Enthusiastic, Copyright 2009 Lonni Sue Johnson

Morven Museum and Garden is pleased to announce Puzzles of the Brain: An Artist’s Journey through Amnesia, an exhibition on loan from The Walters Museum of Art in Baltimore, MD.

The Walters has partnered with the Cognitive Science Department of the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Science at Johns Hopkins University to present a focus show exploring the impact of severe brain damage on the life and creativity of an artist.

The show tells the story of Lonni Sue Johnson, a successful artist and Princeton native, who drew for The New Yorker and The New York Times.  She suffered severe amnesia resulting from an attack of encephalitis in late 2007. The illness caused substantial brain damage, resulting in the complete loss of artistic productivity. Through intensive art therapy led by her mother Margaret Kennard Johnson (also an accomplished artist), Johnson began to produce a portfolio of “recovery art.” Her art provides unique insight into the devastating effects of amnesia, as well as the complementary roles played by language and memory in her artistic expression. Johnson’s case gives researchers a rare opportunity to contribute to the scientific understanding of brain function and art, and to apply that understanding to an appreciation of the synergies between art and science.

Puzzles of the Brain: An Artist’s Journey through Amenisa has been organized by the Walters Art Museum in partnership with the Cognitive Science Department of the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University.  The exhibition received generous support from the Johns Hopkins University Brain Science Institute, and the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.  We gratefully acknowledge Aline Marie Johnson’s role in helping us tell Lonni Sue’s story.

Additional support is provided by:
Jack Morton Exhibits
PNC Wealth Management
Princeton Brain & Spine Care
Princeton Magazine
Rita Allen Foundation

Meconopsis Napaulensis, Blue Poppy. Photograph by Linda Rutenberg.

Join Morven Museum & Garden this summer for a photographic journey through the mysterious realm of the nocturnal garden. Photographer Linda Rutenberg has travelled to thirty-five international gardens over the last five years in an effort to capture the world that comes alive as most of us close our eyes for the night. The result is an experience that transcends the usual daytime walk through a garden. Ms. Rutenberg has chosen well-known public gardens as her subjects ranging from Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania to the San Francisco Botanical Gardens in California. Discover the theatrical, colorful and sensuous world of The Garden at Night.

Tea is served each Wednesday at 1 pm. Reservations are required. Featured menu items include tea sandwiches, scones, and an assortment of fresh fruit and sweets.

Tea & Tour is offered Wednesdays January through November at 1pm. A docent-led tour of the home can be scheduled at either 12:15 pm or 2:15 pm

$ 16.00  Members  |  $ 20.00  Non-Members

Advance reservation is required and subject to availability. Payment is due at time of booking. Space is limited so plan on booking your tea as far in advance as possible. Please call Michelle Sheridan (609) 924-8144 ext. 106 for reservations.

Enthusiastic, Copyright 2009 Lonni Sue Johnson.

In conjunction with the exhibit Puzzles of the Brain: an Artist’s Journey through Amnesia, Morven presents a conversation with puzzle writer Amy Goldstein, who is responsible for sparking Lonni Sue Johnson’s interest in puzzles.

Ms. Goldstein, will explore Lonni Sue’s relationship with puzzles, which have become the focus of her current work, as well as her progress as a whole over the last several years. During the discussion, Ms. Goldstein will present a puzzle she wrote for Lonni Sue and share a fascinating video of the artist solving the puzzle.

$10 General Admission | $8 Friends of Morven

Reservations are required as seating is limited.

For additional information and reservations please call 609-924-8144 x106 or email info@morven.org.

To purchase admission online:
Click here for General Admission
Click here for the Friends of Morven discount rate

Not a Friend of Morven? Click here to join now!

Artist: Lonni Sue Johnson Copyright © 2009 Lonni Sue Johnson. This image is from Lonni Sue's ongoing recovery art and is the first of 5 pages of a puzzles.

Presented in conjunction with Morven’s current exhibit Puzzles of the Brain: An Artist’s Journey through Amnesia, this discussion explores how art and science inform our understanding of memory and creativity. Scientists and Lonni Sue Johnson’s family will shed light on the dramatic transformations in her art and the early scientific research results on her case of amnesia.

