Spring 2010
Stranger in Paradise:
The Works of Reverend Howard Finster
January 29 through March 28, 2010
Guest Curator: Glen C. Davies
An evangelistic preacher in paint and self-proclaimed Man of Visions, Reverend Howard Finster became one of the most widely known and prolific self-taught artists, producing over 46,000 pieces of art by his death in 2001. This exhibition provides an in-depth survey of Finster's career, covering the variety of themes inherent in his work, much of it relating to his visionary experiences, including: Visions of Other Worlds, Sermons in Paint, Historical and Cultural Heroes and The Plant Farm Museum [Paradise Garden]. An exhibition catalogue is available for purchase.
Exhibition sponsored by Fox Development Corporation; Thomas E. Scanlin; Office of the Chancellor, U of I; Office of the Provost and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs U of I; Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; Krannert Art Museum Director's Circle; and Krannert Art Museum Council. Image credit: Howard Finster, Matthew Arient's Angel (6927), 1987, tractor enamel on wood, Collection of Matthew J. Arient, photo: James Prinz
View information sheet and online checklist
Exhibition Programming
February 23–5:30 pm
Film Screening and Panel Discussion
I Can Feel Another Planet in My Soul: Strange Visions. Wondrous Art. The Remarkable World of Howard Finster. A showing of excerpts from a documentary film (in progress) on Howard Finster followed by a panel discussion with Steven Pattie, executive producer/program creator; Glen C. Davies, exhibition curator; Jim Arient, collector; and Randy Ott, collector
March 4–5:30 pm
Guest Lecture
"An Inside Look at Outsider Art Environments: Monumental Expressions of Devotion,
Evangelism, and Salvation," a talk by Lisa Stone, author, adjunct associate professor, and curator of the Roger Brown Study Collection at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Co-sponsored by Lorado Taft Lectureship on Art; School of Art + Design; Department of Landscape Architecture; and Krannert Art Museum
Baggage Allowance
January 29 through April 29, 2010
Curator: Tumelo Mosaka
San Francisco artist Pamela Z presents an exhibition and performance that examines connections between people and their worldly possessions. This intermedia work focuses on the concept of baggage in all of its literal and metaphysical permutations. Ms. Z applies sonic and visually layered imagery accompanied by live vocals channeled electronically to construct a multi-sensory experience. The work explores concepts of baggage as both impediment and as treasure. Based on her personal experience of living between places, Ms. Z interrogates the kinds of attachments associated with locality. Issues such as loss, insecurity, and treasure are brought to light. Best known for her solo performances that combine experimental voice techniques with percussion and spoken word, Pamela Z creates a multi-layered installation and lively solo performance at Krannert Art Museum.
Sponsored by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; Krannert Art Museum Director's Circle; and Krannert Art Museum Council. Image credit: Pamela Z, Still of Baggage Allowance © Pamela Z
Exhibition Programming
April 1–5:30 pm
Artist Performance
"Baggage Allowance and Other Works" featuring exhibiting artist Pamela Z
William Kentridge: Ambivalent Affinities
January 29 through May 23, 2010
Curator: Allyson Purpura
Though roused by the brutality and injustices of apartheid, the work of internationally renowned artist William Kentridge has long been inspired by the theatre of the absurd and other avant-garde movements in the visual and dramatic arts that have used satire and irony to deflate the power and conceit of fascist regimes.
This exhibition features six of Kentridge's "Drawings for Projection"—a suite of short animated films that explores the physical and psychic violence of complicity and unbridled greed. Their unscripted narratives emerge spontaneously from Kentridge's now famous technique of drawing and erasure. A master of visual allegory and metaphor, Kentridge's dreamlike imagery attests to his exquisite skill and sensitivity as a draftsman and storyteller. The exhibition also features a large format print and an anamorphic drawing. With these works, Kentridge engages myth and visual perception to upset one of the most basic assumptions of empirical science—that seeing is believing.
Sponsored by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; Krannert Art Museum Director's Circle; and Krannert Art Museum Council. Image credit: William Kentridge, Felix in Exile, 1993, still from animated film short, 8 minutes 43 seconds, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution; Museum purchase 96-34-5 © William Kentridge
View information sheet and online checklist
Exhibition Programming
February 4–5:30 pm
Film Screening
William Kentridge: Art from the Ashes (1999) Co-sponsored by the Program in Jewish Culture and Society and Krannert Art Museum
February 4–5:30 pm
Gallery Conversation
With Kevin Hamilton (New Media), Allyson Purpura (curator), Michael Rothberg (English), and moderated by Matti Bunzl (Anthropology and the Program in Jewish Culture and Society). Co-sponsored by the Prorgram in Jewish Culture and Society and Krannert Art Museum
Intersections:Art in Postwar New York
January 29 through May 23, 2010
Curator: Kathryn Koca Polite
The threatening political climate of the late
1930s and early 1940s, specifically the chaos
and horror created by the Nazi regime,
caused numerous artists to flee from Europe.
Many sought refuge in the United States; as a
result, the center of the art world began to shift
from Paris to New York. New York's
burgeoning art scene allowed many young
American artists to converse and collaborate
closely with these European artists whose art
they had only viewed in museums.
This mixed media installation focused on works created during the postwar years (1945-51) by several established artists in exile (Yves Tanguy and Marc Chagall), younger international artists (Roberto Matta and Hedda Sterne), eager American artists (Robert Motherwell and William Baziotes), and other international artists exhibiting in New York at the time (Wifredo Lam). The work produced during this period not only highlights the influence of surrealism, expressionism, and cubism, but also shows how artists endured and reacted to their displacement through creative endeavors.
Exhibition sponsored by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; Krannert Art Museum Director's Circle; and Krannert Art Museum Council. Image credit: Roberto Matta, Man, 1945, crayon and colored wax on newsprint, Art Acquisition Fund 1949-20-14
Tracing Proust
January 29 through May 23, 2010
Guest Curators: Caroline Szylowicz and Chatham Ewing
Marcel Proust (1871-1922) has been called the greatest novelist of the twentieth century. The Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the Kolb-Proust Archive together own one of the world's leading research collections of Marcel Proust materials. This exhibition includes original manuscripts, correspondence, and prints from these collections that expose traces of the compositional process, revealing the creative play of Proust's artistry and the artist himself.
Exhibition sponsored by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; Krannert Art Museum Director's Circle; and Krannert Art Museum Council. Image credit: Handwriting of Marcel Proust