GEORGIA COLLEGE CURATOR

Jen O., She's so engaging!

2014-03-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

Jen Oleniczak, The Engaging Educator, gives her opening remarks.

Jen O. (because the pronunciation of her surname sounds nothing like it looks) is a rising star in world of museum education. Okay, maybe you're not a museum nerd. Don't tune out yet!

Mostly, Jen's workshops provide participants with techniques for presenting and communicating. Communicating - person to person - no hashtags, no likes, no favorites or retweets. But, if you are a museum nerd, you can follow her @TheEngagingEd as I do.

By the end of the day, our small campus gallery space was full of smiling faces and lots of positive energy.

I hope you enjoy the images of Georgia College students engaged in the practice of tableaux vivant - (French) living pictures. For more information about this practice, its history and current use in museums, please see Shannon Murphy's post on the site, Art Museum Teaching: A Forum for Reflecting on Practice.

Georgia College students engage in Tableaux Vivant.

Tableaux Vivant: the moment before.

Tableaux Vivant: the moment after.

A Week Away

2014-02-27T13:58:00.003-08:00

We are a week away from the second annual Patience Elizabeth Russell Peterson Seminar for Museum Educators at Georgia College.

This year, our presenter Jen Oleniczak aka The Engaging Educator is sure to be a big hit. Ready, Set, Let's Engage!

"Yes, and..."

2013-12-13T12:41:00.001-08:00

Last year, Georgia College Museum hosted an inaugural seminar devoted to the professional development of museum educators.

Museum educators dedicate their professional careers to museum visitors of all ages and to helping them experience something new, see something in a different way, question an established idea, have fun as they learn about art, history, science or any number of topics.

Our 2014 presenter for the Patience Elizabeth Russell Peterson Seminar for Museum Educators is Jen Oleniczak, Founder of The Engaging Educator. Jen has established a practice that embodies all that is best about museum education, her knowledge of art (exploring the visual) as well as her training in theatre improv and shares them with other working professionals.

Click here to see her independently arranged Ted talk.

Transitions and Reviews

2013-12-02T10:50:00.004-08:00

Myers, Black Chair, 48" x 72", 2010.

As the semester winds down, I have begun my final preparation for the upcoming exhibitions and programs scheduled next semester. During our down time, we arrange to have the galleries repainted and the carpets cleaned. A color is chosen for our accent wall and I select the fonts for the vinyl letters that will announce our upcoming exhibitions.

At the end of the day when I take step out of my curatorial shoes, I like things that are simply beautiful. Living with Karen Ann Myers extremely well-rendered paintings of women in beautiful bedrooms and sensuous prints for the past several months has been a delight.

Myers, Heart Attack, Hand-pulled screen print, 16" x 16", 2011.

And, although we will say good-bye to loveliness of Karen's work and the vibrant colors presented by Derek Cracco's wall-paper installation on December 14, we are celebrating the Burnaway review Psyche in the Bedroom, by Ivy Wiliams published on November 26.

The new year will begin at the Georgia College Museum on January 29, 2014 with the sculptural work Faces of Alienation by Susan Grabel and a curated exhibition, A Part of the Landscape: The Subjects of Carl Martin. To see more of photographs by the Athens, GA based photographer, click here.

A Little Lagniappe- "From Here to There" and "Karen Ann Myers"

2013-10-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

Black Chair, 2010 (right) and Untitled (Crown Molding), 2010 (left).
[Photos taken by Nicole Pitts, Museum Assistant.]

Students examine Deco Diamonds, 2012 (left) and Striped Diamond, 2012 (right).

Valerie Aranda, Professor of Art and her students.

Exploring the precision present in Striped Diamonds II, oil on canvas, 60" x 36", 2013.

From Here to There, 2013.
This installation of From Here to There was created specifically for Georgia College Museum's Focus Gallery.

a close-up

a close-up (Image appropriated from a romance novel)

Installation on the wall opposite the wallpaper.

Thanks again to Nicole Pitts, Georgia College, junior and Museum Assistant for taking such great photos of the installation and the reception.

