Past Exhibitions: 2010
June 5, 2010 - December 12, 2010
Photography at the Frontier of Physics and Art
Since its inception, photography has been used as an instrument for the furthering of science and it has an equally long history as a medium of artistic expression. Often, these two worlds move so close to one another that the distinction between them blurs. This exhibition focuses on the work of four major photographers —Eadweard Muybridge, Harold Edgerton, Berenice Abbott, and Man Ray—whose work straddles the border between photography and science, offering aesthetically innovative presentations of scientific data. These photographers changed popular understanding of physics while expanding the creative possibilities of their medium and its capacity to visualize the beauty of scientific thought.
Organized by John Stomberg, Deputy Director/Chief Curator with Nina Cochran, Class of 2011.
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June 26, 2010 - December 12, 2010
This Girl Bends: Art and Feminism Since 1960
This Girl Bends explores the connections between art and feminism through sculpture, video, photography, and prints spanning the past 50 years. Themes include: sexual politics, re-visioning history, the body, and the role of media culture in shaping gender identity. The exhibition features over 20 objects from the museum’s collection, including work by Lynda Benglis, Patty Chang, Ed Kienholz, Glenn Ligon, Ana Mendieta, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Carolee Schneemann, Kiki Smith, and Nancy Spero. This Girl Bends also highlights Kerry Stewart’s sculpture of the same name, a recent gift by Patricia and Frank Kolodny, P ’01, on view for the first time at the museum.
Organized by Rebecca Shaykin, Curatorial Assistant, M.A., Class of 2009.
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August 21, 2010 - November 28, 2010
Charles Prendergast: In Search of “Innocence”
This exhibition views the artwork of Charles Prendergast, brother of American artist Maurice Prendergast, in the light of the medieval, Indian, folk, and “primitive” art that inspired his career. Steeped in the American arts and crafts movement as a young artist, Prendergast sought to find a style free of western renaissance traditions. In Search of “Innocence” draws together thirty works from across cultures in the museum’s collection to illustrate the ideas that inspired Prendergast’s art.
Organized by Nancy Mowll Mathews, Eug
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September 11, 2010 - November 21, 2010
Posing Beauty in African American Culture
This exhibition explores the contested ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through a diverse range of media including photography, film, video, fashion, advertising, and other forms of popular culture such as music and the Internet. Featuring approximately 84 works drawn from public and private collections, Posing Beauty includes photographs by Carrie Mae Weems, Charles “Teenie” Harris, Eve Arnold, Gary Winogrand, Sheila Pree Bright, Leonard Freed, Renee Cox, Anthony Barboza, Bruce Davidson, Mickalene Thomas, and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, among others. Posing Beauty in African American Culture is curated by Deborah Willis and organized by Curatorial Assistance, Pasadena, California.
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April 24, 2010 - October 31, 2010
Works as Progress/Works in Progress: Drawing in 18th- and 19th-Century France
Drawings can be more than finished masterpieces hanging in museums; they are also an integral part of the artistic process. Artists have used drawing as a way to refine their skills, organize compositions, prepare for paintings and sculptures, or sketch for pleasure. This exhibition explores the various ways artists put their drawing abilities to practice in France during the 18th and 19th century and features works from the museum’s collection and on loan from Paul Hayes Tucker, Williams College Class of 1972, and Maggie Moss-Tucker.
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March 22, 2008 - September 12, 2010
The Matter of Theology: A Conversation with the Collection
The Matter of Theology pairs selections from the museum’s permanent collection with theological questions that aid viewers in seeing art from a different perspective.
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March 13, 2010 - August 8, 2010
Tristin Lowe: Mocha Dick
Tristin Lowe’s sculpture of a ghostly white sperm whale sprawls across the museum’s largest gallery. Mocha Dick is a life-sized rendition of the infamous leviathan that once harassed sailing ships near Mocha Island in the South Pacific Ocean. Described as having flesh as “white as wool,” the whale Mocha Dick was also the inspiration for Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby Dick. Made out of industrial wool felt, this artwork first appeared at Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum in May 2009.
Organized by Vivian Patteron, Curator of Collections, and Cynthia Way, Director of Education and Visitor Experience.
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April 3, 2010 - August 1, 2010
Tradition and Transition: Recent Chinese Art from the Collection
This exhibition celebrates a significant gift to the museum of twenty-seven works of recent Chinese art. These paintings and sculptures provide insight into the variety of aesthetic practices and subjects that have informed art at a time of extraordinary cultural transformation. While some of the artists remain deeply rooted in Chinese tradition, others appropriate elements from Western art on a formal or conceptual level to create a hybrid visual language that straddles both cultures. Among the artists featured are: Qiu Deshu, Wei Dong, Ding Yanyong, Zhu Wei, and Chen Zizhuang.
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February 20, 2010 - July 25, 2010
Remington’s Bronco Buster: From Art Icon to Pop Icon
This exhibition focuses on Frederic Remington’s bronze sculpture, The Bronco Buster, from the museum’s permanent collection. One of Remington’s most famous works, it solidified his reputation as the quintessential artist of the American West, leaving a lasting impression on subsequent generations of artists who depicted the landscape. Remington’s Bronco Buster traces the image of the bronco buster—from a symbol for the taming of new frontiers to its place in popular culture.
Organized by Vivian Patterson, Curator of Collections, with Jared Quinton, Class of 2010, Elizabeth Danhakl, Class of 2011, and Amanda Reid, Class of 2012.
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July 7, 2010 - July 7, 2010
Drowned in a Glass of Water: An Installation by Pepón Osorio
The museum has commissioned a new work of art by artist Pep
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May 14, 2010 - June 6, 2010
This Goes On The Refrigerator: Senior Studio Art Majors Exhibition
Featuring the artwork of Audrey Bell, Ethan Buchsbaum, Ashley Carrera, Janay Clyde, Andrea Currie, Kristine Ericson, Ana Inoa, Becca Kane, Meggie Nidever, Sharon Ron, Marco Sanchez, Bret Scofield, Emma Steinkraus, Ambika Thoreson, Peter Tierney, and Shelley Williamson.
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January 30, 2010 - May 2, 2010
Landscapes of the Mind: Contemporary Artists Contemplate the Brain
Landscapes of the Mind features the work of four contemporary artists—Susan Aldworth, Andrew Carnie, Jessica Rankin, and Katy Schimert—who blend the worlds of art and science. Their work visualizes the internal processes of the brain such as memory, thought, and perception using images drawn from or inspired by the brain. In a variety of media including etchings, embroideries on organdy, installation, and sculpture, these artists explore identity, creativity, personality, and the nature of consciousness.
Organized by Professor of Psychology Betty Zimmerberg with Interim Associate Curator Kathryn Price, this exhibition underscores the museum’s commitment to multidisciplinary approaches to looking and thinking about art.
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October 31, 2009 - February 21, 2010
Mike Glier “Along a Long Line” and Amy Podmore: “Predicaments”
The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) presents the annual Williams College Studio Art Faculty Exhibition featuring artists Mike Glier and Amy Podmore. The two artists will give a gallery talk and tour of their exhibition on Wednesday, November 11 at 4:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public. All are welcome to attend.
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October 17, 2009 - January 31, 2010
A Strong Impression: William Morris Hunt’s Niagara
The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) presents A Strong Impression: William Morris Hunt’s Niagara, which examines both the artistic and cultural context in which Hunt’s painting, Niagara Falls (1878), was produced through oil sketches, drawings, photographs, films, rare books, and souvenirs.
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October 17, 2009 - January 10, 2010
Alec Soth: NIAGARA
The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) announces a year of programs and exhibitions that explore the idea of art and landscape.