Speakers for this exceptional event include:

Dr. Barbara Landau, Dick & Lydia Todd Professor Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Michael McCloskey, Professor of Cognitive Science & Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, 1978 Princeton Ph.D.

Margaret Kennard Johnson, mother and fellow artist, helped Lonni Sue to regain her drawing ability.

Aline M. Johnson, Princeton class of 1977, sister and co-curator of the current exhibit on Lonni Sue at Morven Museum and Garden, Princeton, NJ

Free and open to the public, seating is limited; doors will open at 1:30 PM

This lecture will be held at Princeton University’s McCosh Hall Room 50.

For additional information call 609-924-8144 x106 or email info@morven.org.

It’s time for Morven’s annual spring fundraising event, now titled Morven in May: A Celebration of Art, Craft, and Garden.

This year, in addition to our traditional heirloom plant sale, Morven will welcome twenty of the region’s most talented artists and craftspeople (listed below). The weekend will commence with a fabulous Preview Garden Party on Morven’s Great Lawn, then open to the public for a weekend of art and garden treasure hunting!

Exhibiting Artists thus far includes:
Tristyn Albright
Karen Caldwell
Danielle Desplan
Sheila Fernekes
Katherine Hackl
Beth Judge
Maureen Kamerick
Ray Kelso
Meg Michael
Sue Sachs
Brad Smith
Jim Webb
Erin Wilson
Ellie Wyeth

Below is a schedule of events for the weekend. Stay tuned to Morven’s website and new Morven in May Facebook page for upcoming details!

To receive further information and to be added to our email and snail-mail lists, contact us at info@morven.org or at 609.924.8144 x 113.

Schedule of Events:

Friends of Morven Heirloom Plant Sale Preview

Friday, May 4, 2012, 1 – 4 PM

Friends of Morven have first pick from this year’s selection and receive a discount. Not a Friend of Morven? Click here to join today!

.

.

.

Preview Garden Party

Friday, May 4, 2012, 6 – 8:30 PM

Party attendees will enjoy and elegant cocktail party on Morven’s Great Lawn as they preview the beautiful art and craft of our invited exhibitors. Ticket information coming soon.

.

.

.

Art, Craft, and Garden Show and Sale Opens to the Public

Saturday, May 5, 10 AM – 5 PM and Sunday, May 6, 11 AM – 4 PM

Art and Craft Show and Sale Tickets:  $8 General Admission; $6 Friends of Morven (tickets good for both days)

Plant Sale only

free

The First Floor of the mansion features elegant galleries presenting Morven’s history, and is available for seated, plated dinners or cocktail receptions; by adding the second floor galleries, showcasing changing exhibits, the number of attendees can easily be increased. The well-appointed Conference Room is an ideal, private location for business meetings. Morven’s Garden Room is an intimate space for luncheons and small cocktail receptions boasting a beautiful view of the Colonial Revival Garden.

The Colonial Revival Garden, planted in the early 20^th century, is a beautiful outdoor space with spring bulbs, phlox throughout the summer, and bright fall foliage. The Grand Victorian Front Lawn, dotted with majestic trees and beds of heirloom perennials from the 18^th and 19^th centuries, can accommodate large groups in a tented arena with Morven’s façade as a backdrop.

For information on rental and fees, please contact Private Events Manager Nadia Hohgrawe, Tuesday through Friday, at 609.577.8167 or at nadia@morven.org.

Please click for futher information on available venues.

Colonial Revival Garden

Courtyard

First Floor

Front Lawn

Garden Room

West Wing Conference Room

Morven’s newly restored Art Moderne Pool House (coming soon)!

Morven is open for tours throughout the year. Come experience Morven and discover something new about New Jersey!  

Visit Morven Museum & Garden’s Facebook page!

Great Star Flag, c. 1851-58, The Pierce Collection of American Parade Flags

This exhibit, featuring one hundred flags from The Pierce Collection of American Parade Flags, traces the history of our national emblem from its humble beginnings in 1777 into the twentieth century.   Raised at Fort McHenry, Iwo Jima, and the World Trade Center – the American flag has been a constant symbol of our individual freedom and national unity.  These one hundred flags represent one hundred moments in America’s history.   The unique story of each presents the more intimate side of this internationally recognized ensign.   We invite you to experience over two centuries of United States history through a celebration of the Stars and Stripes.

This exhibit is sponsored in part by