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The first exhibition in the new Zuckert Seminar Room in the renovated building examined several thematic representations of American life over 150 years and was the culmination of Associate Professor of Art History Linda Docherty’s fall 2007 course “Art and Life.” Students in the intensive, hands-on class in art history and museum work curated the exhibition that concentrated on three strengths of the collection: Winslow Homer wood engravings, John Sloan etchings, and documentary photography. Twice weekly, the 13 students studied and discussed original objects from the Museum collection. After presenting their research to each other, the students worked to discover common or emerging themes. After lively debate, they selected 27 images, then created a full-fledged exhibition, highlighting questions of audience and medium specificity while pointing to thematic affinities. Spanning a century and a half, the works on paper contributed to an ongoing process of representing America visually and demonstrated that American life, seen from shifting artistic vantage points, is never static.
Pictured above:
Installation of "Representing America" in the Zuckert Seminar Room, 2007
