Join Ben Aleck, independent curator and artist Melissa Melero-Moose, and chief curator Ann M. Wolfe for casual conversation in the gallery. Light reception to follow.

In the summer of 1944, a handpicked group of GIs landed in France to conduct a secret mission. Armed with rubber tanks, fake artillery, and more than a few tricks up their sleeves, they put on a traveling road show of deception on the battlefields of Europe, with the German Army as their audience. From Normandy to the Rhine, the 1,100 men, known as the Ghost Army, conjured up phony convoys, phantom divisions, and make-believe headquarters to fool the enemy about the strength and location of American units. Unpack the secrets of the Ghost Army with author and filmmaker Rick Beyer.

Artists David Allen Burns and Austin Young, the collaborative duo behind the artworks of Fallen Fruit, present a survey of projects that explore material, meaning, and geographical knowledge. Currently they are installing a community garden at the Nevada Museum of Art called Monument to Sharing. The artists consider “the public realm” as their primary artistic medium, and the artwork of Fallen Fruit investigates collaborative communities and the boundaries of public spaces through mapping fruit trees in urban areas and interrogating historical public archives. Fallen Fruit has exhibited internationally, including notable projects for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, amongst others. 

Join us in a conversation with the artists as we explore ways in which the community can inform ideas of place and a sense of connectedness in our capacity to share the world with others.

Following the talk, guests are invited to enjoy live music, friends and libations in the Nightingale Sky Room at the Museum’s monthly First Thursday event.  

Billie Jean Guerrero, Director of the Pyramid Lake Tribe Museum and Visitors’ Center, shares history and cultural insights on Pyramid Lake, the Numu people, and relationships and continued stewardship of the surrounding landscape.  

During World War II, the Ghost Army, formally known as the U.S. Army’s Twenty Third Headquarters Special Troops, used disguise, sound, and radio deception to mislead the Germans about the location, strength, and movements of U.S. Army units. These tactical successes were a critical part of a vast inter-Allied deception effort that stretched from the front lines to high-level military headquarters to the halls of spy agencies in London. Overall, these deceptions consistently left the Germans befuddled about Allied strategy, intentions, and operations. 

From rubber tanks to double agents, learn about deception techniques used by the Ghost Army and its British comrades in arms, many of which are still applicable today, with Dr. Mark Stout, former intelligence officer, former Historian of the International Spy Museum, and adjunct instructor at John Hopkins University. Dr. Stout will showcase tools of the craft throughout military history and demonstrate how deception helped Allied commanders while avoiding confusion with actual military plans. 

Jeffrey Pongonis is a Landscape Architect and Urban Designer committed to the implementation of a meaningful and connected environment. Working nationally from the MKSK Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio studios, Pongonis employs a process that is focused and mindful of both the aesthetic details of robust social spaces as well as the greater urban strategy. He is committed to the creation of honest and timeless public open space of all sizes and scales.

*Doors open at 5 pm with hosted beer. Program begins at 6 pm.

Presented in partnership with Black Rock Design Institute and the Northern Section Nevada Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).  

Born of a legendary family of early environmentalists in the Bay Area, Adaline Kent (1900 – 1957) was an energetic innovator and a self-proclaimed “addict of the High Sierra.” Her love of this landscape can be traced in her abstract artworks that merge her interest in the natural world with a steadfast pursuit of authenticity.

Join Curatorial Assistant, Kolin Perry, for a guided tour of the exhibition, bringing together more than 120 works that span Kent’s entire career – many of which have not been seen by the public in over half a century. 

NOTE: This is a guided tour that will take place on the 2nd floor in the Adaline Kent exhibition. Meet on 2nd floor landing.

The Second World War was the dominant force impacting fashion of the 1940s. Civilian clothing was impacted by the rationing of materials as the need for uniforms took precedence. Join us for a discussion with Megan Bellister, Curator of Learning and Engagement, on ways in which necessity and limitations led to innovation in fashion in the U.S. and abroad.  

Ellsworth Kelly is an American abstract painter, sculptor, and printmaker recognized for his bold use of color and form. Join us as Carter Foster, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at Blanton Museum of Art, discusses Kelly’s practice.

*Doors open at 5:30 pm with a cash bar. 

A program of the Debra and Dennis Scholl Distinguished Speaker Series

Peter Goin, Foundation Professor of Art at the University of Nevada, Reno looks at the American West through the lens of photographer Robert Adams. Join us for a discussion around how Adams and his peers in the 1970s began to stray from the picturesque images of the American landscape and begin to document the New Topographics, a less romanticized view of industrial landscapes, suburban sprawl, and emphasizing human impact on the land.