Intimate Worlds

2013-10-21T13:05:00.003-07:00

Through December 13th, visitors to the Georgia College Museum may glance into the intimate worlds of young women through the large-scale paintings and hand-pulled screen prints of Charleston artist, Karen Ann Myers.

As a young woman herself, it is Karen's intention to understand what its like to be a young woman in contemporary society. These stunning portraits presented within well-decorated bedrooms, filled with detailed patterns and high impact colors, provide a voyeuristic perspective of this very complex experience. For Karen, the bedroom is ideally suited for exploring feminine identity because she believes that women really grow up in their bedrooms, which are also places where both reflection and intimate experiences can occur. The intricately painted spaces rendered with precision reinforce the idea of perfection presented by the mass media and the 'cult of beauty' to is sold to young women. Despite her intent to explore the inner psyche of young females, Karen reinforces the dualities present for these subjects by returning the viewers attention to the created spaces of the bedrooms with her titles that describe the decor rather than name the subjects.

Karen Ann Myers, Deco Diamonds, oil on canvas, 39" x 60", 2012
[courtesy of the artist]

Pink Diamond, hand pulled screen print, 18" x 24", 2013.
[courtesy of the artist]

Black Chair, oil on canvas, 48" x 72", 2010.
[courtesy of the artist]

Yellow Diamond, hand pulled screen print, 18" x 24", 2013.
[courtesy of the artist]

Crazy Quilt and Zig Zag Rug, oil on canvas, 48" x 72", 2011.
[courtesy of the artist]

Also, on view is an installation presented by Birmingham-based artist, Derek Cracco, From Here to There. The installation consists of custom made wallpaper filled with brightly colored hues and collaged ephemera gleaned from romance novels, fifties pin-ups and men's health magazines that extends half the length of the gallery.

To hear Karen and I talk more about the works on exhibit and the process of selecting and installing the work, click here.

she who tells a story

2013-05-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

Dalia Khamissy

Georgia College Museum will host Rawiya: She Who Tells a Story, curated by Cynthia Farnell, June 12 through September 11, 2013. Rawiya comes to the Georgia College Museum via the Welch School Galleries at Georgia State University where Ms. Farnell serves as Gallery Director.

Laura Boushnak

A photography collective founded by female photographers from across the Middle East, Rawiya

presents an insider's view of a region in flux, balancing its contradictions while reflecting on social and

political issues and stereotypes. As a collective, Rawiya's photographers respect the human dignity of the stories they tell, pooling resources and vision to produce in-depth photo-essays and long-term projects.

Myriam Abdelaziz

Rawiya, meaning “she who tells a story” brings together the photographic styles of Myriam Abdelaziz, Tamara Abdul Hadi, Laura Boushnak, Tanya Habjouqa, Dalia Khamissy and Newsha Tavakolian. The Welch School Galleries were the first to exhibit Rawiya: She Who Tells A Story as a collective in the United States.

Newsha Tavakolia

Tamara Abdul Hadi

Tanya Habjouqa

Global Creative Contemporary

2013-04-08T12:32:00.002-07:00

from left to right Juan Alberto Negro (artist and curator of Pie Forzado.001), Alberto (Beto) Torrens and Anabel Vazquez-Rodriquez in the gallery at Georgia College Museum. [Photograph courtesy of Mariana Ortiz-Reyes, founder and editor of i am satos™.

Mariana Ortiz-Reyes founder and editor of i am satos™ is currently featuring the exhibitions, artists and curators of Pie Forzado.001 and Carry On: Puerto Rico Inspected. Both exhibitions are on show at the Georgia College Museum through May 10, 2013.

i am satos™ is an online magazine that "proposes a global platform for creative views on being Puerto Rican from varying contemporary surroundings according to wandering young students and professionals around the world. The Journal exposes in mixed media the engagement of satos in fields such as: art, design, architecture, business, technology and even science. These satos are collaborators, friends and allies, who for now gift their time and always mischeviously share their experiences. Each sato brings other satos to the platform, thus expanding the conversation about the satos culture." To learn more the exciting work of Marian and her collaborators log onto www.iamsatos.com. Perhaps you too are a sato.

