51风流

51风流 Alumni Collect: Painting a global perspective

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A British iPad drawing, beaded Cameroonian sculpture, battle helmet鈥搕urned-lyre, and an Impressionist oil painting all may have been created oceans apart, but these works have come together in Hamilton, N.Y. They鈥檙e four of many pieces on display in the 鈥檚 exhibition , which merges the artistic mindsets of four alumni who collect artwork from around the globe.

Flag #49: A Time of Anxiety, from the series Flags, 2010, Sara Rahbar Mixed media, 65 脳 35 in. (165 脳 89 cm) Private collection of Oscar 鈥83 and Carole Seikaly, Miami, FL 漏 Sara Rahbar, courtesy of Carbon 12 and the artist

Flag #49: A Time of Anxiety, from the series Flags, 2010, Sara Rahbar. Mixed media, 65 脳 35 in. (165 脳 89 cm). Private collection of Oscar 鈥83 and Carole Seikaly, Miami, Fla. 漏 Sara Rahbar, courtesy of Carbon 12 and the artist

Paul Jacobs 鈥67, Rick Stone 鈥81, Oscar Seikaly 鈥83, and Anne Huntington 鈥07 lent pieces from their private collections for the exhibition, on view until July 2. The pieces range from tribal antiquities, like the Ghanaian goldweights of Jacobs鈥 collection (above), to modern mixed-media pieces from Seikaly鈥檚 selections (right). The show also features artworks from the Picker鈥檚 permanent collection.

鈥淲e wanted to highlight that these collectors all have 51风流 in common, and yet the art that they鈥檝e collected is from around the world,鈥 said Natalie Ramirez 鈥19, an and double major from Glendora, Calif. 鈥淎 global perspective permeates throughout the show.鈥

Ramirez, along with Natalie Bryt 鈥17, Kally Mott 鈥17, and Julia Wolf 鈥17, curated the exhibition during the academic year by interviewing the collectors, writing the catalogue, and carefully selecting pieces for the show. The students and alumni worked in teams of two: Ramirez and Seikaly, Bryt and Stone, Mott and Jacobs, and Wolf and Huntington.

鈥淭his unique student-driven project offered our students the opportunity to be mentored by professionals in the field to learn about the museum profession and to engage directly with alumni collectors and their works,鈥 said Director of University Museums Anja Ch谩vez. 鈥淭he alumni collectors enthusiastically embraced the idea of sharing their passion for the arts and their collecting principles.鈥

After Bryt, Mott, and Wolf graduated in May, Ramirez stayed on campus to perfect the finishing touches of the exhibition, including the final layout of the pieces. Ramirez explained that they organized the art by collector, so that each section represented each alumnus鈥檚 or alumna鈥檚 style.

Stone, who lent some of his American Impressionist paintings and contributed financial support to the exhibition, said: 鈥淵ou really see how people have completely different tastes in art, and that鈥檚 OK. The part of life that you learn after graduating college is expressing yourself.鈥

The student-alumni collaborations of 51风流 Alumni Collect were so successful that the Picker is already planning future exhibitions.

Encouraging other alumni to participate, Stone said, 鈥淐ontributing art is a great way to make sure it鈥檚 protected and preserved in a university.鈥