The Carolyn Campanga Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum (formerly the CSULB University Art Museum) is a contemporary art museum located on the campus of California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), which was founded in 1973. The museum received accreditation from the Ameri of Museums in 1984 and underwent a major renovation in 2020, reopening in 2022. It was renamed in 2019 following a $10 million donation from artist Carolyn Campanga Kleefeld, who also contributed 120 works to its collection.
History
The Carolyn Campanga Klefeeld Contemporary Art Museum is located on the California State University Long Beach campus.[1] First founded in 1973, previously, the California State Long Beach University Art Museum. It received its accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1984.[1]
The UAM originally resided in the university's library until its closure in 1992 due to budget cuts by the university. In 1994, founding director, Constance W. Glenn,[2] relocated the museum to the North Campus library, (now Horn Center). The new location opened with three shows by artists Marie-Jo Lafontaine, Howard Schatz, and Sol Le Witt, Imi Knoebel, and Daniel Buren.[1]
After serving for nine years, Chris Scoates stepped down from his position as the director of the UAM in 2014.[3] Brian Trimble, previously a curator of education for the UAM, subsequently assumed the role of interim director after Scoates’ resignation.[4]
The University Art Museum, Partnered with Israeli artist, Kosso Eloul, for the California International Sculpture Symposium. The university displayed many outdoor sculptures around the campus. In 2015, the Getty Conservation Institute, partnered with the University Art Museum, to conserve the art pieces, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the symposium.[5]
In 2016, Kimberli Meyer, who had served as the director of the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, assumed the role of director at the UAM.[6] Meyer, was fired in 2018, following the curation of the show “American Monument,” by artist, Lauren Woods, a work about police brutality perpetrated against African American men.[7] Paul Baker Prindle became the new museum director in 2019, taking on the added responsibility of managing the museum's significant collections.[8]
In 2019, artist, Carolyn Campanga Kleefeld, also known as Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, donated $10 million to the UAM.[9] Carolyn Campanga Kleefled later donated 120 of her artworks to the museum's permanent collection.[10] In 2019, the CSULB University Art Museum was renamed the Carolyn Campanga Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum.[9] In 2020, the Carolyn Campanga Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum underwent a $24 million renovation to expand its space. It reopened to the public on February 12, 2022.[11]
Notable exhibitions
The UAM Diaries: 1973 to 2004 The Glenn Years (2004)
The exhibition titled, "The UAM Diaries: 1973 to 2004 The Glenn Years" in 2004 paid tribute to the pivotal role played by Constance Glenn, the founding director of the University Art Museum. Reviving major exhibitions from the museum's past, the showcase highlights artworks by influential figures of the Pop art movement, including George Segal, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, and more.[12]
American MONUMENT (2018)
Artist Lauren woods centered the exhibition “American MONUMENT” around the issue of police violence and the deaths of African Americans. The display comprised twenty-five turntables, each resonating with live sounds from cases of black Americans who died at the hands of law enforcement.[13] The exhibition was designed as an ongoing project, with plans to incorporate new instances of police brutality as they occurred.[14] The audio recordings varied, encompassing live readings of the incidents leading to deaths as well as readings of court transcripts.[13] Among the recordings was audio of the police shooting Alton Sterling, captured from police bodycam footage, and audio from a Facebook Live recording documenting the death of Philando Castille, both incidents occurring in 2016.[7] Following the dismissal of the museum director, Kimberli Meyers, woods paused the installation in protest.[7]
Andy Warhol: Polaroids (2023)
In 2008, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts gifted the UAM 152 of Andy Warhol's prints and polaroids from 1974 to 1985, including portraits of famous figures like O.J. Simpson, Dennis Hopper, and Lana Turner.[15] In late 2023, the museum held an exhibition titled “Andy Warhol: Polaroids,” where it showcased many of these polaroids as a part of Warhol's “Torsos” and “Sex Parts” series.[16]
Drag Show (2023)
In 2023, director Paul Baker Prindle opted to curate a historical drag show in response to student interest in queer and LGBT themes, coinciding with ongoing discussions around anti-drag and anti-trans legislation.[17] Centered on the East Side of New York City during the 1980s and '90s, the exhibition showcased a dynamic mix of photographs, drawings, paintings, and multimedia that provided an intimate portrayal of drag performers’ everyday experiences. Among the exhibits is a quilt panel crafted by the CSULB Theater Arts Department in 1992, serving as a tribute to seven department members who passed due to AIDS-related causes.[17] This panel has since become a part of the National AIDS Memorial.[17]
Controversies
Director firing
In an email to museum staff, the then-museum director Kimberli Meyer advised addressing concerns about the exhibit based on their race and the race of the concerned individual.[18] While Meyer argued that this approach aimed to foster inclusivity and shield museum staff from potential criticism regarding the American MONUMENT exhibit, Jennifer Moran, a university employee union representative, asserted that such directives were “inappropriate.”[18]
Meyers was soon fired and as a direct result, woods “paused” the installation as a protest. The artist believed the university wanted to pull the installation itself but would receive too much backlash, and opted to fire Meyer.[14] However, Moran dismissed this as a misleading portrayal, stating that the staff endorsed Meyer's vision, but Meyer struggled to fully adhere to the institution's policies.[18] Lauren woods, nonetheless, urged the museum to undertake actions demonstrating their commitment to anti-racism through restoration efforts.[19] During a university-hosted forum, students and faculty expressed apprehensions regarding upper administration's grasp of the impact of the dismissal on the campus community. Moreover, many found it challenging to accept that Meyer's termination was entirely disconnected from the exhibit's content.[18]
Name change
The Carolyn Campanga Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum received backlash for its name-sake following the artist's donation of $10 million. Los Angeles Times art critic, Christopher Knight wrote, “A permanent chunk of a public university’s tax-subsidized museum facility and artistic program has been effectively privatized to advance the personal interests of a wealthy patron.”[20]
Museum directors
Founding Director, Constance W. Glenn, 1973 - Aug. 22, 2004[18][12]
