2008 Studio - VCUarts - Virginia Commonwealth University

The Department of Art Education is especially excited about their student
engagement in service-learning and community outreach through partnerships
with the Children’s Museum, Fulton Hill Community Center, Neighborhood
Resource Center, Southerland Place Assisted Living Center, and Broad Rock
Elementary School under the direction of Dr. Min Cho. Our partnership with
Chandler Middle School continues under the direction of Dr. Sara Wilson McKay.
Administrative Director and Instructor Sarah Branigan worked with faculty from
Chandler Middle school and our Department of Interior Design to transform their
cafeteria into an exhibition space.
Dr. Melanie Buffington’s students created podcasts that were later used by the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to assist visitors in viewing exhibitions. Dr. David
Burton’s students worked in a number of our area schools. And department Chair
Dr. Pamela G. Taylor’s honors students shared their art with the Giving Heart
Community Thanksgiving Feast as well as challenged virtual communities to
think about what it means to serve and learn in SecondLife.com
Lindsay Aronson Ess is a recent VCU Fashion graduate who suffered severe
and debilitating complications following surgery for Crohn’s disease, resulting
in quadruple amputations. Initially hospitalized on August 3, 2007 she remained
in intensive care until early December, when she was moved to Johns Hopkins
in Baltimore to begin rehabilitative therapy. She has since returned to Richmond
to continue her therapy and recuperation among friends and family. Lindsay’s
medical expenses far exceed insurance coverage. Love of Lindsay has been
created by friends of Lindsay to accept donations to help cover these costs.
In October, more than $21,000 was raised at the Concert for Lindsay, sponsored
by the departments of Music and Fashion Design and Merchandising.
www.loveoflindsay.com
March 27–29 were busy days at VCUarts. While Painting and Printmaking was
hosting the Southern Graphics Council Conference, The Department of Music
brought together a global array of more than 50 performers and presenters to
celebrate, share and learn about Heitor Villa-Lobos. Villa-Lobos was a prolific
composer who transformed the music of Brazil, elevating his country to international
prominence. Experiencing Villa-Lobos: An International Festival included 9 concerts,
2 master classes and 6 sessions of presentations of papers. The festival is believed
to be the first of its kind in the United States.
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Embodying the Sacred in Yoruba Art explores the relationship between art and the
spiritual world in Yoruba culture, presenting 66 works of art in diverse media. For
the Yoruba, one of Africa’s oldest and most influential cultures, art and spirituality
are inherently intertwined. Works of art give form to the divine and inspire religious
devotion. In turn, they are empowered by spiritual forces.
The exhibition includes shrines and beaded regalia that reference the supreme deity of
the Yoruba, altar images, and ritual implements that facilitate spiritual communication.
Spectacular masks dramatize the presence of the sublime. This exhibition features
important art works from the Bernard and Patricia Wagner Collection–many are recent
gifts to the organizing institutions, along with major art works from the collections of
The Newark Museum and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.
The exhibition is curated by Christa Clarke of The Newark Museum and Carol
Thompson from the High Museum of Art in consultation with Babatunde Lawal,
VCU Department of Art History. The beautiful 116-page color catalogue, with essay
by Dr. Babatunde Lawal, is available from the gallery for $20.00.
A related symposium on Yoruba art and culture is planned for February 6, 2009
www.vcu.edu/arts/gallery
Epa Headress, 20th Century. Ekiti, Nigeria
Wood, pigment. h. 56 inches. Collection of Bernard and Patricia Wagner.
Egungun mask, 20th century. Nigeria.
Wood, wool, metal, pigment. h.12 x w.8 x d.6 1/2 inches
The Newark Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Paul E Schneck, 1979 79.210
Opening reception January 16 from 6–8 pm
Exhibition runs January 16–March 1, 2009