Martin Museum’s Newest Exhibition Features Students’ Research
Media Contact: Terry_Goodrich, 254-710-3321
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WACO, Texas (Dec. 7, 2017) — The Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University is hosting a new exhibit called The Age of Mechanical Reproduction at the Martin Museum:
18th and 19th Century Printmaking. The exhibit will run through Dec. 17 and showcases undergraduate student research into 18th- and 19th-century prints.
Students enrolled in the art history research seminar taught by Sean DeLouche, Ph.D., lecturer of art history in Baylor’s College of Arts and Sciences, did intensive research into prints from the collection of the Martin Museum of Art. Many of these prints have never been researched before, so the students worked with DeLouche to study the works and develop an original thesis. Students also worked with the museum staff on framing, matting and hanging the historical prints.
“The uniqueness of this level of research and collaboration at the undergraduate level cannot be overstated, especially with the quality this process has yielded,” said Paul McCoy, professor of art and director of the Allbritton Art Institute. “This is experiential learning at its finest, emphatically resetting the standard bar at the national level.”
The museum held a public symposium Dec. 4 to mark the opening of the exhibition. Students from DeLouche’s research seminar presented their original research on selections from the Martin’s permanent collection. Nearly 100 people attended, and visitors could view works on the walls.
The exhibition features 13 prints from the 18th and 19th centuries, including a caricature by Honoré Daumier, a self-portrait etching by William Strang and a hand-colored lithograph of hummingbirds by John Gould. DeLouche said the exhibition is titled “The Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” after a famous essay by the late philosopher and cultural critic Walter Benjamin.
“In his essay, Benjamin said that with reproducible technologies, the work of art becomes distanced from its original function,” DeLouche said. “In so doing, it meets the viewer in his or her context, investing the work with personal and potentially limitless meanings.”
The Martin Museum of Art is located in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center at Baylor University at 60 Baylor Ave. Admission is free and open to the public. Museum hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
For more information, call (254) 710-6371 visit the Martin Museum website.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 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 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.
ABOUT MARTIN MUSEUM OF ART
The mission of the Martin Museum of Art is one of education and service by bringing outstanding art exhibitions, speakers and guest artists to Baylor University and Central Texas. The museum serves as a valuable teaching tool for students and faculty. Exhibitions complement the courses of art history and studio art taught within Baylor’s department of art. The permanent collection consists of approximately 1,300 objects representing a variety of art that has been donated to or purchased by Baylor, including art 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, among them George Post, Phil Dike, Edgar Whitney and John Marin.