Opening Reception and a Job Well Done
Afterthought is now in its second and final week on display at the 410 Project. It was definitely a labor of love for our class - Alisa tells us we went over and above expectations and have surpassed previous classes. That merit's a big pat on the back! We celebrated a job well done with Pagliai's pizza right across the street from the 410 last Monday - yum.
I wanted to do a final blog post and share some photos of the opening reception that took place on Friday, April 20th. It was well attended and well received, with lots of delicious food and drinks prepared by Malinda and Brittney and others. There was festive live music performed by Dr. Gadberry from the MNSU music department (an amazing collaboration of MNSU art and music secured by Brittney as well!) We even had a couple of the artists there, including Shelly Cords-Swanson, the Iowa-based artist who made "Make the World go Round!" - a work that normally hangs in the offices of Morris Hall, and Liz Miller - an MNSU art instructor whose work is recognized both nationally and internationally. Many art professors and art department staff were there as well, including MNSU gallery director Harlan Bloomer - an historic figure in MNSU art himself.
Our catalog for the show blew everyone away - even ourselves. It was a huge collaborative effort: research and write-ups on each of the 56 works of art was handled by the research team - divide and conquer! Photographs of each work was largely tackled by Kristen - photographer extraordinaire, and the photo editing and final design work was completed by the design team, most notably Dasha - who stayed up until 4am to finish this remarkable work of art! There are only 8 copies printed - all gallery copies, but we intend to make the printed catalog available to the public soon... there have been many requests.
We heard from several visitors how interesting and unique this show is - something really different from what is normally seen in the art galleries of Mankato, something that is more "museum-like" rather than a display of contemporary work by local artists. And many affirmed and confirmed that this show brings a lot to light that has long been forgotten and neglected - the history of the MNSU art department, the history of MNSU, and the remarkable collection (both official and unofficial) that nobody knew was there.
Some of the most notable discoveries were an original George Morrison print which normally hangs in the library (part of a collection of prints that is also at the MIA and the Walker), a metal sculpture that is attributed to Murrat Brierre - a historic Hatian artist, two works by Jerry Ott, a Terrence Karpowicz sculpture (made while he was artist-in-residence at MNSU in the 80s), a Peter Milton etching, and a print by Arnold Gruter - a well-known artist represented by many works on campus and who made Mankato his home after being artist-in-residence at MNSU in the 60s.
Art speaks and has a lot to say. This exhibition was only the beginning. Much more begs to be said of the art and artists of Mankato, MNSU, and the art department - both historical and current. And much more could be wrestled over with the whole concept behind "Afterthought" - of campus art being something that has long been neglected, its value to the campus community ambiguous... We can't forget too that there are many other works that we didn't include in this exhibition - they deserve research and inquiry as well. One visitor to our show said there should be a book written about this concept, and there really could! Perhaps this project will continue - we've opened a door and only scratched the surface of something huge and interesting...
