The Brunnier Art Museum, Christian Petersen Art Museum, Farm House Museum and the Elizabeth and Byron Anderson Sculpture Garden are affiliates of University Museums at Iowa State University. About eight to twelve annual changing exhibitions and permanent collection exhibitions provide educational opportunities for all ages. Lectures, receptions, conferences, university classes, panel discussions, gallery walks, and artist talks are presented to assist with further interpretation of objects. A full listing of programs and events is available by clicking here. Listed below are the current exhibitions with dates and location.
Salon to Modern Gallery: |
This installation of over 30 works of art from the permanent collection compares salon and modernist gallery installations. Museum galleries are curatorially designed to influence the way we think and feel. This exhibition implores you to explore and compare art in these two installation environments, and how each of the installations affect your perception and understanding of the art. The exhibition’s purpose is to examine the relationship between the installation, physical space and intellectual space, and the idea of museum galleries. The salon-style presentation is markedly different from the minimalist aesthetic at many modern and contemporary art museums today, and the resulting salon density is perhaps the exhibition’s most dramatic feature when compared with the white box density of one work of art. Works of art from the permanent collection are arranged in no particular order and in no obvious hierarchy. The way a visitor views an exhibition installation plays a determining role in their context and understanding of the individual works of art and the relationship to other works of art in a gallery. The Grand Salon exhibition installation tradition-seemingly random and dense placement of works of art stacked floor to ceiling-evokes the history museums of 19th century Europe. Both highly organized, as well as a visual jumble, art from all moments of the institution’s history are nestled side by side. For example, visitors may find images of a 1930s landscapes next to contemporary portrait with only color or size being of immediate similarity. The salon wall is a cacophony of images and ideas waiting to be interpreted by each viewer. Perhaps these works of art have absolutely nothing to do with one another and are made by artists who would never have crossed paths. However in this installation, they live together, awaiting the discovery of some subtlety that will become the context of their shared gallery wall. In 1929, the then new Museum of Modern Art began a revolutionary new gallery installation methodology of installing art exhibitions in a white box room with art hung at near eye level and in a linear progression—an installation methodology that remains prevalent today. The modernist white cube concept of exhibition installation is often preferred as a means to develop an environment in which works of art can be viewed objectively and in relative isolation. This modern-style art gallery installation has static walls designed to display 2-dimensional works of art in a hierarchal and curatorial manner or 3-dimensional sculpture “in the round,” where it could be viewed from all angles. In this exhibition of the permanent collection, the viewer can compare installation methodologies-which have a bit of aesthetic friction- and interpret the seemingly serendipitous placement of the art. Remember, all of the art was, at one time, contemporary. |
French Art Nouveau: From the Permanent Collection |
The decorative arts were a principal component of the Art Nouveau movement which flourished in the latter half of the 19th century. Practicing artists were concerned about the loss of craftsmanship; a consequence of the industrialization of the European continent. Decorative arts provided an opportunity for artists to combine function with the flowing botanical forms which were the hallmark of the style. Glass was ideally suited to this purpose because of their inherently plastic nature which was readily worked into sinuous natural shapes. This exhibition presents a selection of French cameo glass and tapestry that illustrates a variety of imagery, symbolism, techniques and forms favored by Art Nouveau artists, and express the preciousness, richness and opulence of the Art Nouveau movement. Included are objects by Emille Gallé and his glass studio, which popularized 19th century cameo glass. The exhibition includes objects from the Ann and Henry Brunnier Art Collection. |
The Age of Brilliance: |
The Age of Brilliance presents 29 glass objects from the Brilliant Period in American glass (1876-1914). In 1876, the Brilliant Period began when eight American glass companies exhibited their newly created patterns of geometric designs at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, thus captivating the nation's attention. Created by craftsmen and artisans, brilliant cut glass is decorated entirely by hand using a rotating stone or metal wheel, holding the clear, smooth glass blank against these wheels to cut a predetermined geometric pattern in the surface of the glass. Immediately cut glass objects became symbolic of social status and refinement, and were acquired by the privileged and the middle class seeking social advancement. Objects in this exhibition are curated primarily from named University Museums Permanent Collections; the Ann and Henry Brunnier Collection, the Iowa Quester Glass Collection and the Helen Cook Glass Collection. |
A Fragile Thread of Glass |
Created from sand and fire, glass objects are formed from molten threads. This exhibition explores 30 centuries of glass as aesthetic objects created for utilitarian uses. |
Priscilla Sage: Contemporary Sculpture |
Color, movement and light are the hallmarks of Sage’s contemporary textile sculptures. Sage uses her family’s quilts and traditions for her inspired and inventive work with fiber. |
N. C. Wyeth: America In the Making |
N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) was an active participant in the golden years of American illustration, which lasted through the first decades of the twentieth century. Wyeth’s first illustration was published by The Saturday Evening Post on February 21, 1903, and up until his death he created nearly 4,000 works of art. Wyeth illustrated more than 112 books after receiving national recognition with Charles Scribner and Sons’ publication of Treasure Island in 1911.
