Tuesday, the museum unveiled two new exhibits made up of pieces both gifted and purchased. One focuses on women photographers from the 1980s, the other on the forgotten illustrators of the Victorian era.
Nan Brewer, curator of works on paper at the museum, said “Altered Reality,” the photographic installation, is connected with several other works in the gallery that celebrate Women’s History Month.
“We have several other installations currently on display in the museum’s first floor Gallery of the Art of the Western World that highlight works by women photographers,” Brewer said.
Brewer added that “The Forgotten Illustrator,” the second new installation, has a companion piece already up in the gallery.
“It is an 18th-century drawing for a fashion plate,” Brewer said. “All of these works are also installed in relationship to works in other media from their same time period.”
The motivation for each display, according to Brewer, was distinct.
The inspiration behind “Altered Reality” was a combination of the celebration of Women’s History Month and the recent acquisition of photographs by artists Laurie Simmons and Ruth Thorne-Thomsen.
“The Forgotten Illustrator” emerged from the desire to share lesser-seen work with the museum’s patrons.
“Since the names and styles of popular 19th century illustrators are now less familiar to the average viewer, I thought that I’d bring their work to new light,” Brewer said.
According to the press release, “Altered Reality” features the work of three female photographers: Simmons, Thorne-Thomsen and Olivia Parker, from the height of their popularity in the 1980s.
The release went on to state these artists departed from the traditional “documentary style” of photography in favor of using costumes, props and staged scenes.
Works such as these should be seen more, Brewer said, but they are difficult to display for long periods of time due to their delicate nature. This is why temporary installations of these works work well for the museum.
“Since works on paper are particularly vulnerable to ultra-violet light, they cannot be on public display for as long as paintings and sculpture,” Brewer said. “We also have a very large collection of prints, drawings and photographs but only a limited amount of gallery space on which to display them.”
Brewer added that Simmons, one of the photographers featured, is the mother of “Girls” creator Lena ?Dunham.
“One of Dunham’s first films, ‘Tiny Furniture,’ references her mother’s photography, which often uses doll furniture, props and costumes,” Brewer said.
As for “The Forgotten Illustrator,” a showcase of several original drawings by artists William Hatherell, Enrico Coleman and Frederick Stuart Church, Brewer said the amount of sophistication put into these pre-photographic pieces is worth the trip.
“In the case of the work by the illustrators, I hope (viewers) gain a better understanding to the artistry and skill required to produce mass circulation imagery prior to the invention of the photographic half-tone reproductive process,” Brewer said.
Brewer said people should come out to see these installations “to experience works by artists that were reflective of styles, tastes, issues and technologies of their time and, hopefully, discover works by artists that they didn’t know about prior to their visit.”
