November Issue 2001
SC State Museum in Columbia, SC, Features Exhibitions on Pottery and Art Educators
The SC State Museum in Columbia, SC, is presenting two exhibitions, including, The Difference in Dirt: South Carolina Pottery and Ceramic Arts, which can be seen in the Lipscomb Art Gallery until Jan. 6, 2002, and the 4th Annual Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) Members Juried Exhibition, on view through Jan. 1, 2002.
Some might say the State Museum has gone to pot, but Paul Matheny, curator of art, is all fired up about a new exhibit. He will share that enthusiasm with visitors of all ages in a series of programs presented in conjunction with The Difference in Dirt: South Carolina Pottery and Ceramic Arts. The exhibit examines 4,000 years of pottery making. Visitors can see everything from prehistoric funerary jugs to Edgefield pottery to contemporary abstract pots and ceramic figurines.
"Why are those jugs with faces so ugly? Why are the grave markers bent like that? Do people really eat that clay? Come to the Lipscomb Gallery, and I'll tell you, Matheny promises. He will give tours of the exhibit at 2pm on Sat., Dec. 15. "This is also a good opportunity to get some inside information on pottery traditions from this state that have been handed down from generation to generation," he says.
A variety of children's programs also will be offered. In November and December, the Stringer Discovery Center will offer Pottery Perfect from 1 to 4pm every Saturday as a special event. Children will have a chance to experiment with traditional South Carolina pottery-making techniques. On Dec. 15, children between the ages of 6-12 and parents can join potter Peter Lenzo for a face jug workshop. The cost for each adult-child team is $20; $10 for Friends of the State Museum.
"This is a good opportunity for a family
member and a child to have some fun with an artist who enjoys
working with people of all ages," Matheny says. "There's
been a growing interest in face vessels over the last few years,
though they've been made by many cultures as far back as the Greeks
and Egyptians. With the birth of alkaline-glazed stoneware in
SC, a particular style has become a cultural icon of the South.
A lot of artists and artisans today continue to make vessels from
this original tradition, including Lenzo," he says. For more
information or to register, call 803/898-4902.
Demonstrating the talent of the men and women training the next
generation of artists, the SC State Museum presents the 4th
Annual Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) Members Juried
Exhibition.
The show features 35 works by 18 college art teachers from across the region. Teaching is one of the most creative environments for artists, says Robin Waites, chief curator of art and juror of the exhibit. Teachers are constantly working with young people and discussing intellectual and technical issues. "It really feeds the artistic soul," she says.
In many ways, the show is like a regional version of Triennial 2001, which was in the Lipscomb Art Gallery until Aug. 18. The art is contemporary and spans many media: painting, installation, sculpture, photography and digital drawing. Like the art in Triennial, some of the work comments on social issues while some is purely aesthetic.
One thing Waites finds interesting about the sculpture is the many different ways in which metal is used. "Some artists use it to emphasize the strength of the medium. "Some use it so you wouldn't even recognize it as metal," she says.
South Carolinians in the SECAC show are Jane Nodine, University of South Carolina, Spartanburg; Teresa Prater, Converse College, Spartanburg; Bernadette Vielbig, University of South Carolina, Columbia; and David Voros, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Waites is particularly excited by the work of Voros, a new painting instructor at USC. He uses dark colors and places the human figure in mysterious situations. "There are fantastic technical qualities about it, but he also has the ability to evoke a really strong emotional response in his work," she says.
For more info check our SC Institutional Gallery listings or call 803/898-4921.
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