Invitation to Why is this Art?
Please join students from this fall’s Introduction to Museum Studies class for the opening of their student-curated exhibition, Why is this Art? The reception is this Thursday, December 7th from 2 – 6 p.m. at the Castellani Art Museum. Take a break from work or studying and refuel with free appetizers, sandwiches and refreshments. Student curators will be available to talk with you about the exhibition.
How often have you visited a museum, stood in front of an artwork and asked the question, why is this art? Perhaps we need to first ask the question, what is art? Art, as we know, is a vague concept and difficult to define, however, most of us have an idea of what we think art should be. For example, should art be beautiful? Should it tell a story? Should art imitate something? Should it show technical skill? Or should art elicit an emotional response from the viewer? Is art an expression or a concept? Is art an object or is it a process? Many of us have also made the statement, “I could do that!” But the fact is we didn’t. Therefore, the artist who “did” had something he or she wanted to express, whether personal, informed by a broader socio-political context, or in response to prevailing art styles. Art is relational, it relates to something. Nonetheless, a lack of understanding about why something is considered art, or the lack of knowledge about the idea behind it, can lead to either curiosity or frustration.
We therefore decided to make this the theme of our exhibition for visitors to interpret and debate, with the goal of providing contextual labels to assist in answering the question, why is this art? The artworks on view were selected from the Castellani Art Museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art.
Please join us December 7 from 2 – 6 p.m. at the Castellani Art Museum.
– Student Curators