January 09, 2014
University Museum to feature varied exhibits
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A repository of artifacts; a collection of art; a holding place for relics of local history; a learning laboratory; a step into the past or into the future: University Museum at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is that and more.
Exhibits to kick off the spring 2014 semester include a photographic record of area history, metal art cast on campus, art created by area students participating in a museum education program, and an exhibit promoting ecologically friendly and beautiful living.
The museum will host an exhibit-opening reception from 4 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 7. There is no admission charge, though the museum does accept donations. Most of the exhibits are open for viewing beginning Jan. 21.
Here are the exhibits opening for spring:
• Cast in Carbondale: Sculptures and Drawings by Visiting Artists from the Thomas Walsh Donation. Walsh taught sculpture in SIU’s School of Art and Design for more than 30 years. This exhibit displays work created at the SIU Foundry by visiting artists Walsh invited to campus.
• Mike Chervinko: Historic Photographs of the Tri-State Tornado. The Jackson County Historical Society preserved these never-before-seen photographs. Photographer Mike Chervinko developed and printed them for a look back at the 1925 tornado that left a wake of destruction in southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and southeast Indiana.
• Sustain 2: National Collegiate Juried Exhibition of Art and Design for Eco Living. Nate Steinbrink, University Museum curator, and graduate student Wes Stoerger earned grant funds for the second year for this progressive exhibit promoting sustainable art and design practices and the re-use and re-imagining of otherwise discarded materials.
• From Generation to Generation: Folk Arts of Illinois. This panel exhibit tells the stories of artists and features a variety of traditional art forms. Exhibit curator Edna Patterson-Petty will present a free workshop particularly focusing on the African-American quilts and wall hangings in the exhibit. The workshop is from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Feb. 8 at the Hickory Lodge, 1115 W. Sycamore St., Carbondale.
• Artist Trading Cards Project. Curator Bob DeHoet, University Museum education director works with area high school students to help them use the museum as a springboard for their own art projects. Students from several area high schools created baseball-trading-card-sized miniature works of art for this exhibit.
• Hoyeon Chung: Mixed Media. Korean native and Southern Illinois resident Hoyeon Chung presents her abstract fiber and mixed media art.
• What’s What, Whose Who? The University Museum archives hold more than 60,000 individual works of art and artifacts. Every year, campus VIPs get a chance to rummage around in the archives (and by rummage we mean look carefully without touching) and select one item for an exhibit. The results are always surprising and eclectic.
• Master Artists from the Art Collection. A continuing exhibit highlighting some of the more famous names represented in the University Museum. Visitors may be surprised at what the museum has to offer.
• The Trunk Show. Museum registrar Eric S. Jones curates this exhibit featuring traveling trunks in the museum collection -- and the stories of the people who used them. Learn about an opera singer, a Southern Illinois soldier, and others.
University Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 1-4 p.m. on Saturday. The museum is closed during spring break.