Capturing the Moments

2013-04-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

A special thanks to our University Photographer, Tim Vacula for capturing these moments at the Patience Elizabeth Russell Peterson Museum Educators Seminar. We are ever grateful!

In Review

2013-03-29T12:34:00.001-07:00

Sharon Vatksy, Director of School and Family Programs, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, gives practical tips to museum educators.

Last weeks Museum Educators Seminar sponsored in part by the Patience Elizabeth Russell Peterson Endowment and the Georgia Art Educators Association was by all accounts a success. I am so grateful to the museum educators for their support, thanks and positive feedback and to the University catering services for the delicious lunch.

However, one of my favorite reviews comes from one of our Georgia College students whose reflective commentary read, "The session that affected me the most was the walnut activity and the sculpture activity. It helped get us (the audience) into the mind of the artists and to see where they got their inspiration. It turned the ordinary into something extraordinary."

And that's what I love about my job.

On Your Mark, Get Set

2013-03-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

May Johnson, museum assistant, organizes handouts.

We are on sitting on GO for tomorrow's Patience Elizabeth Russell Peterson Seminar for Museum Educators tomorrow. And, our special guest Sharon Vatsky, is currently being routed to Milledgeville by the ever so trust worthy Gordon Thomas, Special Collections Associate.

from the Guggenheim to Georgia College

2013-03-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

Sharon Vatsky, Director of School and Family Programs at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum NYC at work in the gallery. [photograph by Tanya Ahmed]

At Georgia College, we have busied ourselves with preparation for the inaugural Patience Elizabeth Russell Peterson Seminar for Museum Educators since this summer. And, we are almost ready! Our supplies are ordered, the name tags are created, everyone is registered, confirmations and maps and parking passes have been sent and the food (yeah, the food) has been selected. WAIT- I think we are ready!

We are more than excited that 21 museum educators from Georgia and South Carolina will join us next Friday (March 22nd) from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to brush up on their techniques with one of the industries best, Sharon Vatksy. Sharon will take time out of her busy schedule at the Guggenheim where she serves as Director of School and Family Programs. This program will also be attended by 10 of Georgia College's museum studies students. Let's give them all A's for awesome networking.

But, as always I want to give a big SHOUT OUT to the Georgia College Museum Assistants and Interns who have helped bring this event together. Here's to you, in first name order, Katie Herrig (museum studies major and GC Museum intern), May Johnson (former GC Museum intern, museum assistant and museum studies major), Nisy Hardin (three year veteran museum assistant) and last but not least by a long-shot, Nicole Pittman (two year veteran museum assistant and museum studies minor). And just an FYI to any colleagues who may read this blogpost Katie, May and Nisy will be graduating this May. I'm just sayin'--- if I could keep them I would.

A Pictorial Review

2013-03-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

from left to right: Beto Torrens (co-curator of Carry-On), Atlanta-based artist Arberto Mier, Dean of Arts and Sciences Ken Procter, me, Anabel Vasquez-Rodriquez (co-curator of Carry On) and Juan Negroni (curator of Pie Forzado.001)

Today, curator Anabel Vasquez-Rodriquez sent me a terrific file of images taken of Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected.

Beto wih Gordon Thomas of the Special Collections Department.

After being cancelled when the college closed due to severe weather, we held a morning reception the next day and still managed to get everyone to the airport on time.

Beto hands out fortunes.

I hope you all enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the installation and the celebration.

Beto installs work.

Juan and Beto enjoy Asian food during an installation break.

Anabel and Beto.

My fortune hit a bit too close to home. (Smile!)

New Year, New Life

2013-02-28T12:48:00.001-08:00

Greetings from Georgia, where although we may be leading the same life we look forward to doing so with great works of art.

Juan and Beto with a Puerto Rican friend who came to visit from Atlanta.

This semester we welcomed three guest curators from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. We so enjoyed our time with Alberto 'Beto' Torrens of San Juan, Anabel Vasquez- Rodriquez a native Puerto Rican who resides in Boston and Juan Alberto Negroni also of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Juan on the microphone. To hear the podcast interview with Juan Alberto Negroni and Beto Torrens click here.

