You are here

Artists and the Noble Profession

January 23, 2012

This spring the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum is proud to feature a special exhibition of recent work by the studio art faculty of Mount Holyoke College. Entitled Artists and the Noble Profession: The 2012 Mount Holyoke College Studio Art Faculty Exhibition, it presents the work of nine artists whose projects span a wide range of media and approaches comprised of photography, painting, collage, assemblage, drawing, and installation. They include Nancy Campbell, Marion Miller, Joe Smith, Rie Hachiyanagi, Matt Phillips, Nathan Margalit, Tatiana Ginsberg, Nancy Friese, and Kane Stewart. These artists demonstrate the best practices in their fields: a deep engagement with their medium, a rigorous studio technique, and a commitment to adventurous creativity.

In the classroom every one of them is focused on imparting to their students skills that have applicability in the art studio and—maybe even more importantly—in almost any other arena in life. Perhaps surprisingly, pursuing studio art practice can provide students in any major an important opportunity to develop innovative thinking, experience in responding to critical feedback, a willingness to risk failure, skill in careful observation, an eagerness to consider “what if” scenarios, and the capacity to communicate a vision to a group. The Museum takes this occasion to salute these educators and applaud their work as artists and as teachers.

Running from 3 February–27 May, Artists and the Noble Profession is on view in the Weissman Gallery at the Art Museum with installations in two additional venues: the Williston Library atrium and the Talcott Greenhouse.

Admission to this and all exhibitions is free; donations are welcome. The Museum is open Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday, 1-5 p.m., and is fully accessible. Parking is available nearby.

The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in South Hadley is a leading collegiate art museum. Its comprehensive permanent collection of 17,000 objects features Asian art, 19th- and 20th-century European and American paintings and sculpture, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art, Medieval sculpture, early Italian Renaissance paintings, and an extensive collection of works on paper.