Selection Committee
Richard Koshalek, Chairman
He was the Director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art from 1982 to 1999, where he became known as a visionary advocate of contemporary art with a keen interest in architecture and design. He has a distinguished record of participation and leadership on a long list of Arts Panels and Commissions both within and without the United States. He is frequently called upon for his special expertise in the design and construction of performance and exhibition space. He is now the President of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Art Center provides a variety of programs in the Fine Arts, but is perhaps best known for producing leaders in the world of Design. Art Center graduates designed the new VW Beetle, the Audi TT and the Nokia cell phones. Since his appointment, our Chairman has undertaken a long range plan that will bring new vitality to Art Center and consolidate its position as a leader in Art and Design.
Karen Hopkins
For many years she toiled in the vineyard of a former Gish Committee Chairman, Harvey Lichtenstein. She started as a Development Officer at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1979 and was appointed to positions of greater and greater responsibility until she was named President in 1999. Throughout this time she has served as a consultant on fund raising to many well known Arts organizations and has written a book on the subject, entitled Successful Fundraising for Arts and Cultural Organizations. At BAM, she has been responsible for such landmark events as the visit of Princess Diana in 1989 and was Executive Producer of the Ingmar Bergman Festival in 1995. Under her leadership, BAM continues to present challenging and innovative works such as “Maquina Hamlet” which you may have read about in last Sunday’s Arts and Leisure section.
Tania Leon
She’s a composer, Conductor and Educator who came to this country from Cuba in 1967. In 1969, she was invited to be the first Music Director of the Dance Theater of Harlem, where she went on to found its Music Department, Music School and Orchestra. In her distinguished academic and professional career, she has been an Advisor to many Arts organizations and the recipient of many honors and prestigious awards, including a MacArthur. Her musical compositions run the gamut from a solo for piano to a Grand Opera. Her Opera, “Scourge of Hyacinths” was widely performed in Europe last year under the direction of Gish Prize winner, Robert Wilson. Drawing on a variety of musical cultures and influences, including the Classical European composers whom she has studied extensively, she strives to create works that will be judged on their individual musical merit, without cultural reference.
Martin Puryear
He is one of the foremost abstract sculptors in the United States. His work is represented in important private and public collections in the United States, Europe and Japan. He has been the recipient of many prizes and awards, including a Guggenheim, a MacArthur and a Grand Prize at the Sao Paolo Bienal. Although his sculpture has been described as “Minimalist,” it is now being executed on a monumental scale. Along the waterfront at Battery Park here in New York, you can see his 1995 work “Pylons”—two large columns at the edge of the shore, which are especially dramatic when illuminated at night. Another large-scale work entitled “That Profile” greets visitors on their arrival at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. He has described himself as “a maker, somebody who actually builds, who takes a certain delight in the process of making,” and you can sense this when you meet him.
Lloyd Richards
He is a legendary Director who staged the original production of Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun. His name will be forever associated with the Yale Repertory Theatre and the Yale School of Drama where he was the Artistic Director and Dean from 1979-1991. He is also widely known for his support of the playwright August Wilson. Without him, plays like Fences, Two Trains Running, and The Piano Lesson would not be in the standard lexicon of contemporary drama. He won a Tony Award as the Director of Fences in 1987, was the recipient of the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton in 1993. A winner of numerous other awards and honors, his honorary degrees alone fill half a page. These days, he generously gives of his time and talent by serving on a long list of Boards and Advisory Committees.