Since their visit in late January, we have enjoyed living with the wonderful multi-media exhibition, Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected, named for the sticker placed on traveler's items leaving Puerto Rico for the U.S. mainland.

We are also so lucky to host Juan Alberto Negroni's curatorial debut Pie forzado.001. Pie forzado features works by international artists as well as Jess Marie Walker and Beatrice Coron whom we welcome back to the Georgia College Museum.

Field and Stream

2012-08-22T10:32:00.001-07:00

Clayton Colvin photograph by Jerry Siegel
©jerrysiegel.com[image courtesy of Jerry Siegel]

Tonight, the Georgia College Museum hosts a reception for the exhibition Field and Stream, by Clayton Colvin. If there were an award for "Best All Around" among contemporary Southern artists, Clayton would certainly be a top contender. Primarily known for his work as a non-objective painter, he is also an exemplary curator, presenter and art-museum educator.

Clayton's complex geometric compositions present a cohesive vision of rhythmic form and energy. In an interview with artist and arts writer Brian Edmonds, he stated, "I like to think of my work being seen over and over; lived with, and so having a longterm sort of role in a viewers experience." It has certainly been pleasant for us to live with Clayton Colvin's work this summer at the Georgia College Museum.

Perch View, charcoal, graphite, ink, and acrylic on linen, 46" x 56," 2011.
[image courtesy of the artist]

Midnight River, charcoal, graphite, ink, and acrylic on linen, 40" x 46," 2011.
[image courtesy of the artist]

In the Future, charcoal, graphite, ink, and acrylic on linen, 40" x 46," 2011.
[image courtesy of the artist]

Asphalt Green, charcoal, graphite, ink, and acrylic on linen, 46" x 56," 2011.
[image courtesy of the artist]

Clayton Colvin will present an artist's talk August 22nd at 6 p.m. in the Pat Peterson Museum Education Room of the Georgia College Museum. For more information about Clayton or his work please visit www.claytoncolvin.com.

give shelter

2011-12-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

[image courtesy of the artist: Dana Jo Cooley]

Dana Jo Cooley, a multi-media artist based in Athens, Georgia, is currently featuring her "love shack bus shelter" on kickstarter.

Winner of the Athens Area Arts Council's You, Me and the Bus Competition, 2008-2009, Dana Jo's concept "the love shack bus shelter" is inspired by the B-52's hit song Love Shack. She intends for this shack to be not only "an aesthetic addition to the city" and "a little ole' place to get together," as the band sings, but "a landmark of love and art for all."

[sample of gifts available to "love shack shelter" donors]

The art installation/bus shelter will sit on the corner of Chase and Oneta streets. This site is featured on the limited edition wooden prints of love the view available to donors giving $75 or more to the project. I am in love with each and every one of the donor gifts offered. And talk about giving all that you have, Dana Jo will donate 100% of her design fee to the project. Additionally, for those who are in need of a last minute gifts, a donation to "the love shack shelter" project may well be the thing. Dana is up to minute in sending out a printable Holiday Cards to her donors.

Dana Jo Cooley's, book arts work is currently on view in the Georgia College exhibition, Apocryphal, Traditional et Al. She is a native of Whitwell, Tenessee and is also (like me) a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her works are widely exhibited throughout the Southeast and abroad.

style court: Running with Scissors: Beatrice Coron et al.

2011-11-16T06:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks, its always so inspiring to be featured on Style Court!

style court: Running with Scissors: Beatrice Coron et al.: [Laser-cut ornaments by Beatrice Coron ] Shannon Morris, curator of the Georgia College Museum in Milledgeville, is once again drawing u...

Artists' Books

2011-11-16T05:17:00.001-08:00

Apocryphal, Traditional et al.

Today, I am featuring just a few of the many beautiful works by the talented book artists featured in Apocryphal, Traditional et al. Please enjoy.

Miriam Schaer, Hands of Josephus II, 2008.

Doug Beube, Pocket Book, 1992.

Pinky Bass, Aunt Nell's Diary #3, 2008.

Cynthia Farnell, Sunday Morning, 2011.

