GIVEMHCAM Blog
Welcome to mhcameo, the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum blog. Here we post about unique happenings, including behind-the-scenes looks at our exhibitions, close examinations of objects from the collection, and art-related chats with alumnae, faculty, and students. Sign-up below for blog alerts and take a regular peek at mhcameo!
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Intern InsightsStories Behind the Stones
During her LYNK internship at MHCAM this summer, Architectural Studies major and Religion minor Priscilla (Qizhen) Zhang ’19 studied a group of Tibetan Mani stones in the Museum’s collection. Zhang was especially intrigued by the religious stories present in the carved images and inscriptions on these stones, which she describes in this enlightening blog post. The Museum is grateful for her terrific work, and the important contributions of all of our brilliant interns–contributions that have inspired this new blog series, Intern Insights.
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Storage SegmentsThe Single Ladies of 20th-Century Paris
As one of her final projects before heading off to pursue a Master’s degree in art history, 2017-2018 Art Museum Advisory Board Curatorial Fellow Katia Kiefaber ’17 reflects on an unusual book she discovered in an unexplored box in Museum storage. Bequested to MHCAM in 1991 as part of a large collection from alumna Helene Brosseau Black (Class of 1931), Marcel Vertès Dames Seules sheds light on queer relationships between women in early 20th-century Paris…but not as much as our author would have liked.
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UncategorizedTo Live Without the Mask of the Past: A Conversation with Curlee Raven Holton
Curlee Raven Holton is a painter and printmaker whose work addresses significant personal, political, and cultural events. On view at MHCAM from July 17–December 16, 2018, Holton’s print portfolio Othello Re-imagined in Sepia explores the humanity and emotional complexity of William Shakespeare’s tragic character. Associate Curator Hannah W. Blunt spoke with Holton about the research and inspiration behind the project, and how it connects to his larger creative journey—a journey about restoring humanity, showing our vulnerabilities, and removing our deceptive masks.
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Intern Insights, Objects of Our AffectionFor the Love of (Artists’) Books
Curatorial Intern Juliana Cordero ’18 is a book lover. Her affinity for books is so strong, in fact, that she hopes to pursue a career as a book conservator. Here, she shares her favorite books from a collection of nearly 70 artists’ books by women recently gifted to MHCAM by Marjorie (Jerry) Cohn ’60. Cohn, a long-time conservator and curator at the Fogg Museum, amassed this wondrous collection over 25 years. Feminist themes abound in these books, through comedy, tragedy, and the commonplace. Read on…Cordero’s picks are laugh-out-loud funny!
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MultimediaI Keep Dreaming that Dream: The Life and Creative Genius of Mary Lee Bendolph
Video recording of a lecture by Dr. Alvia J. Wardlaw, Professor of Art History and Director/Curator of the University Museum, Texas Southern University
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UncategorizedArt in Translation
On December 7, the Museum hosted a poetry reading and open mic in the Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Gallery. Co-sponsored by the Department of English, the event saw marvelous readings by students and faculty alike. Several students presented poems and prose written in response to exhibitions and works of art on view at MHCAM. Thank you to Becca Mullen ‘18, Ben Sambrook ‘18, Anisha Pai ‘19, and Henna Joshi ‘18 for sharing those poems with us for the first blog post of 2018. Happy reading!
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UncategorizedClose Encounters with Frederic Leighton
For Curator Emerita Wendy Watson, a visit to the exhibition A Very Long Engagement: Nineteenth-Century Sculpture and Its Afterlives conjures memories of her many encounters with Frederic Leighton’s 1890 sculpture The Sluggard. Watson, who facilitated the acquisition of a small bronze cast of The Sluggard for MHCAM in 1985, takes us from the Museum’s galleries to an exhibition in Paris to Leighton’s elaborate house and studio in London.
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MultimediaArtist Michelle Grabner in conversation with Museum Director Tricia Y. Paik
Video recording
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Objects of Our AffectionSkinner Weird II
Associate Curator of Visual and Material Culture Aaron Miller is back with another list of ten delightfully strange objects from the collection of the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum. This time, see if you can match his amusing descriptions with the objects. And don’t miss out on a visit to the Skinner Museum before it closes for the season!
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Intern InsightsMHCAM, meet LYNK
This summer, the Museum was honored to host three Mount Holyoke undergraduate interns who chose to use their LYNK internship funding to gain museum experience. Associate Curator of Visual and Material Culture Aaron Miller highlights the summer work experiences of Jamie Collings ’18, Cassie Peltier ’18, and Emily Tarantini ’18.
Blog Category
- Alumnae in the Arts (2)
- From the Director (2)
- Intern Insights (15)
- Multimedia (7)
- Objects of Our Affection (8)
- Storage Segments (5)
- Teaching with Art (8)
- Uncategorized (7)