Museum Will Feature Familiar Art Form in a New Way
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WACO, Texas (July 13, 2012)- Pieces of a whole: that is the best way to describe the new exhibit at Baylor's Martin Museum of Art.
The exhibit, a compilation by the textile art group Fiber Revolution, is called "Fragmentations" and will be in Gallery II of Baylor's on-campus art museum until Aug. 18. The exhibition features pieces created by fiber artists from around the world and has a focus on small parts of a bigger piece or a scaled-down version of a larger design.
While fiber art is often seen as simply quilting, it is more than that, said Adriel Greene, educational coordinator at Martin Museum of Art.
"So many people think that the artists just cut up scraps and sew them together," Greene said. "But there's so much more than that. A lot of the artists make their own fabric. There are many in-depth processes that they go through."
One of the featured artists, Carolyn Lee Vehslage, will hold a gallery talk and a silkscreen demonstration. The talk and demonstration will both be held on July 19 in the museum building at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. Both events are free and open to the public.
Karin Gilliam, director of the museum, said that "one of the goals of Fiber Revolution, the group behind Fragmentations, is to educate people about what fiber art is. It is so much more than needlework and quilting. These people are just as much real artists as painters and sculptures."
Along with the theme of fragmented pieces, Greene said there is a recurring trend of circles and shapes throughout the different works. She said that a few of the artists have backgrounds in science, adding to the intrigue of their art and vision.
"I have noticed a few, including this one," she said, pointing to the Reflections 9 by Virginia Abrams. "She was an organic chemist."
Each piece has the normal art gallery plaques by them with their title and the artist's name, but these also include how they made the specific piece, how they usually go about their creative process and a short biography.
The exhibit is a part of a new effort to reach out to the community, especially while most Baylor students are gone for the summer. Gilliam said that the museum will be targeting the many Central Texas art organizations for this particular exhibition.
The museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is located in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center at 60 Baylor Avenue, right off of University Parks Drive.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, classified as such with "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions.
ABOUT MARTIN MUSEUM OF ART
For the past thirty years, the stewardship and mission of the Martin Museum of Art has been one of education and service. Through bringing outstanding art exhibitions, speakers and guest artists to Baylor University and to the Central Texas community, the museum serves as a teaching tool for students and faculty. Exhibitions complement the courses of art history and studio art taught within the Department of Art. The permanent collection consists of approximately 1300 objects and represents a variety of art that has been donated to or purchased by Baylor University. The collection contains artwork by such well-known artists as Robert Rauschenberg, Kathe Kollwitz, Francisco de Goya, and Edouard-Leon Cortes. Included in the collection are approximately 300 paintings by famous watercolor artists such as George Post, Phil Dike, Edgar Whitney, and John Marin.
For more information, visit Martin Museum of Art
by Mallory Hisler, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805