Due to COVID-19, the doors of the museum were closed in March and many of our exhibitions were shortened, leaving them unseen by our public. One such exhibition is Heather Day’s inaugural museum show, Woolgatherers: New Paintings by Heather Day, curated by Lauren Wolfer, Associate Curator of Special Collections & Archives.
One of the main tenets of most museums is communication, or dialogue. Through our visual art, we initiate a dialogue between the artist and the viewer. We provide context, in the form of exhibition text and labels, for the viewer so they can interpret the artist’s thoughts and relate it to themselves. For those of you unable to attend, we created a video tour, thanks to funds provided by the #GivingTuesdayNow initiative, of Day’s exhibit with President, CEO, & Chief Curator Charles Shepard guiding you. Watch it here: Heather Day Exhibition Video.
Now that you have the context for Day’s work, listen to our docents give their own viewpoints and opinions in these short videos and think about what you would say in return! Do you agree with them? Disagree? Do you have a favorite work? Is your favorite artwork the one you would buy for your house? Which one do you like the least? Are you inspired to make a work of art now?
Director of Children’s Education Alyssa Dumire discusses her favorite work in the exhibition, Fever Dream:
FWMoA docent Mark talks about his reaction to the first work you see on the title wall when you enter the exhibition, Slow Bougainvillea #5:
FWMoA docents Karen and Marlene discuss their different opinions on this work, Baffle 2. It’s important to remember that you can love or dislike an artwork, as long as you can explain why:
Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments!