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Cultivating Collections

Exhibition: June 4 - July 26, 2019
Reception: Thursday, July 25 from 5-7PM

Fran Forman, Parachutist Descending, 2005, archival pigment print from photographic assemblage, 22 x 28 inches, Gift from the Ray Griffin/Thom Robinson Collection. Image courtesy of the artist and franforman.com

 

This dynamic multi-gallery exhibition features three focus areas from the Museum’s collection that the curatorial team expects to grow over the next five-ten years:

• Photography

• Artist Books

• Contemporary Native American Art


(L) Fran Forman, Parachutist Descending, 2005, archival pigment print from photographic assemblage, 22 x 28 inches, Gift from the Ray Griffin/Thom Robinson Collection. Image courtesy of the artist and franforman.com. 

As the Museum expands its holdings of more than 1800 works of art, these concentration areas will provide a foundation for future directions in collecting. 

Click on each title below to learn more.

John Dickson, Oconaluftee River, 2002, archival pigment print, 19.5 x 15.25 inches, Gift from the Ray Griffin/Thom Robinson Collection. Image courtesy of the artist.

 

This gallery in the exhibition was curated by undergraduate and graduate students taking the Exhibition Practicum course at WCU. Featuring regionally- and nationally-known photographers—many who visited, taught, studied or exhibited at WCU during their careers—this gallery brings a student perspective to the Museum’s ever-expanding photography collection. As part of the course, students selected works to display, interviewed artists, and evaluated strengths and opportunities for the collection. 

Exhibiting Artists: Ken Abbott, Rob Amberg, Pinky Bass, Drew Cameron, John Dickson, Fran Forman, Herman Goustin, Cathryn Griffin, Otis Ike, Tamara Lischka, Susan Alta Martin, David Packer, Susan Harbage Page, Ed Ruscha, Alice Sebrell, and Ian Ward. 

Image: John Dickson, Oconaluftee River, 2002, archival pigment print, 19.5 x 15.25 inches, Gift from the Ray Griffin/Thom Robinson Collection. Image courtesy of the artist.

Ed Ruscha, Mason Williams, and Patrick Blackwell, Royal Road Test, 1967, fourth edition printed 1980, black offset printing with soft cover, spiral bound, 9.5 x 6.5 inches, WCU Fine Art Museum Collection.

 

Artworks in their own right, the objects featured in this exhibition are united by the artists’ desire to express an idea through a book-like format.

The WCU Fine Art Museum holds over 100 artist books by American artists. These include altered books, visual narratives, conceptual books, sculptural volumes, and works that combine poetic text and imagery.  

Exhibiting Artists: Leslie Bellavance, Karen Chance, Janie Geiser, Patti Belle Hastings, Phyllis Jarvinen, Susan King, Barbara Kruger, Ken Leslie, Sol LeWitt, Fernando Lopes, George Maciunas, Richard Olson, Tom Phillips, Dieter Roth, Ed Ruscha, David Stairs, Danny Tisdale, Manuel Tzoc, Lawrence Weiner, Michael Winkler, Joan Wolbier, and Janet Zweig. 

Image: Ed Ruscha, Mason Williams, and Patrick Blackwell, Royal Road Test, 1967, fourth edition printed 1980, black offset printing with soft cover, spiral bound, 9.5 x 6.5 inches, WCU Fine Art Museum Collection.

Edgar Heap of Birds, For Arizona Denials, 2001, nineteen-color lithograph on paper, Museum purchase with funds from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

 

Since the 2005 inaugural year of Bardo Arts Center, the WCU Fine Art Museum has made a commitment to exhibiting contemporary Native American art as a regular part of the Museum’s changing exhibitions program. Over the past 15 years, many of these exhibitions inspired purchases and donations of artwork to help the Museum deepen its focus in this area. The art on view in this gallery features a selection of the works acquired during this period. 

Exhibiting Artists: Joshua Adams, Julie Buffalohead, Amanda Crowe, Edgar Heap of Birds, Luzene Hill, Bobby C. Martin, Duane Slick, Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Alice Walkingstick, Geraldine Walkingstick, Roberta Walkingstick.

Image: Edgar Heap of Birds, For Arizona Denials, 2001, nineteen-color lithograph on paper, Museum purchase with funds from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

1. Alice Sebrell, Where Do You Hide Your History?, 2006, archival pigment print, 27 x 40 inches, Gift from the Ray Griffin/Thom Robinson Collection. Image courtesy of the artist.

 

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