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- https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/juneauempire/name/alan-munro-obituary?pid=198985686
Alan R. Munro, 88 years of age, passed away on Saturday May 8, 2021. Born to his parents, Duncan Ross and Ethel Munro.
Alan attended Roslyn High School in New York and Shelburne High School in Vermont, when he met the love of his life, and wife of 70 years Constance Munro. They started their life together in Shelburne, Vermont and then on to New York, Tennessee and Juneau, Alaska where Alan retired as Director of the Alaska State Museum.
Alan was an accomplished artist, bird enthusiast, environmentalist, avid fishermen, hunter and outdoor explorer where he found life at its best hiking the perseverance and local area mountain trails making sure his paintbrush's, paints and sketch pad was always in his backpack. Alan had great respect for the environment, and often took home injured birds to rehab and release them back into the wild, and was involved in Green Peace, helped organize the first Juneau Audubon Society and was a member of Earth Justice. Alan always enjoyed a good sense of humor and loved to share his stories of life along with his wife after many great meals with family and dear friends.
Alan had art exhibits in Louisville Kentucky, Nashville Tennessee, Washington DC, New York City New York, Seattle Washington, and Juneau-Douglas Alaska. His career in museum's started in Shelburne Vermont where he worked with his father who took notice of his early interest and talent in the visual arts. He also worked at Fisk University in Nashville Tennessee, The Nashville Children's Museum, The American Museum of Natural History, New York City, and the Juneau Alaska State Museum from 1971 to 1985 where he was curator and then director before his retirement.
Alan was active in the Nashville Artist Guild, Initiated and implemented training at Fisk University in collaboration with David Driskell who designed curriculum for future POC Curators, he was active in the Civil Rights integration movement, and helped organize the Juneau NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally ill) and was a past president. Alan was instrumental in the grass roots effort of the 1st annual Juneau Folk Festival hosting meetings in the family living room, and was an advocate for speaking what he believed, marching in the 4th of July parade with a Freedom of Speech sign, and writing letters to the Juneau empire editor on issues he was passionate about.
Alan was adopted in the Tlingit Eagle Na'ein Kaagwaantaan Clan by Frances Smith, and a member of the Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp 2 of Juneau.
Alan was preceded in death by his father Duncan Ross and Mother, Ethel Munro, his older brother Judge William Munro his wife June, Son's Alan Duncan, and Scott William Munro. He is survived by his wife Constance, his younger brother, David and wife Gerry; Children, Peter, Donald, daughter-in-law Melanie, Carol, Jean, Dave, Meg, and husband Jim, Grandchildren, Christopher, Sunshine, Jesse, Jason, Orawan (Bam), William Scott, Hunter, Mekayla, Rochelle, Jesse, Jared and Tauna, Great grandchildren; Halee, Koree, Idynn, Rovenna, Hallie, Sarah, Karter and Willeen, and many nieces, nephews and their children.
A retrospective art show and celebration of life will be arranged by the family, dates will be determined at a later date per venue availability. Cards and condolences can be mailed to P.O. Box 871541 Wasilla, Alaska 99687. Email inquiries to: retrospectivealanmunro@gmail.com
-Artist Statement
The things that I find interesting about painting or what my paintings are about, is not something that I often think about. I just make them. When asked to think about it, I would say they are made of something that did not exist exactly like that before. They are perhaps a rearrangement of the 'ordinary' and 'usual' into another form of reality. A realm where I am willing to release, a spontaneous and intuitive picture of my feelings. If you will, an outward manifestation of those feelings. Probably most people do that when they are dreaming or describing something with great feeling.
My Paintings have evolved over time and now reflect my reactions to nature, pushed beyond, or in a different direction from a purely representational world. I am drawn to paint the forces and material things of nature which I have come to know and respect after many years of direct experience. This knowledge of nature, however seems not to be overtly, conscious when I am doing a painting. In an abstract and metaphorical way, it is more a sense of being a reservoir of energy which enables me to paint what I paint. It is seemingly a motivating force, which like all of nature, is full of image possibilities and offers, in addition, the chance appearances of key elements that go into making an interesting painting, if I am ready at that moment to recognize them and retain them.
I like to paint spontaneously, because it carries the freshness of chance and a deep, sincerity of expression. Plus, I never know for certain where it will lead and that offers real excitement and an element of surprise for me, as well. I work in a flurry of activity followed by periods of sitting and looking at what has just transpired, in contemplation of the next move. There are waves of opportunity, in which to make choices, and perhaps the most difficult moment in painting for me, comes when it's time to say, it is finished and to walk away from it. It takes a lot of doing painting, to know and to recognize, with a feeling of confidence, what that place should look like. I work on that problem regularly. It is the essence of painting.
My work is not intended to be at all linear, in the sense that this statement is a juxtaposition of various symbols. Symbols do appear in my work but they are by chance meeting of lines and images or only because they offer strong visual presence in a particular spot for no particular reason, except for having chosen it. In terms of my painting direction, I continue to work with the hope and goal of reaching my own peculiar level of simplification.
-Alan R. Munro
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1932 - 2021 (88 years)
