Noyes Museum of Art
Oceanville, NJ
609-652-8848
http://www.noyesmuseum.org
Art in Boxes: Hers and His Stories
September 9, 2000 - January 7, 2001
Many of today's artists work in box formats, simple cubes that open
and close that contain collections of "things" or found objects.
A combination of sculpture and painting, these assemblages emphasize the
part played by depth and spatial enclosure and usually include subject matter
that hangs between illusion and reality. With this in mind, the Noyes Museum
of Art has organized a juried exhibition of these personal, narrative artworks.
Entitled "Art in Boxes: Hers and His Stories" this exhibition
features 66 "boxes" by 41 artists from across the 
nation.
Running from September 9, 2000 through January 7, 2001 , this juried exhibition
was curated by Jonathan P. Binstock, Assistant Curator at the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia; Dede Young, Program Director/Curator
at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington, Delaware;
and Hsiao-Ning Tu, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Noyes Museum
of Art. To be considered for this exhibition, the artists were required
to make their boxes narrative in nature, telling a personal story about
their youth, their neighborhood, an immigration experience, if applicable,
or a story that reflects their heritage. Each artist was required to explain
their own story for the didactic labels. (left: Martina Johnson-Allen,
The Priestess, 1998, 25 x 12 x 11 inches; right: Gilda Pervin, Coming
of Age in Pittsburg, 2000, mixed media, 6 x 7.5 x 7.5 inches)
Throughout
history, boxes have been an integral, indispensable part of civilization.
Ancient Egyptians used highly decorated boxes to bury their dead. Early
primitive man made ornate boxes for transporting and storing items. Every
major religion has used decorative boxes to contain their most sacred objects.
(left: Judy Starr Soskin, The Sweet Life, 1999, 24 x 15 x
6 inches)
Boxes are seen everywhere, in every sense, whether they
be in the form of the homes in which we live, the automobiles we drive,
the packaging for goods we buy or the suitcases we pack for travel. Boxes
are also widely used to hold our most important treasures. From the hope
chest to the infant's crib, the significance of these items in our daily
lives contributes to the desire by many artists to use the box form in an
individual way to encase their artwork.
The aesthetic and creative freedom which the box gives
to an artist is one of the reasons why art in boxes can be so successful.
Boxes can be decorated inside and out, in the form of a diptych with a hinged
center, a frame for intriguing stop action scenes, or filled with historic,
nostalgic, and personal material.(left: Deborah Fisher, New Skin
with Accessories, 1999, mixed media, 2.5 x 10 x 12.75 inches)
There will be a Fall Opening Reception for "Art in
Boxes: Hers and His Stories" and two other new exhibitions at the Noyes
Museum of Art on Saturday, October 7th from 3 to 6 PM.
Rev. 8/21/00
Read more about the Noyes
Museum of Art in Resource Library Magazine
Please click on thumbnail images bordered by a red line
to see enlargements.
This page was originally published in Resource
Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for
more information. rev. 3/23/11
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Library for thousands of articles and essays on American art.
Copyright 2011 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights
reserved.
Many of today's artists work in box formats, simple cubes that open
and close that contain collections of "things" or found objects.
A combination of sculpture and painting, these assemblages emphasize the
part played by depth and spatial enclosure and usually include subject matter
that hangs between illusion and reality. With this in mind, the Noyes Museum
of Art has organized a juried exhibition of these personal, narrative artworks.
Entitled "Art in Boxes: Hers and His Stories" this exhibition
features 66 "boxes" by 41 artists from across the 
nation.
Running from September 9, 2000 through January 7, 2001 , this juried exhibition
was curated by Jonathan P. Binstock, Assistant Curator at the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia; Dede Young, Program Director/Curator
at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington, Delaware;
and Hsiao-Ning Tu, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Noyes Museum
of Art. To be considered for this exhibition, the artists were required
to make their boxes narrative in nature, telling a personal story about
their youth, their neighborhood, an immigration experience, if applicable,
or a story that reflects their heritage. Each artist was required to explain
their own story for the didactic labels. (left: Martina Johnson-Allen,
The Priestess, 1998, 25 x 12 x 11 inches; right: Gilda Pervin, Coming
of Age in Pittsburg, 2000, mixed media, 6 x 7.5 x 7.5 inches)
