The Samek Study Gallery makes accessible works of art from the permanent collection, and occasionally other works of art, for study and in support of curricula. In February 2010, the gallery installed a selection of prints from the permanent collection in the Study Gallery for a class discussion led by Sarah McFalls, Gallery Graduate Assistant.
Click on the images below for a larger peek at the prints used in this discussion of Deviations.
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February 2010
Two years ago, I earned my bachelor's degree in art history. Now that I am no longer in the classroom, I like to do things to keep my mind sharp on the subject. One of the things I do is to play a visual game called "name the artist." I can do this by flipping through art auction catalogs, walking through museum galleries, looking at the book covers of novels, or by spotting pieces in television shows or movies. For example, a reproduction of Johannes Vermeer's The Lacemaker appears briefly in a shot of Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel's surrealist film, Un Chien Andalou. Some artists authored such unique styles for themselves that their artistic signature seems to render this visual game pointless. What would be challenging about spotting an Andy Warhol? He could be identified from a mile away, right? Well, this is where Deviations steps in.
When I began to pull this grouping from our permanent collection, I started blindly with all of the images in our database and looked at every one of them to see if any visual connections formed in my brain. What I did notice was that we had some well known artists, but none of the images that appeared next to those famous names matched anything I had filed away in my art history bank of knowledge. This seeming conflict interested me the most. Many of these artists are common cultural figures, while some are more well-known just in the art world.
Why does the Samek own these visual deviations? As a University art gallery, the Samek is a teaching institution and our museum quality collection has to support our function as an interdisciplinary research and learning space. What are the advantages to owning works by artists that are not identifiable pieces of theirs? What can we learn about an artist's process, influences, relationship with other artists, life, and style from these lesser-known but not lesser-quality pieces?
Sarah McFalls,
Gallery Graduate Assistant
Lewisburg, PA 17837
ph: 570.577.2000
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