More than 15 minutes
Feb. 18—PLATTSBURGH — Plattsburgh State Art Museum Director Tonya Curran had a desire to collaborate with faculty, and she seized that chance with "Pop for the People," which celebrates civic art and community engagement and runs through March 12 in the Burke Gallery.
Curated by SUNY Plattsburgh English professor M.I. Devine, with Amy Guglielmo co-founder of Outside Art: The Plattsburgh Public Art Project, the exhibition was inspired by and features writing from Devine's award-winning book of essays, "Warhol's Mother's Pantry."
"I am excited what Mike and Amy are doing with the museum, very cool," Curran said.
"One of the things that I really wanted to do when I became director of the museum is that I really wanted to collaborate with faculty and do cross-disciplinary exhibits. So when Michael approached me about doing a Pop Art Show, I knew we had some some really fantastic Pop artworks in the permanent collection."
'CIVIC ART'
The exhibit blends images and words to offer a dynamic, inclusive and multi-generational vision of pop as civic art, according to a press release.
Works by Andy Warhol and others in the college's extensive Pop collection hang side by side work by regional artists — including Outside Art muralists; Plattsburgh State students past and present; Saranac High School students; and the Art Detectives, a collective founded by the artist/educator Adam Kritzer in which practicing professional artists foster the talents of neurodiverse artists.
"I loved the idea that Mike had just written a book," Curran said.
"So again, the idea that art exhibits can interest everything, and they are very cross-disciplinary. I was thrilled to partner with him. It's exactly the type of relationship I would like to have with the faculty.
"He selected some of the works from our collection. So, there is some Andy Warhol prints that we have in the collection, but he also invited different community groups. I think some of the ideas he wanted to convey is that Pop art is about popular culture, and we still see how Pop art impacts us today.
"He invited local arts groups to also be included so we have student works right next to the art historical works."
'MORE THAN 15 MINUTES'
In Devine's words, the exhibit is full of "startling juxtapositions and thematic rhymes that puts Pop in a new light."
"It's about the human depth on the surface of things: whether that's a mural of the astronaut Michael Anderson on a wall in downtown Plattsburgh, a Warhol Polaroid, or one of Hertha Bauer's works that see a mandala on a manhole cover," he said.
"I'm excited that people will experience Pop in a new way: Warhol is more than 15 minutes of fame. Pop is creativity and community connection. A way of looking at our world — and each other — anew.
"It's about finding new depths."
Devine is the winner of the 2018 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
"Warhol's Mother's Pantry," published in 2020, won the Gournay Prize for Creative Nonfiction (Mad Creek Books/Ohio State UP).
Lines from the text interact on the walls with the works, forming a poetic narrative that lead gallery-goers on a journey into Pop — from a President Obama painting to large-scale photographs of the murals in downtown Plattsburgh to Warhols and more.
POP CONNECTIONS
Guglielmo, a well-known arts advocate, artist, and author of children's books, including the recently released "Just Being Dalí," is proud of how the show exhibits many of the Outside Art muralists, from Dominica-born Gharan Burton ("Harvest Mural") to works by Brendon Palmer-Angell (NASA astronaut USAF Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson and Hollywood actress Jean Arthur murals) and more.
A Saranac High School art teacher, Guglielmo also included some of her students' Pop work to complete the multi-generational arc of the show.
"So many artists have brought so much beauty to Plattsburgh," she said.
"This show is about 'the People' — how creative we continue to be no matter what we face. We see this in the work of the Art Detectives, Plattsburgh students, and the Outside Artists. Pop can show how connected we are
SUNY Plattsburgh senior and BFA major Winosha Steele has two works in the show.
She painted the frigate bird of her native Antigua and Barbuda for Outside Arts' "Migration Mural" located on the east of wall of 17 Court St. in the city.
"Originally Amy had spoke to me about a show that she had planned on curating and she asked me if I wanted to include any of my pieces because she really loves my self-portraits," Steele said.
"Of course, I accepted because I always love to be part of the art community in anyway that I can."
Guglielmo loved "Nabila" and "Identity, which had been located outside of Steele's studio in Myers Fine Arts Building.
"She said those would be best suited for the show," Steele said.
"I never had them be anywhere else besides in the hallway, so it was really beautiful to see them in the new light.
"In terms of of the two drawings, one is a self portrait and the other is of my friend Nabila. I met her here at SUNY Plattsburgh. They both include the same medium except the one with the self portrait incorporates more of a mixed media with tissue paper and fabric."
"Nabila" was free thematically for a final assignment in her Drawing III class.
"Identity" was an assignment from her Drawing IV class.
"It was inspired to be basically a self-portrait how you wish to express yourself through your art," Steele said.
"Winosha is one of our graduating seniors," Curran said.
"She does really wonderful work. This was a much different curatorial process, a little different than what I am used to, but because Michael had a unique vision, it's really great to see that he included some of our students work alongside the permanent art collection. It's a really interesting show."
Steele's images are a 21st century echo of Andy Warhol's silk screen celebrity portraits of Elvis Presley, Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe.
"We think Warhol is a good inspiration for seeing beauty everywhere, and he'd be proud to be shown with all of these great works," Devine said.
"Civic art is truly popular art, and Plattsburgh's developed some of its own truly great civic art. This exhibit is a testament to that. We're really proud of it."
VIRTUAL HAPPENINGS
"POP for the People" will include a number of virtual events, including an ongoing "POP Talks" series, starting Feb. 22 (6-8 p.m.) with Coney Island filmmaker Vagabond.
Guglielmo will host a "Pop Art Party Storytime and Craft Activity" at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Other events will include a live stream tour of the exhibit, a discussion with the Outside Artists and more.
Due to COVID-19, entry is for SUNY Plattsburgh faculty, staff, and students at a reduced capacity.
A limited number of public tours will be given on Friday afternoons by appointment.
"We're still not open to the public, but there are several virtual events that are going to be coming up," Curran said.
"As we are exploring the topic, we may be adding things throughout the show that the public will be able to access.
"In addition, we are trying to get the show filmed so that it can be placed on our website in a virtual format so the community can see it that way.
"We're trying to pivot with the times and try to make it as accessible as possible. I'm looking forward to the day we can welcome the public back in without restrictions."
Email Robin Caudell:
Twitter:@RobinCaudell
EXHIBITION DETAILS
WHAT: POP For the People "Pop Art" Show at Plattsburgh State Art Museum, Burke Gallery.
WHEN: Through March 12.
WEB SITE: https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/arts/art-museum/museum-exhibitions.html
PHONE: Plattsburgh State Art Museum at 518-564-2474.
