Previous Press Releases
Helen Keller Statue and Exhibit Tour Comes to the Mobile Museum of Art
Mobile, Al – July 1, 2010 – The Mobile Museum of Art is the fourth stop on a statewide tour for a new exhibit featuring a statue portraying the dramatic moment that Helen Keller was liberated from the “double dungeon of darkness and silence.” The exhibit was designed to raise awareness of Helen Keller and the Foundations that carry on her work – the Helen Keller Birthplace Foundation and the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education. The exhibition will be on view July 27 through September 27.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for the people of Mobile to learn more about Helen Keller and how her oft-stated goal to end preventable blindness and deafness continues to inspire our global efforts in medical research,” said Robert Morris, M.D., president of the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education.
Mike McMackin, president of the Helen Keller Birthplace Foundation said, “We hope those who visit the statue will also visit Ivy Green in Tuscumbia to gain a firsthand appreciation of Helen’s remarkable ascent out of darkness and silence.”
Created by noted sculptor Edward Hlavka, the 1,000-pound bronze statue poised on a base of Sylacauga marble matches one on display in the main hall of the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C. The statue depicts the moment in 1887, when Keller’s teacher Anne Sullivan spelled "W-A-T-E-R" into her hand while holding her other hand under a water pump and Keller realized meanings were hidden in the manual alphabet shapes Sullivan had taught her to make.
The life-size image of Helen Keller as a seven-year-old was designed to be approachable and inspiring, especially to children. It is fully accessible from all sides so that all visitors, regardless of their personal limitations, may touch and feel Keller’s likeness.
Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing as a child, later learned to speak and earned a degree from Radcliffe College, the women's branch of Harvard University. She traveled the world as an adult, wrote 12 books and championed causes including women's suffrage and workers' rights. She was an internationally celebrated advocate for those with disabilities.
The tour, conducted jointly by the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education and the Helen Keller Birthplace Foundation, will travel to only one other location, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, before its final installation at the State Capitol in Montgomery in December.
Tour sponsors include the Daniel Foundation of Alabama; AT&T Alabama; Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital; Alabama Power Foundation; HealthSouth Corporation; and BBVA Compass Bank.
About the Mobile Museum of Art The Mobile Museum of Art hosts special exhibitions from world-famous museums and collectors throughout the year. Open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Museum operations are made possible, in part, by funding from the City of Mobile, Mobile County, the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education Based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education strives to prevent blindness and deafness by advancing research and education. For more information visit helenkellerfoundation.org.
About the Helen Keller Birthplace Foundation The Helen Keller Birthplace Foundation preserves and manages Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller in Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA. For more information visit helenkellerbirthplace.org.
Mobile Museum of Art Showcases Local Artist
Mobile, Al – June 15, 2010 –The artistry of Marian Acker Macpherson’s (1906-1993) historical etchings will be on view in Marian Acker Macpherson: Etcher of Old Mobile, at the Mobile Museum of Art from July 23 to September 26. Born into an established Mobile family, Marian Acker Macpherson lived her whole life in the Gulf Coast city, except for the years spent attending art school in the 1920s. When Macpherson returned to Mobile after three years of art school in Boston, she realized the historic buildings, what she called “Old Mobile,” were disappearing. So she undertook to record in etchings many of these structures.
Her undertaking to capture the historic homes of Mobile resulted in two books being published with reproductions of her etchings: Prints of the Past of Old Mobile (1932) and Etchings of Old Mobile (1938).After World War II, Marian continued her interest in Old Mobile with the publication of her guidebook Glimpses of Old Mobile (six known editions, 1946-1983), which include the main reproductions of her ink drawings. In her later years, she turned to painting, executing scores of small watercolors of Mobile and environs, as well as Mardi Gras scrolls and illustrated maps of Mobile, Mobile Bay, and Gulf Shores.
This exhibit features as many of her etchings as can be located, as well as a selection of her other works. Programs being held in conjunction with the exhibition include a walking tour of Downtown Mobile with a local architectural historian examining existing structures similar to those depicted in Macpherson’s work. This exhibition is organized for the Mobile Museum of Art by guest curator Stephen J. Goldfarb. An exhibition catalogue is also available.
