Opening April 18th: Inked! The Evolution of Print Culture
This spring, Art History undergraduates in the Museum Object class under the direction of PhD student Ali Reilly are developing the exhibition Inked! The Evolution of Print Culture, to open on April 18 at 5:30 pm in the WJB Gallery. This installation will illustrate the transformative power of the printing press, exhibiting printed pages from the Renaissance from a collection generously donated to the Art & Design Library by Tobias Mostel. The twelve undergraduate students enrolled in the class researched the objects, curated the exhibition, and fundraised through SparkFSU and local events to offer a display showcasing a spectrum of prints as well as information on the printing revolution, artistic processes of works on paper, and book collectors in America.
The exhibition will be open to the public weekdays through April 28 (specific hours will be posted here and in the Gallery).
Student-curated exhibitions are an increasingly important and lively component of the Museum & Cultural Heritage Studies program. Thanks to the availability of the exquisite WJB Gallery, helpful collaborations with faculty and staff, and the generous cooperation of university and local collections, students are able to mount a new exhibition every semester. From curating to fundraising, promotion, and exhibition design, the entire production is a hands-on learning experience. The Fall 2015 class, also under the direction of Reilly, curated the exhibition This Is How It Happened: An Officer’s Perspective on the Okinawa Occupation, using materials generously shared by FSU’s Institute of World War II and the Human Experience.
The Museum Object Class is limited to 12 students and instructor approval is required to register. The course, which is offered every spring and fall semester, combines museum history, practice and theory with hands-on work through exhibitions and internships. Students are given the opportunity to view objects and the culture they represent from perspectives of not only art history but also archaeology, anthropology, history, and natural science. During the semester, they conceive, design, and execute an exhibition and create an online companion exhibit.