Although oil on canvas was his primary medium, Wyeth was introduced to egg tempera in 1937 by a former student and began using the pigment for illustrative series, many of which were corporate calendar commissions. One of three projects completed for John Morrell and Company of Ottumwa, Iowa, America in the Making depicts twelve dramatic scenes taken from American history—those events that N.C. Wyeth believed were the most pivotal in American history. Painted in 1939 these paintings were used as illustrations for the John Morrell Company’s 1940 calendar. In 1940, the president of John Morrell and Company presented the twelve painted, panels to Iowa State College as a gift. Although Wyeth created the majority of his work in series, few have remained intact like America in the Making, thus making the assembling and exhibition of this painting series important.
This exhibition showcases N.C. Wyeth’s paintings and other works of art from the permanent collection by artists of the American Scene that also explored the histories, values, and diverse cultures that came to compose the American Ideal. Exhibition label texts are responses from campus faculty, staff and students, and provide insights into reinterpretations of major American events and times as illustrated in the works of art.
The exhibition is organized by the University Museums, Iowa State University, with support from Ann and Al Jennings and University Museums Membership. |
| Made in Iowa: Iowa City and Keota Glass | This exhibition is organized by the Iowa Quester Glass Committee. |
May 15 through August 5, 2012 |
Studio glass sculpture emerged in the early 1960s with the experimentation in hot glass by artistic pioneers Harvey K. Littleton (American, b. 1922) and Dominic Labino (American, 1910-1987). In 1962 Labino and Littleton lead the Toledo Museum of Art glassblowing workshops. Through these workshops, Littleton was introduced to Labino's creative solution of mixing the raw batches of glass using fiberglass marbles which he formulated to melt at lower temperatures. This revolutionary technique allowed for more fluidity and flexibility in the creation of glass sculpture. From there, Littleton went on to develop the prestigious glass program and curriculum at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Labino continued to influences the art of contemporary studio glass sculpture through experimentations with unique formulas, chemical mixtures, and techniques.
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May 14 through August 3, 2012 |
Christian Petersen (Danish-American, 1885-1961) was the nation's first, permanent sculptor-in-residence at any college, and began his career at Iowa State in 1934. Selected from the permanent Christian Petersen Art Collection this exhibition will focus on thirty sculptures and drawings that highlight his campus art career, as well as his early sculpting career on the East Coast during the first decades of the twentieth century. Recent acquisitions to the Christian Petersen Art Collection will also be presented for the first time at the Christian Petersen Art Museum. While exploring his sculpture, interpretive labels will also illustrate recent research into his career.
