Sept. 24,
2010
No.
11-024
Contact: Doug Hubley, College Writer
207-786-6330 | dhubley@bates.edu
EDITORS: Download images related to
this press release:
"Pan and
Syrinx/The Story Mercury Never Had to Tell," a 1997 gouache painting by Wally
Reinhardt.
"Theseus Slays
the Minotaur," a 2003 gouache painting by Wally Reinhardt.
"Grande
Odalisque," a 2008 chromogenic print by Lalla
Essaydi.
Bates College
Museum of Art exhibitions explore Roman mythology, women in Islamic
societies
LEWISTON, Maine -- Two exhibitions that
view cultural touchstones of centuries past through a contemporary lens open
Oct. 8 at the Bates College Museum of Art, Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.
On display through Dec. 20 are the
exhibits "Les Femmes du Maroc: An Exhibition by Lalla Essaydi," featuring
photographs based on 19th-century Orientalist paintings; and "Metamorphoses: A
Collaboration with Ovid by Wally Reinhardt," a collection of gouache paintings
interpreting writings of the Roman
poet.
Nick Capasso, curator of the Essaydi
show and senior curator at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park of Lincoln,
Mass., presents a gallery talk about Essaydi's work at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct.
9, in the museum. A reception
follows.
Reinhardt discusses "Metamorphoses" at
6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, Olin's Room 104. Essaydi visits Bates to talk about
her work at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 29, also in Room
104.
The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more information, please call 207-786-6158 or
visit the website: www.bates.edu/museum.xml.
"Both exhibitions will interest the
public," says museum curator William Low. "But they also link with the
curriculum and interdisciplinary teaching at Bates in important ways -- Essaydi
due to the political and cultural elements in her artwork, and Reinhardt because
of his reinterpretations of classical
mythology."
Born in Morocco and now living in New
York, Essaydi has gained international prominence through timely and beautiful
work exploring the condition of women in Islamic society, cross-cultural
identity, and the history of art, particularly Orientalism -- a popular
19th-century Western school of art that interpreted the cultures of North
African and Western Asia.
"Essaydi's striking, large-scale
photographs subvert long held misconceptions of women's roles and identities in
the Arab world that were popularized by the romantic and exotic depictions by
Western artists," says Low. Depicting Moroccan women in staged narratives
borrowed from Orientalist paintings, she retains the basic forms of the
originals -- but strips them of their color, removes male figures, erases cues
to social status and covers all
nudity.
Most distinctively, she incorporates
her signature calligraphy throughout the images, writing directly on her models'
bodies, apparel and surroundings. "Her use of calligraphy, traditionally a male
art form for the transcription of sacred texts, and henna, which is
traditionally a women's decorative and ritual art form, also raises the cultural
distinctions between men and women within the Arab and Muslim world," says
Low.
Where Essaydi's striking visual
vocabulary serves to challenge longstanding traditions of cultural and gender
imperialism, Reinhardt since the 1980s has brought a lively, colorful and
playful spirit to his retelling of Ovid's "Metamorphoses." This literary
masterpiece combines history and myth to tell the story of the world from
creation until Julius Caesar's
deification.
Painting in gouache, a water-based
medium that combines the luminescence of watercolor with a saturation of color
that resembles oil paint, Reinhardt has used Ovid as the inspiration for his
vivid depictions of favorite characters from classical
mythology.
"Reinhardt's vivid, very contemporary
pictures bring to life subjects now thousands of years old, making them fresh
and vibrant in a way that defies their age," says Anthony Shostak, education
curator at the
museum.
"The classical stories retold by Ovid
and interpreted visually by Reinhardt are fundamental to Western culture, and
are taught at Bates and in our local public schools, making the exhibition as
relevant as it is enjoyable. This is a show for everyone, young and old, who
loves these stories and wants to reconnect with them in an exciting and fun
way."
Reinhardt's work has
been shown at such museums as the Carnegie Mellon Art Gallery, Boston's
Institute of Contemporary Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the James A.
Michener Art Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of
Art.
"Les Femmes du Maroc" is made possible
by generous grants from the Lois and Richard England Family Foundation and the
Davis Family Foundation. Reinhardt's exhibition and visit to the Bates College
campus are offered in co-sponsorship with the programs in classical and medieval
studies and in interdisciplinary studies, and by the Division of
Humanities.
About Bates College
Bates College is widely regarded as one
of the finest U.S. liberal arts colleges. Alumni frequently cite the capacities
they developed at Bates for critical assessment, analysis, expression, aesthetic
sensibility and independent
thought.
About 40 percent of students
participate in career internships, and more than two-thirds of recent graduates
enroll in graduate study within 10 years after graduation. Bates was founded in
1855 by Maine abolitionists, and Bates graduates have always included men and
women from diverse racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds.
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