapel with painter Mark Rothko, presenting one of nation's first exhibitions of racially integrated contemporary artists and bringing to Houston filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard and Roberto Rossellini, and artists Max Ernst and Andy Warhol — all while building an art collection that would serve as the basis of one of the 20th century's most celebrated museums.
When Dominique selected Renzo Piano to design his first U.S. building in the heart of the Museum District, she forever sealed the Menil Collection's destiny as an internationally renowned institution that would revolutionize the city's cultural realm.
"For as long as I can remember, I was aware of the importance of artists and art," said Francois de Menil, the fourth of the couple's five children, now a New York-based architect. "The love with which they lived with art, the joy they experienced in the relationship to the development of artists and the artwork — all of this really perfumed the atmosphere of the home."
That home was the design of a largely untested Philip Johnson, who would become America's best known architect as well as the master planner of the University of St. Thomas. Along with numerous other affiliates, the book includes facsimiles of the couple's correspondence with such luminaries as Johnson on the topic of their quietly illustrious projects that spanned their Houston-Paris-New York axis.
"The book will give us a far-reaching understanding of this institution," affirmed Helfenstein. Although the de Menils' generosity has been the subject of local lore for decades, Art and Activism represents the first publication to take a magnifying glass to the couple's pursuits over the course of half a century. From their arrival in Texas as exiles from Nazi-occupied Europe to the minutiae of their art dealings, the tome sheds light on the de Menils' courageous Houston experiment.
At the reception, Francois de Menil added,
Let us continue this engaged conversation, as my parents might hope. The editors and essayists have done a remarkable job at defining the intangible nature that is so unique to the Menil endeavor. Let us read Art and Activism as not just the chronicle of two amazing lives, but also a call to arms. We live in confusing times, and issues that were concerns of my parents remain alive. The human condition needs constant tending, which is really one of the things that they taught us all."
In the museum's western hallway, an eight-minute documentary made by Francois screened to an enraptured audience; for many it was a rare chance to listen to Dominique's distinctive voice as she articulated her intentions in art collecting, social activism and, of course, the human condition. If the massive crowd at this reception is any indication, the city has awoken to the de Menils' impact on Houston, and remains dedicated to carrying out their progressive legacy.
