January 11, 2016
‘Artists on Love’ opens museum’s spring season
CARBONDALE, Ill. – What does art know about love? Enough to warrant a museum exhibit.
The University Museum at Southern Illinois University Carbondale opens the spring 2016 exhibit season with Artists on Love, a look at artistic expressions of love nestled in the museum’s archives and solicited from the campus and community. Alison Erazmus, curator of exhibits, put this exhibit together.
Most exhibits for the spring semester open Jan. 22 and run through March 6. Here’s what’s on display:
• Dan Johnson: Consideration of Place.
Dan Johnson, a long-time resident of Alto Pass, works in several media. This exhibit highlights sculpture, glass, pottery and video works. Some of his public installations are on display at sites in Southern Illinois, including the Stinson Memorial Library in Anna, Shawnee Community College, Cedarhurst Sculpture Park in Mt. Vernon, and the SIU campus sculpture garden.
• The Carl W. Lutes Textile Collection, graduate student Kyle Clymore, curator.
Lutes is a two-degree SIU alumnus, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1948 and a master’s degree in 1959. He was a scholarship student, and later showed his gratitude to the university by establishing two scholarships. Last spring, he won the Award for Cultural Impact as an SIU Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. This exhibit highlights some of his Persian miniatures, rugs and tapestries.
• Digging Kincaid Mounds.
Susannah Munson, curator of anthropology at SIU, put together this visual history of SIU’s long involvement with the prehistoric Kincaid Mounds. Summer field schools and other ongoing excavation have yielded a wealth of information about the site and the people who lived there. This exhibit also shines light on the people who’ve uncovered the past there.
• Sacred Icons: Divine Imagery in the Nepal Collection, graduate student Kyle Clymore, curator.
The museum archives house more than 600 objects from Nepal. Clymore chose a select number to represent the spiritual richness of the culture.
• Hair Wreaths and Jewelry from the Collection of Charles and Frances Swedlund.
Preserving a lock of hair in memory of a loved one took on artistic overtones for the Victorians. Artists and educators Charles and Frances Swedlund share their collection of hair ornaments from that era in this exhibit.
A museum reception for most of the above exhibits begins at 4 p.m. on Feb. 5.
The museum hosts several new exhibits after spring break. Alison Erazmus curates “Double Take: Photographs from the Collection, 1848-Present.” In addition, several master of fine arts candidates exhibit their thesis shows at the museum. Guests can expect exhibits of photography, painting, sculpture and mixed media.
The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 1-4 p.m. on Saturdays. It will be closed March 12-21. Admission is free, donations are always welcome.