The Little Things

Each semester I take students on a field trip to shoot photos at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington. As you can imagine I've been there quite a few times. As a result it can become difficult to find inspiration, feeling like I've seen it all before. However, one thing I often find interesting about a "landscape" is the residue of human activity left on a place. Last spring I noticed something that was interesting and fun – a little bit of a game. I've seen this before with chairs that have been placed or left in conspicuous places. But this time it was the cups.

Field Trip: Aegean Echoes

Detail of work by Helene Steene

Orientation to the show

Students in art history survey this semester visited the Headley-Whitney Museum in Lexington today to take in "Aegean Echoes." The purpose of our visit was to connect our studies of the ancient Aegean art with contemporary works by Helene Steene (whose work is also on view in our campus' Jacobs Gallery) and Ray Papka.

Field Trip: The Golden Age of Painting in Europe

View from above of the main floor of the exhibition

Earlier today, students in Modern Art and two special guest stars went to the University of Kentucky Art Museum to visit the exhibition "The Golden Age of Painting in Europe," a travelling show that was originally titled Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough, and the Golden Age of Painting in Europe from the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY. Each student selected a painting or two to present to the rest of the class (and a few other people in the museum, as well). Such close examination of single works enabled students to focus their study and to learn much more about brushwork and technique, as well as content and subject.

Field Trip Report: Kentucky's Governor's Mansion

Good news, bad news.....Good news - the Speed Museum is undergoing renovation and expansion. Bad news - the Speed Museum is closed until 2015. What's an art historian supposed to do? Follow the art! 

William Mason Brown (American, 1828-1898)
Peaches, about 1870
Oil on Canvas. Gift of Mrs. Hattie Bishop Speed. 1927.28 on view at the Governor's Mansion

Follow the Kentucky Collection to the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort for an exhibit curated by independent scholar Estill Curtis Pennington. 

front of the mansion, to the East of the Capitol Building

On view until late April 2013, you'll find early nineteenth-century portraitists, including Asa Park's contemporary Matthew Harris Jouett, among later artists, including still life painter William Mason Brown and genre painters Mary Spencer Nay and Lucy Diecks who aimed to document myriad aspects of Kentucky life. Our guide was David Buchta, from the Division of Historic Properties. His tour and explanation was fantastic. And, he gave us time to wander the first floor on our own. What a treat!

Paul Sawyier's Wapping Street
(a reproduction of which hangs in
the Ensor Learning Resource Center at Georgetown College)

This trip would not have been possible without our colleague, Prof. Kincer, who chauffeured us to the mansion. Thank you, Darrell!

A souvenir gathered by Prof. Kincer

And, a hearty welcome, as always to Emeritus Prof. Doug Griggs who is always welcome on these tours because he's a general fan of art and because he knows American architecture. 

Our lively tour group of art history survey students and special guest star Shawn

This concludes our list of "official" art history/curatorial field trips this semester.  So, if you've missed these opportunities to the Governor's Mansion, the Contemporary Art Center, 21c, the Taft Art Museum, or the Loudoun House, try to visit one or more of these locations on your own this summer! There will be plenty of opportunities in store for the fall, as well. Join us!

Field Trip Report: Cincinnati 3/23/2013

Hema Upadhyay, Modernization (detail), 2013

Students in the Women, Art, Objects, and Histories course travelled to Cincinnati last weekend to visit the Taft Art Museum and the Contemporary Art Center. These visits were our third and fourth experiential learning opportunities this semester. The first was the exhibition on diversity held in the Cochenour Gallery and the second was the juror's talk at the Lexington Art League for the Nude show.

Hema Upadhyay, Modernization, 2013

This time around, we visited three exhibitions and some students even ventured for a fourth, by taking in the NEW 21c hotel and museum on Sixth Street. The day was full of contemporary art, and our focus was on art created with special attention to the minority perspective - whether African American, Indian; affluent or impoverished; "traditional" or "new" media.

At the Contemporary Art Center, we viewed the work of two Indian artist, Hema Upadhyay and Atul Dodiya. In Upadhyay's work, the artist has recreated an aerial view of the Indian slum Dharavi on the floor of second floor galleries of the CAC. The work is made up of building materials common to this type of structure, including aluminum, scrap metal, enamel paint, plastic sheets, and found objects. The work takes on the appearance of a quilt, and draws viewers in for a closer look. One point that we observed was the protrusion of religious structures above the horizon line.

Hema Upadhyay, Modernization, 2013

The second exhibition at the CAC that we visited was the installation by Atul Dodiya, also India, of metal store front shutters salvaged from the streets of Mumbai. Upadhyay was a student of Dodiya's, and this is evident through their use of subject matter and found object aesthetic. Yet, Dodiya's work contains numerous references to canon(s) in Western art history.

