Director's Note

I am honored to be the new Ron and Donna Fielding Director of George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. The range of its activities and opportunities is exhilarating. George Eastman House is a vital part of Rochester’s community. The Museum’s unparalleled collections — in the areas of photography, cinema, and their technologies — and curators make important contributions on the international cultural scene.

I am eager to apply my strategic and management skills, and my experience in collaborating with other museums, in leading George Eastman House. My background in innovative online education will be invaluable to the creation of a virtual museum that can provide a global audience with access to its superb collections. I am pleased to have returned to Rochester and look forward to working with the Eastman House board of trustees and staff to advance the Museum’s tradition of excellence and service to the community.

The house and a great many of the Museum’s photographs and other objects are precisely within my longstanding interest in American art, decorative art, and architecture from 1876 to 1940. I am also eager to explore my scholarly interest in the role of photography as a muse for artists in other media.

On a personal note, Eastman House gives me an opportunity to participate professionally in my first love, motion pictures. I am thrilled that the Dryden will show two of my favorite films: The Last Picture Show (Dec. 12) — if you have only seen it on television, you haven’t seen it — and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Dec. 29 and 30). I hope you will join me at these screenings.

Bruce Barnes, Ph.D.
Ron and Donna Fielding Director
November/December 2012 Bulletin