Brunnier Art Museum
Ann Brunnier Decorative Arts Gallery
January 21 – July 27, 2025
Vase, 1898, Candia Papillon byJohann Loetz Witwe (Czech, 1852 - 1947). Glass and brass. Gift of the Helen and Rex Cook Estate. In the Helen and Rex Cook Glass Collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. UM2012.180
In the decorative arts there are patterns, themes, and motifs that have persisted over time and been reinterpreted by successive generations of designers, craftspeople, and artists. Some of the most prominent are flowers, animals, and humans, sometimes found all together frolicking across dinner plates. Why do these themes continue to find a place of prominence in the objects we use in our lives or decorate our homes with?
The meaning and power of flowers has been well-documented throughout history and each perfect petal may invoke a different meaning or emotion depending on its arrangement. Animals have long captured attention for their beauty and sometimes their strangeness. Lastly humans are always interested in other humans, it is our nature to be curious about people so like ourselves, or so very different. These fascinations have been translated to the objects created by hand or mass manufactured to be part of our daily lives – the teacups, dinner plates, serving bowls, pitchers, figurines, and much more. Explore in this exhibition the ways flowers, animals, and the human form have been used in the decorative arts that have entered our homes over the last few centuries and why these motifs persist.
Visit the Brunnier Art Museum
Hours:
Tuesday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Closed to the public Mondays. ISU curriculum tours may be scheduled on these days with a 2-week notice.
Closed University Holidays
Click here to see when the museums are closed.
Address: Scheman Building (2nd Floor), 1805 Center Drive, Ames, Iowa
Admission: The cost is free; however, there is a suggested donation of $8.