Atul Dodiya

We also learned about the architecture of the CAC, the first museum designed by a female in the US. The 5-story building was designed by Zaha Hadid, completed in 2003. To draw in pedestrian movement from the surrounding areas and create a sense of dynamic public space, the entrance, lobby and open area in the foyer are organized as an "urban carpet," as seen in the ground beneath us.

Gathered before the tour, we are situated on Hadid's "urban carpet." Special guest stars

Prof. Doug Griggs and Adam Johnston, GC '02, and

Laura Stewart, former GC Gallery Director, joined us!

De-briefing outside of the Driskell exhibition at the Taft.

Across downtown, at the Taft, we took in the exhibition "African American Art since 1950: Perspectives from the David C. Driskell Center" which offered a range of works from the collection of scholar, curator and artist, David Driskell. It is seen as the counterpart to the earlier exhibition he curated entitled "Two Centuries of Black American Art" which focused on c. 1750-1950. Here, works of the past 60 years from Faith Ringgold, Romare Bearden, Bettye Saar, and Sam Gilliam on view along with Kara Walker, Willie Cole, and Radcliffe Bailey offering a range of mediums, including paintings, sculpture, prints, collage, photography, and mixed media.

Both exhibitions are on view for a few more weeks. They are worth the time to visit because they offer perspectives that are not often the sole focus of an exhibition; and yet their very existence asks us to question if we homogenize our view because works are shown together. In response to this dichotomy, we followed up our visit with a discussion last Monday in class. Among many topics we shared our perspectives on whether or not we, ourselves, were "critical museum visitors" or "ideal" or "typical" ones.  These classifications enable us to reflect on how much we engaged with the material as well as the entire landscape of the exhibitions, activities that require more than just looking.

Dead Sea Scrolls: Follow up

On Sunday, December 2, 2012 students from the art history courses and a few additional friends, via the Religion Department, visited the travelling exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Cincinnati Museum Center.  The name of the exhibit is "Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times." 

I deliver the agenda for the afternoon. 

Escalators to the exhibit hall

Inside the exhibit, we learned how Israel was an ancient crossroads between the Arabian Desert and the Mediterranean Sea. Its the source for Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.  The Biblical era, also known as the Iron Age (ca. 1200 BCE) brought forth the birth and evolution of the Israelites who adopted a variation of a Phoenician alphabet to begin writing their Bible (book or library).

In the exhibit, we viewed 10 selections from the Scrolls, that are 2000-year-old parchments and that address the latter Hellenic and Roman control of this region. The scrolls were non-Biblical and Biblical, thus giving us a glimpse into the lives of people at the time.

Inside the exhibition, there are ample texts and prompts for using the audioguides.

The decoration on the vessel on the right above was unusual in that it had clay on its shoulder and included a striding horned animal with a bird above it. Also, a paw appears on the rim.

Objects were on view in cases as well as secondary wall displays.

In addition to this cache of stones, we saw iron arrowheads (or points) and flint sling-stones. These give compelling evidence of a catastrophic battle that took place in the area of Lachish.

The fascinating scale with stone weights.

In addition, we saw ceramic rattles, pottery figurine of a female drummer (that I thought looked like a tambourine player), leather sandals, combs, ossuraries, and textiles.

Relaxing at the end of the afternoon before the bus's departure.

If you're interested in visual and material culture of the ancient world, and are a fan of archaeology, this exhibition is well worth the ticket.

D.C. Trip Report

Just wanted to say that we had a fantastic time on our Art Department trip to Washington D.C. over Fall Break. Highlights included the National Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum, Air and Space Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Washington Monument, WWII Veterans Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Other important highlights included H&M, Forever 21, Pentagon City Mall, meeting up with a variety of friends and family, riding the Metro, one very busy and extremely cold Chipotle, driving in downtown (aka getting lost, no thanks to Siri), getting stuck in a Romney induced traffic jam, chair "massages" from Gus the mini-bus, movie nights at the Graham's, brownies, and most importantly "Red," the Graham's golden retriever!

  Outside the National Gallery, East.

 The smallest and most profitable McDonald's on the planet.

 Outside the Hirshhorn and two days too early for Ai Weiwei.

  Riding the Metro downtown.

   Walking on the National Mall.

   The (non)Reflecting Pool.

Visiting the WWII Veterans Memorial.

If you see someone who went on the trip, ask them about their experience. They probably have plenty of stories and photos to share. And we're already looking forward to a trip next Fall Break!

Field Trip: Critical Museum Visitors

This past weekend, students in Dr. Decker's history of art and museum studies courses were able to take in two exhibitions: Renoir to Chagall: Paris and the Allure of Color & A Day in Pompeii. Students took in one or both exhibitions and prepared response papers to these exhibitions, while also earning FLEX credit:) We were joined on Saturday by Drs. Brill and Emerick and on Sunday by several other faculty, including Prof. G. Decker and B. Zakic, and Pawling Hall folks, Drs. Emerick and Henkel. 


