through January 29, 2006
The Southeast Printmaking
Invitational
Organized by members of Ink and Paper (USC Printmaking Club) and McKissick Museum, this invitational exhibition showcases hand-pulled prints
by students from several southeastern universities. Included are works from
the University of South Carolina, University of Georgia, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Tennessee and Clemson
University. These works represent traditional and experimental printmaking
techniques employed by today's artists.
through April 22, 2006
Pets In America
The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association recently
estimated that sixty-one percent of U.S. households presently own a pet. In
fact, pet keeping is the only practice through which most Americans have a
close, daily contact with animals. Pets In America presents viewers with a
history of pet keeping and a guided consideration of the social, cultural,
and ethical nuances of this crucial relationship between animals and
people. The exhibition of nearly 2,000 square feet includes an interactive
web site (www.petsinamerica.org) which offers lively, family-friendly
information. The exhibition is also available for USC students of various
disciplines including sociology, psychology, biology, behavior sciences,
and more.
January 14 through March 11, 2006
Art & Nature: Art Glass
from the Museum's Permanent Collection
As the nineteenth
century drew to a close, a revolution was beginning in the field of
decorative arts. The craft of glass blowing, along with other trades such
as silversmith and woodworking, took on renewed interest for artists of all
media as they joined fine art to craft in an effort to create everyday
objects of beauty and usefulness. Established studies in both Europe and
the United States, previously manufacturers of everything from
architectural glazed earthenware and stained glass windows, started art
departments that produced everything from vases to lamp bases. McKissick
Museum's decorative arts collection contains an impressive group of
turn-of-the-century European and American art glass. The Museum's
collection of art glass, decorated largely with flora motifs, is made
possible through the generous gift of Dr. Richard D. Mandell and the late
William States Belser.
February 11 through April 1, 2006
Somali Lenses
The Somali Lenses project explores issues of representation through the
photographic work of the Somali Bantu. Six families freely took pictures
and they allowed their work to be organized in a museum exhibit by guest
curator Bridget McDonnell. Their photographs showcase themes of daily life
from the Somali perspective. Somali Lenses reveals the diversity in this
community and is an opportunity for local people to view works constructed
by the Somali Bantu. Intended for a wide audience, Somali Lenses will spark
dialogue on issues of photographic representation and family diversity in
South Carolina.
February 18 through April 8, 2006
A Fool for Art
A continuation of McKissick Museum's successful 2005 gala fundraiser, A
Fool for Art offers the public an opportunity to view and purchase works by
local artists. All works included in this exhibition will be available for
sale to raise funds for the exhibitions, programming and collections of McKissick Museum.
Included in this exhibition are paintings, textiles, jewelry, sculpture,
photography and more created by some of the Midlands most recognized
artists. The gala reception and sale will be held on April Fool's Eve,
March 31, 2006.
March 25 through August 26, 2006
Jean Laney Harris Folk
Heritage Awards
Over the past twenty years, the South Carolina Legislature, the South
Carolina Arts Commission and McKissick Museum have partnered to recognize
individuals and groups who have used their lives to create beauty and
meaning for their communities and the state as a whole. The Jean Laney
Harris Folk Heritage Award is presented to those with an emphasis on the
authenticity of their traditional craft with a long history of practice in
South Carolina. Recipients of this award include musicians, woodworkers,
storytellers, silversmiths, basket makers, and arts advocates. Included in
this exhibit are selected objects from McKissick's collections representing
the crafts and trades of past recipients.
April 15 through May 27, 2006
Sudan: The Land and the
People
Working in conjunction with the University of South Carolina's African
Studies Program, McKissick Museum presents this exhibition of a selection
of photographs by Michael Freeman illustrating the incredible diversity and
potential of Africa's largest and most culturally-varied nation. The goal
of this exhibition is to promote understanding and appreciation for the
various ethnic groups within Sudan and raise awareness of the enormous
cultural diversity and resulting complexity in all regions of the country.
Through these images, Freeman illustrates a grand, vast geography from
savannahs and swamps to rocky hills and desert. He visited all the major
towns in every region and some villages that no Westerner had seen in
decades. Namads, herders, and farmers, teacher and students, lawyers and
doctors, industrialists and laborers--are all featured in this nationally
traveling exhibit from the Meridian International Center in Washington,
D.C.
