Historic art collection
When gallery director Carlos Herrera arrived at GCSU in 2005, he was informed that there was a collection of art stored away in the closets of the art buildings on campus. But Herrera had no idea when he began rummaging through the closets that he would discover such a magnitude of art. During the renovation of the art buildings, he came across even more of the collection, finding flat files containing a multitude of print pieces.
Some of the art on display dates back almost two centuries to the early 1800s, while others are more contemporary prints. With the work of more than 30 nationally and internationally recognized artists on display, this collection is quite impressive. Some of the well-known artists include Grant Wood, who is best known for his famous piece “American Gothic,” Kathe Kollwitz and Camille Pissarro.
The GCSU permanent art collection is diverse with prints from different artistic styles including German expressionism, French impressionism, photorealism, and others.
“The permanent art collection has a little bit of everything for everyone,” said Herrera.
An interesting print from the 1800s, French artist Honoré Daumier’s “Actualitites” collection is one of the historic pieces on display. Daumier’s “Actualities” is a collection of satirical lithographs that consist of caricatures that depict his political stance on antimonarchist and liberal subjects.
Daumier’s controversial prints were the cause of the censorship of some publications he worked for, which landed him in jail and slapped him with a heavy fine. These circumstances only served to fuel his dedication to creating prints and his caricatures became more aggressive.
The work of Kathe Kollwitz, a German expressionist, is reflective of the devastating times she lived through during World War I. The two Kollwitz pieces on display are “Sharpening the Scythe and Death” and “Mother Struggle Over the Child,” which both reflect her struggle with the loss of her son, a soldier that was killed in WWI.
The collection includes a print from one of GCSU’s own, President Dr. Dorothy Leland. “Animal Puzzle,” which Leland created in 2006. It is an actual puzzle that consists of four different pieces that can be arranged in various positions to be put on display.
Some prints were added to the collection by various visiting artists like Sally Heller and Dan McCleary. When visiting artists come to GCSU, they produce limited edition prints and a proportion of the works are given to the school. These works can be sold to raise money for scholarships or kept as additions to the permanent art collection.
The prints on display in Blackbridge Hall are not the only pieces that GCSU has in the permanent art collection, but they are some of the best.
There is still a great amount of research to be completed in order to discover all of the unknown information about various art pieces, but Herrera is ready for the task.
“It’s fun to find the history of the works and how they got here,” Herrera said.
At this point in time, there is no designated space to permanently display the collection, but Herrera and the Art Department are in the process of securing a location for the GCSU permanent art collection to be on display at all times for viewing.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 24 2008. Filed under Features.
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