On Monday in the upper division courses, we discussed the extent to which we were critical museum visitors. How was your visit? 

In Louisville, Dr. Emerick, Dr. Decker, and Dr. Brill in front of Deborah Butterfield's cast bronze sculptures, Danuta and Burnt Pine. 

At Cincy's Pompeii exhibit, Dr. Henkel makes note of the vessels. 

 Dr. Emerick and Dr. Henkel discussing the subject matter of particular Roman frescos with Dr. Decker and Bess.

 Kurtis and Lynsey pose before studying nearby frescos.

The final exhibition room contains resin casts of the cavities that formerly held bones of animals and people. 

If you participated, I hope you enjoyed the visits to both exhibitions. Looking forward to another great field trip in the fall! 

All signs point to I-64: calling all art students!!!

Thursday night (tonight), check out a lecture by one of the foremost American artists, Ann Hamilton, whose work is shown below. She is offering a lecture at the Speed Museum TONIGHT at 6 pm. Details here. Prof. Graham's performance and installation class is attending and a few other folks are driving over also. Try to make it. Also, if you have time, stop off at 21c Museum Hotel, 700 W. Main St. They're exhibiting 10 of Hamilton’s archival inkjet prints of “human carriage.”

NEXT WEEK: It's all public art all the time. Public Art and the City 2012 is the second of a continuing dialogue that seeks to engage the region's artists, students, curators, administrators, and other professionals in thinking about and discussing public art in theory and praxis. As with 2011, this year I'm working with the stellar Peter Morrin of the U of L's Arts and Culture Partnerships to plan the symposium. We hope you can join us.

Of special interest, for sculpture students and art majors generally, will be the morning session on Rodin (see images here and on the link)

and the afternoon chat with Malcolm Cochran, who is professor at Ohio State and curator of a city-wide project in Columbus, OH. (Cochran's Dutch Shoes shown below).

Interested? Let me know asap. Students are free and I can submit your registration materials for you, provided you give me the completed registration form. Click here.

See our posts from last year (the 2011 event that was blogged by Boris) so that you can get a sense of the setting. Click here.

Tonight and next Friday -- hop on I-64 and make the trip to Louisville. It's worth the trip! While there, take a few extra minutes and check out the Speed Museum (site of our upcoming art history field trip on 4/21. Will make a post on that later....)

12/12/2010 Field Trip: Cancelled

Due to the Winter Weather Advisory, the field trip to Cincy has been cancelled. Sorry!

Field Trip: Zeigler House in Frankfort

On Friday, Curatorial Studies students (and a few special guest stars) visited the only home in Kentucky designed by the firm of Frank Lloyd Wright, the noted modernist architect. Here, however, rather than Guggenheim-esque spirals, we see typical "Prairie Style" features at their finest: cantilevers, strong emphasis on parallels and perpendiculars, and the use of natural materials. Inside, the living area is abundantly spacious with an organic flow to the rooms that is amplified by the many balconies.

The home was commissioned by Reverend Jesse Zeigler, who met Wright while travelling in Europe. The current owner, Ed Stodola (shown on the far right of the photo) and our tour guide, Liz (on the left) offered their hospitality, knowledge, and love of Wright, for which we're all grateful. Many thanks to Ed and Liz for welcoming us and giving us the taste of what living in a Wright home must be like. Thanks to Day Johnston for taking our photo! It shows off the house quite well:)

Field Trip: A Gift From the Desert

This is, actually, a field trip report. Today Jamie Ratliff's survey class and several of my students (from curatorial and senior thesis classes) toured the fascinating exhibition at the Horse Park. If you have not already seen this exhibition, you might want to make a visit before WEG officially kicks off. One of the prized items on view is the Standard of Ur, a "standard" (pun intended) at the British Museum. This hollow box decorated with shell, red limestone and lapis was created more than 4500 years ago; its purpose is unknown. Its two faces depict war scenes and peace scenes. Interestingly, the side greeting visitors was that of war. We spent a good while looking at this object, but I personally could have stayed there for several more minutes. Think of all of the art historical terms that you know that you could use to discuss this object (register, relief, narrative, figurative, hieratic). Special thanks to Jamie, Greg, and Dr. Emerick for accompanying our group. A special shout out goes to Daniel Ware and superstar Nate for joining us. Hope you enjoyed it, too!

Field Trip: Foundry Visit

Calling all art lovers -- Laura has arranged an amazing opportunity for art department faculty, students, and friends to observe lost-wax casting first hand.



Details: Join us on a visit to Prometheus Foundry. Artists Amanda Matthews and Brad Connell will open their foundry to us on Friday, Sept. 10 at 11 am. Amanda is the artist who designed one of our campus sculptures, the