GEORGIA COLLEGE CURATOR: Delicate Stories: Beatrice Coron

2011-10-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

GEORGIA COLLEGE CURATOR: Delicate Stories: Beatrice Coron

Delicate Stories: Beatrice Coron

2011-10-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Above Images: courtesy of the artist.

Our upcoming exhibition at the Georgia College Museum, Apocryphal, Traditional et al, will feature an honorable array of works by contemporary book artists.

Today, the very talented Beatrice Coron's Ted Talks was released. Please click here to see Beatrice discuss her amazing paper cuttings. She will knock your sock off. Really!

"Super Girls"

2011-10-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Georgia College Museum assistants model interactive sculptures by Linda Stein.

My how time flies by when you are having fun!

Georgia College students really turned out to hear New York artist Linda Stein talk about her exhibition, "Fluidity of Gender."

The Georgia College Museum is one of many venues selected to feature this traveling exhibition originated by the Luce Gallery, Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa.

This exhibition is on view at Georgia College through November 4, 2011.

From Harvard

2011-08-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

This week I have been on the campus of Harvard University where I participated in an professional learning institute focused on the "Future of Learning." Its been an enlightening week of learning where I have been privileged to hear from some of the world's leading educators and meet others, like me, who are interested in what the "Future of Learning" will look like.

I have learned about the connection between the mind and the brain, globalization and digital revolution. Whoa, I know, its quite a lot to take in! But its also super cool stuff.

From this institute, I had hoped to gain some tools for implementation in the classroom and within the gallery that I could also present to teachers. And, I have a few. But moreover, I am pleased to report that the "Future of Learning" looks bright indeed. In many ways, we have already arrived.

Because, I do wear many hats, I have several messages to send.To the Georgia College students who will take my section of "Understanding Visual Culture" this fall, get your twitter ready, tweeting will be allowed and encouraged. To the Georgia College faculty, staff and students, tell me what YOU want to see in the gallery and help me find a way to use the Georgia College Museum as global learning space. And to the Georgia Art Educator Association, boy, do I have some things to tell you. It seems, we've all been doing things right for quite a while. And, CREATIVITY IS A KEY TO FUTURE OF LEARNING!

Art Marketing Blog: Good News For Artists

2011-07-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

I found a new blog this morning. And, its full of good news!

Art Marketing Blog: Good News For Artists: "From the Huffington Post on arts jobs and the future: Over the next seven years, job growth in the arts will exceed job growth as a whole, ..."

remembering "the surveyed extent"

2011-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Sandra Trujillo, "the surveyed extent" 2010-11. multi-media.

Often times, memories are not so pleasant.

That is the case for me as I think back to one year ago when the oil continued to spew into the Gulf's waters.

As images of suffering sea life flashed across my screen daily, I wondered if the place that had nurtured me would ever be the same.

Meanwhile, one of my colleagues at Georgia College, Sandra Trujillo, was working in Portugual as a research fellow. Sandra is a sensitive and astute person who is always attuned to the world's events. While watching these events unfold through the international news, she began to record her interpretation of the events surrounding the BP Oil Spill through her drawings.

In her artist's statement, Sandra states, "I drew these images thinking of about the geography of the Gulf shore and BP's seemingly haphazard and 'kooky' methods employed to remedy the leak."

It was truly KOOKY. And when Sandra arrived in the gallery with the drawings, I was initially relieved to hear her say that the drawings were like cartoons. Mistakenly, I thought their 'cartoonish' appearance would remove the emotion for me. But as Sandra began to remove the plastic from the work, my tears began to flow.

This suite of drawings is titled "the surveyed extent,"-- an industry term used to describe the assessment of the amount of oil that was leaking into the Gulf of Mexico -- by the artist will be on exhibit at the Georgia College Museum through September 21, 2011.

This post is dedicated to my life-long friend, Christie Nelson.

Looking Back

2011-04-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Today, it is my pleasure to share some photos from the Georgia College 2011 Flannery O'Connor Symposium, Startling Figures.

It is fun to take a look back and to see how some of O'Connor's biggest fans interacted with the Taulkinham artists (Chris Lawson and Joe DeCamillis) and their works.

Joe DeCamillis speaks about his work and his life as an artist.

Chris Lawson considers a question asked by one of the participants.