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The People’s college: the Morrill Act and Iowa State |
The comprehensive historic time-line will be installed on the walls of the ground floor hallway that leads through Morrill Hall. The purpose of this installation is to provide an exciting and informative reference point to the history of Iowa State, featuring the institution's prominent role as the first land grant college to fully accept the provisions of the "Morrill Act" of 1862. The time-line will be divided into various time periods focusing on the important and interesting events that played a part in the creation and development of the University from inception to modern day. Each section will focus on a wide variety of events and the people that were innovators over the last 150 years in developing Iowa's only Land Grant College into the world class University it has become. Morrill Hall's central location and historic significance has made it a compelling and logical choice for the time-line installation. Since reopening after its dramatic restoration in 2007, the University's second oldest structure has played host to an average of over 10,000 visitors annually and has become a starting point for many guided and self-guided tours. Guided visitors are often told of Morrill Hall's history as chapel, library and museum, but many self-guided visitors come and go without the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the history of the building and University. The goal of this current project is to both enhance the experience of the visitors to Iowa State's campus and to better educate those visitors of the unique and illustrious role the college and community has played in advancing education and fulfilling the dreams of Senator Justin Smith Morrill and President Abraham Lincoln as enshrined in the Morrill Act. |
Commissioning a Collection: 75 Years of Public Art |
Beauty and order inspire learning and good citizenship, according to Adonijah S. Welch, Iowa State’s first president (1868-1883). He then began planning and planting the landscape of campus that today is internationally known for its beauty. In the 1930s, President Raymond M. Hughes (1927-1936) expanded this fundamental institutional value of the aesthetic campus and began collecting public art for educational and inspirational purposes for Iowa State students, and 75 years later ISU has the nation’s largest campus public art collection, the Art on Campus Collection with over 600 major public works of art located across campus. Most of the Art on Campus Collection is site specific with each painting and sculpture uniquely conceived and created to reflect an academic value held precious to the departments and colleges of Iowa State. From Christian Petersen’s jersey cows sculpted in terra cotta in 1934 to Norie Sato’s chemically inspired elements glowing in LED light, each public artist began their creative process by conceiving and representing their subjects via models, drawings and maquettes which were shared with campus constituents prior to being created to full-scale. This exhibition allows the viewer to experience the thrill of commissioning a new campus public work of art, and also challenges us to image these now iconic works of art before they became an integrated aesthetic object at Iowa State. After viewing this exhibition viewers are invited to visit the final public works of art and further explore how the art evolved through the commissioning process. Just as Presidents Welch and Hughes envisioned and President Gregory Geoffroy (2001-2012) supported by renovating Morrill Hall and founding the Christian Petersen Art Museum as a center for Art on Campus educational programs and collections, the Art on Campus Collection is a strategic educational for Iowa State students. This collection is continually integrated in curriculum across campus and forms a core for the Visual Literacy and Learning Program. Through the practice of visual literacy-reading and understanding objects- all students improve critical thinking and communication skills. This exhibition is organized by the University Museums from the Art on Campus Model and Maquette Collection. |
Beginning May 14, 2012 through August 3, 2012 the Farm House Museum will only be open on Tuesday's and Wednesday's from Noon to 4pm each week. Visits outside these hours by appointment only. For appointments please call 515.294.4442 at least 48 hours in advance. The Farm House Museum will be closed July 4th for University holiday.
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As the first building on campus as well as a National Historic Landmark, the Farm House was built in 1860 before campus was occupied by students or classrooms. The prairie landscape was bleak and desolate at the time, and those first farm tenants primed the land for agricultural experimentation. This early practice led to Iowa State Agricultural College and Model Farm opening its doors to Iowa students for free in 1869 under the provisions of the Morrill Act (or Land-grant Act) of 1862. |
Realties: The Lyric Sculpture of William King |
Iowa State University is outstanding among American academic campuses for its abundance of public works of art. With the largest campus public art collection in the nation, Iowa State’s Art on Campus Program and Collection runs the gamut of artists, media, and styles. From realism to abstraction, murals to sculpture, and terrazzo to glass, the collection is vast and varied with a depth that has grown since the first public work of art was commissioned in 1933. For much of William King's long career, his sculpture has been identified with Pop Art. The satirical nature and humorous overtones of his sculpted figures are suited to Pop's affinity for common aspects of daily life. Now eighty-four, William King has been showing figurative sculpture nationally and internationally for over fifty years. His familiar, often long-legged, figures embody a unique blend of social satire, fantasy, and an affectionate eye for everyday life, and have long been recognized as a distinctive contribution to American art. These witty figures, often self-portraits in various guises, combine precise observation about the body language of contemporary life and social situations with an almost abstract feeling for materials and form. |
