Some people consider liberal arts education to be void of practical training, yet Wesleyan offers a myriad of courses that teach practical skills. In fact, unbeknownst to many, Wesleyan has a hands-on museum studies course which, according to Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art History Stephanie Wiles, “introduces students to the museum world, and, most importantly, lets them work with the Davison Art Center Collection, which is one of the most important university print collections in the country.”
Since the 1970s, Wesleyan has offered this seminar in which students visit art collections such as the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art Conservation, and the Sol LeWitt Collection. This semester, a private art dealer talked with the class and showed them some of his original works. Students worked with the Davison Art Center Collection to create their own displays, for which they wrote term papers and made labels for the exhibit.
The exhibit put together by this semester’s students, entitled “New Perspectives on the DAC Collection: An Exhibition in Nine Parts,” is currently on display at the Davison Art Center.
The exhibit is comprised of nine separate projects. Eight of the projects are on display in the main exhibition room, while the ninth is on display in the hallway.
Projects include Jonathon Lashley’s ’04 “Prosperity, Poverty and Modernism,” which is comprised of photos, paintings and etchings by various artists. The display offers different depictions of cities and everyday life. Of particular interest in Lashley’s exhibit are Walker Evans and Dorthea Lange’s photographs taken at the end of the Great Depression for the Farm Security Administration.
Jasmine Labeau’s ’04 display, “Dialogue of Atget to Abbott,” juxtaposes similar works by French photographer Eugene Atget and American photographer Bernice Abbot including doorways, city streets, and building facades.
Erin Smith’s ’06 “Perspectives Generating Duality” examines different perspectives and optical illusions. It includes a Salvador Dalí etching, M.C. Escher prints, and views of skyscrapers from varying points of view.
“Work and Workers: Labor Imagery from the DAC Collection,” assembled by Shannon Riffe ’04, includes a variety of interesting paintings, sketches, and photos of blue-collar workers on the job.
“Thinking Outside the Box: Humans and Machines in Marcel Duchamps Boite-en-Valise,” presented by Rebekah Krieger ’04, is intended to be a small portable museum of works by Duchamp.
Exhibited in the hallway is John Blakinger’s ’06 display “Staging War: Images and Artists in Conflict,” in which separate cases hold works that contradict or question each other visually, such as “Commanders: Tyrants or Visionaries,” and “Soldiers: Villains or Heroes.”
Mara Baldwin’s ’06 exhibit “Art as a Mirror: Mirrors in Art” displays different ways mirrors are used in art.
“[I] chose pieces in which the artist’s literal use of [a] mirror says something about his or her ideas on self-concept or the morality of narcissism,” Baldwin said.
Her exhibit is augmented by poems, which she includes in the labels.
“[I included the poems] because artists and poets are very good at putting down on paper what the rest of us have a really hard time communicating. I could have made labels, but I wanted people to think and make connections on their own,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin noted that the works in her exhibit come from diverse sources and styles, yet they are all tied together.
“Dance Photography: Liberating the human spirit,” assembled by Erin Redding ’06, includes work by Wesleyan graduate Philip Trager ’56. According to Redding, the most exciting part of the class was meeting Trager at his home in Fairfield, Conn.
“Trager was a really nice guy and had a lot of interesting things to say about his work,” Redding said. “He was so laid back and friendly, a real Wesleyan type. I showed up dressed up for an interview, and he opened the door in a flannel shirt, corduroy pants, and Birkenstocks. I knew then that he was going to be really fun to work with.”
Redding also noted that the most challenging part of the process was honoring the artist’s work and giving the viewer enough background information while allowing the work to speak for itself.
Jesse Feiman ’05 put together “Theories on Hans Hoffman.”
“I took the course because I was interested in learning how museums function internally as institutions and externally as social and cultural centers because I plan to pursue employment in museums after graduation,” Feiman said.
“Working in the DAC Collection was by far the best part of the class. The mode of viewing a print in the vaults is so much more personal than seeing an image on a gallery wall,” he added.
As an eclectic mix of small exhibits, the show is visually stimulating. “New Perspectives on the DAC Collection: An Exhibition in Nine Parts,” will be on display in the DAC until Sunday, May 23, open from noon-4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
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