May 15 through July 22, 2006
The Essence of Nature: The
Art of Harry Hansen
The Essence of Nature highlights the distinguished career of recently
retired USC painting instructor Harry Hansen. Mostly recognized for his
watercolors of the Palmetto state's diverse landscapes, Hansen gently
captures on paper the essence of the natural environment of South Carolina
and the North Carolina mountains. Hansen's body of work extends far beyond
his recognition as a watercolorist. During the 1960s Hansen experimented
with abstraction in oils and lithographic works. His most experimental
approach to painting, beginning in the mdi-1960s, explored the process of
encaustic, a mixture of pigment with hot beeswax painted on a panel. He is
the recipient of nearly 50 art awards, and has been represented in nearly
150 group and one-man exhibitions.
May 20 through August 12, 2006
The 521 All Stars: A
Championship Story of Baseball and Community
This exhibition is a photographic tribute to a game, a team, and a
community. This semi-professional baseball team emerges from the images not
only as a source of entertainment for the small town of Rembert, South
Carolina, but as the community focal point during the summer season. In
these photographs, the 521 All-Stars win the league championship, mourn the
untimely death of a beloved teammate, and reveal the potent combination of
courage, spirit, and teamwork, on and off the field. The exhibit consists
of images taken over the course of two years by Byron Baldwin, a retired
photography teacher and founding member of the Light Factory Photographic
Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The accompanying exhibit text is
provided by award-winning writer Frye Gaillard. Funding for The 521
All-Stars was provided by the South Carolina Humanities Council and the
National Endowment for the Humanities.
June 10 through July 29, 2006
Strength in Reserve:
Broadcasting Radio for the Armed Forces in South Carolina
In 1976 the South Carolina Broadcasters Association established an archive
of film, records, audio and video tapes, and equipment documenting the
history of radio broadcasting in the Palmetto State. This upcoming
exhibition features original sound recordings from the archive and
artifacts from the collection of McKissick Museum. The exhibit will focus
on the use of radio broadcasting as a means of cultivating public support
and encouragement for America's armed forces. Housed in Museum Museum, the
archive is available to students, professionals, researchers and members of
the public who wish to learn more about the development of broadcasting in
South Carolina.
August 5, 2006 through January 6, 2007
Talking with the
Turners: Southern Folk Pottery
During the summer of 1981, University of South Carolina professor Charles
Mack traveled the South in a well-used Volkswagen Rabbit to document
traditional pottery. Supported by a Research and Productive
Scholarship Grant from the university, his goal for the summer was to
document every traditional potter still working in the region through audio
interviews and photography. When the summer was over, he had
collected over two hundred pieces of pottery, taken hundreds of
photographs, and recorded over twenty hours of interviews with more than
forty potters. Talking with the Turner: Southern Folk Pottery will be
the first exhibit incorporating the voices of the potters with contextual
images and pottery fired in kilns across the Deep South.
August 26, 2006 through February 3, 2007
Leaving Our Mark: The
Impact of Student Life at the University of South Carolina
The heart of any university lies not with the buildings or the books, but
with the students. Since 1805, when the first classes were held at South
Carolina College, students have played a vital role in the development of
campus life. During this time students have been instrumental in the growth
of religious life and sports, and the development of student government and
Greek organizations. Explore the work of sixteen graduate students in the
Museum Management Certificate Program as they present an exhibition
dedicated to the diversity of student life at the University of South
Carolina.
September 2 through December 9, 2006
Telling Our Story: 30
Years at McKissick Museum
2006 Marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of McKissick Museum. This
exhibition charts the evolution and accomplishments of the institution as
it adopted a mission of "Telling the Story of Southern Life: Community,
Culture, and the Environment." In addition to looking at how the museum
evolved into a center for the study and collection of traditional Southern
culture and everyday life, it also highlights important additions to the
object and archival collections, research projects, past exhibitions,
teaching, and public service. From exhibits on face jugs to films on
stew making and CDs of African-American music, McKissick has branched out
to record and interpret the many facets of southern traditions and our
contemporary attitudes toward them. This exhibition offers not only a
celebration of the past but a look at exciting projects developing for the
future.