Exhibition funding is provided in part by the City of Mobile, Mobile County, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Mobile Museum of Art hosts special exhibitions from world-famous museums and collectors throughout the year. Open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Museum operations are made possible, in part, by funding from the City of Mobile, Mobile County, the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
New Acquisition Included in Upcoming Exhibition
Mobile, Al – July 15, 2010 –The Mobile Museum of Art announced today the recent acquisition of a wood sculpture, titled The Blood of the Lamb, by international artist and published author Mark Lindquist. The addition of this piece, created in 1974, expands on earlier examples of Lindquist’s work that are currently part of the museum’s permanent collection. The artwork is being included in the upcoming exhibition “Wood Artistry from the Permanent Collection” on view July 23 to September 26.
“Wood Artistry from the Permanent Collection” showcases the museum's collection of wood art, developed since the late 1980s, which represents the creativity of American and International artists. Many works in the exhibition are always on view in the permanent collection galleries, but only a small percentage of the collection can be seen at any one time. This exhibition features additional examples by familiar artists, as well as artists not previously shown and new acquisitions such as The Blood of the Lamb by Linquist.
Lindquist’s early career was influenced by his father, noted woodturner Melvin Lindquist. The younger Lindquist applied the principles of sculpture and the aesthetic of Japanese ceramics to the craft he learned from his father. Mark Lindquist's work is well-known for celebrating the natural qualities of wood, from burl grain, bark inclusions, and spalting (intricate markings left behind by fungus), to cracks and the fibrous texture of the material.
In The Blood of the Lamb, Lindquist refers to the concept of sacrifice and redemption. A wall-mounted sculpture with no literal reference to the vessel, the work presaged the artist's current focus on sculptures that allude to the dilemmas of our time in the context of timeless themes.
Exhibition funding is provided in part by the City of Mobile, Mobile County, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Mobile Museum of Art hosts special exhibitions from world-famous museums and collectors throughout the year. Open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Museum operations are made possible, in part, by funding from the City of Mobile, Mobile County, the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Michael Peterson: Evolution | Revolution
Mobile, Al – July 15, 2010 –Following the unique trajectory of wood sculptor Michael Peterson over the past twenty years, Evolution | Revolution traces the evolution from the artist's early lathe turned bowls to his current, revolutionary sculptures devoid of the lathe. Over 30 sculptures, inspired by the geographic environment of the Pacific Northwest, will be on view at Mobile Museum of Art July 23 to October 3.
Turning, carving, sandblasting, bleaching and pigmenting the burl portion of trees such as madrone, maple, grass tree, elm and locust, Peterson creates sculptural works of sheer beauty and purity. He starts out with multiple wet chunks of wood which are carved and hollowed out using chainsaws. As the pieces dry, they shrink and warp in unpredictable ways that heighten their grain patterns and create rich textures. He then smoothes the edges and sometimes bleaches the pieces prior to layering them with multiple subtle coats of pigments which he often times wipes away to create the illusion of depth – much the same way painters do when using chiaroscuro techniques. Some of the sculptures are composed of individual hollowed-out units that, when stacked vertically, are reminiscent of how waves would toss driftwood into unpredictable positions on the beach.
"Evolution | Revolution” honors Peterson for his organic abstract forms, including elements reminiscent of birds, stones, driftwood and landscapes – all referring to the natural, physical realm while quietly emanating a deep sense of spirituality,” says co-curator Michael Monroe. More than 20 of his most recent sculptures will be on display adjacent to nearly 15 earlier works consisting of lathe-turned, bowl-like forms to contrast and highlight Peterson’s artistic progression over the past 20 years.
Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, Peterson now resides on Lopez Island, one of the San Juan Islands in Washington, where he draws heavily from the surrounding environment. Peterson’s work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions over the last 20 years, and can be found in public collections throughout North America, including: the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY; the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC and the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC among others.
A catalogue with essays by Robyn Horn, Matthew Kangas and Kevin Wallace will accompany the exhibition.
“Michael Peterson: Evolution | Revolution” is organized by Bellevue Arts Museum, and co-curated by Michael W. Monroe, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Stefano Catalani, Curator. This exhibition has been made possible by the Windgate Charitable Foundation with additional support by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Exhibition funding is provided in part by the City of Mobile, Mobile County, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Mobile Museum of Art hosts special exhibitions from world-famous museums and collectors throughout the year. Open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Museum operations are made possible, in part, by funding from the City of Mobile, Mobile County, the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
