Wesleyan boasts several exhibits on display this month that are open to the public and are free of charge. View a collection of architect Henry Bacon’s campus plans and building designs, student artwork, professional photographs, a cardboard-art installation, an experimental musical commemoration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, and more!
Be sure to check out the following exhibits as they are the best of Wes! (Photos by Olivia Drake)
RING FAMILY LOBBY DISPLAY CASE:
The Ring Family Lobby display case, located on the first floor of Usdan University Center, features artwork by students in the Printmaking I (ARST 237) and Beginning Japanese Printmaking Woodblock Technique (ARST 261) classes. The classes were taught during the fall 2019 semester by Alexander Osborn, visiting assistant professor of art, and Keiji Shinohara, artist-in-residence.Nicole Rizutto ’20 created this artwork in the Japanese Printmaking class.
OLIN LIBRARY:
Olin Library is celebrating Black History Month with several book displays, and the Wesleyan Music Department community is commemorating the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) with an inspired, diverse mix of traditional and experimental tributes. Stop by to browse books about Ludwig van Beethoven, view his musical scores, and experience Leif Inge’s sound installation 9 Beet Stretch (2002), which stretches Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony into a 24-hour recording.Materials sourced from Wesleyan’s Henry Bacon Collection are displayed in Olin Library’s new display cases, located in the basement. Architect Henry Bacon, best known for designing the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., also helped shape the Wesleyan campus. He designed Wesleyan’s Eclectic Society building (1907); the Skull and Serpent Society building (1914); Clark Hall (1916); and the Van Vleck Observatory (1916), pictured; and provided the initial designs for Hall Laboratory (1927, no longer standing); and Olin Library (1928).
Henry Bacon designed a new dormitory, which was built in 1916 and was later named Clark Hall.The exhibit showcases Bacon’s work on the Lincoln Memorial, his correspondence, and examples of work on Wesleyan’s campus. Olin’s gallery is located at 252 Church Street.
MANSFIELD FREEMAN CENTER FOR EAST STUDIES GALLERY:
“Guanyu (Gary) Xu: Temporarily Censored Home” is on display through May 22 at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies Gallery, at 343 Washington Terrace. “Temporarily Censored Home” depicts a series of installations of Xu’s photographs that he incorporated into the rooms of his childhood house in Beijing while his parents were at work.This installation includes five photographs from the series, one wall vinyl installation, and a single-channel video he made by editing cellphone images taken by his mother during three trips they took together. The video is accompanied by a monologue and conversation with his mother about their varying ideas of art, cultural influence, the American Dream, the ideal life, safety in both the United States and China, and the potentiality of the future.The exhibit is informed in part by the disconnect between his life in the United States, where he goes by “Gary” and is openly gay; and his life back home with his parents, to whom he is not out. The gallery is open noon to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and will be closed March 7–23.
EZRA AND CECILE ZILKHA GALLERY:
“Diane Simpson: Cardboard-Plus, 1977–1980” is on exhibit through March 1 at the Zilkha Gallery, at 283 Washington Terrace. In this installation, Simpson presents her large-scale cardboard sculptures and collaged constructions in their most comprehensive presentation since 1980. These works represent an important transition in the artist’s practice, from drawing and printmaking into sculpture.Simpson’s later work, for which she is so well-known, contains references to the architecture of clothing and fashion. In contrast, the body of work in “Cardboard-Plus” is much more formal in nature. “Cardboard-Plus” is a rare moment to view works by the artist not often seen in the last 40 years.The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays; and noon to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.
THE RICK NICITA GALLERY:
The Rick Nicita Gallery, located inside the Center for Film Studies, is currently featuring a prop from Martin Scorsese’s film, The Irishman. This model of the Dunes Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is from a scene in the film from the early 1960s where a Las Vegas developer asks Teamster Union President, Jimmy Hoffa, for a loan to expand the Dunes Casino, illustrating how Hoffa used the Teamster Pension Fund money for illegal loans to organized crime figures, and projects like the Dunes Casino expansion. This model is part of the Martin Scorsese Collection at Wesleyan’s Reid Cinema Archives. Note: Because of construction at the Film Center, the Rick Nicita Gallery is not open to walk-in visitors. The exhibit may be viewed through the gallery glass.
Olivia Drake
James Sims
Editorial Staff
Ziba Kashef