| January
9, 2002 Bradbury Gallery Exhibition defies stereotypes of Jamaican culture The Bradbury Gallery in the Fowler Center at Arkansas State University presents "Soon Come: The Art of Contemporary Jamaica." The exhibit opens Thursday, Jan. 31, at 5 p.m. and runs through Friday, March 8, according to Les Christensen, interim director of the gallery. This exhibition brings together works by 20 artists working in painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, and textiles. The exhibition title is taken from the Jamaican vernacular expression "soon come," which translates as "Great things happen when the time is right." The works reflect western artistic influences, such as expressionism and minimalism, but they also deal with issues of slavery, immigration, and the history of this former British plantation colony. Jamaica has been independent only since 1962, and its development as a nation in the modern world has often been turbulent and painful. This is vividly reflected in Jamaican art and culture today, which revolves largely around explorations of ethnicity and cultural identity. A major theme of the exhibition is an exploration of the stylistic and conceptual differences between those artists who studied in the United States and Europe, and those who rely on the learned artistic traditions of Jamaican art. Soon Come showcases the work of some of the premier artists working in Jamaica today, including David Boxer, Hope Brooks and Cecil Cooper, as well as Jamaican artists living and working abroad, such as Albert Chong and Bryan McFarlane. These works, by artists with diverse ethnic backgrounds and artistic training, defy many stereotypes of Jamaican culture. The Nebraska Arts Council, the Edna Manley School for the Visual and Performing Arts, and ExhibitsUSA organize Soon Come. A color catalog includes essays by David Boxer, Ph.D., Director of the National Gallery of Jamaica, and Veerley Poupeye, a respected art historian of Jamaican and Caribbean art. Poupeye's recent publications include Caribbean Art (1998), which was published in Thames and Hudson's noted World of Art series. The purpose of ExhibitsUSA is to create access to an array of arts and humanities exhibitions, nurture the development and understanding of diverse art forms and cultures, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities. ExhibitsUSA is generously supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the H&R Block Foundation, the Cooper Foundation, the Richard Florsheim Art Fund, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C. and Sprint. The Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund enabled ExhibitsUSA to produce many of the high-quality museum exhibitions currently available at an affordable price. ExhibitsUSA is a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a private, non-profit organization founded in 1972 and assisted by the NEA, its six partner state art agencies, and private contributors. Bradbury Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. The gallery is located in Fowler Center, which is on Olympic Drive just south of the Convocation Center. For additional details, contact Fowler Center, (870) 910-8115. # # # |
 University Communications Office Jonesboro, Arkansas Staff: Tom Moore Straley Snipes Vic Nelson 870-972-3056 fax 870-972-3069 Send mail: ASUnews@astate.edu Links: List of News/Announcements Upcoming Public Events About ASU ASU Home Page |
|
|
NewsPage: asunews.astate.edu/newspage.htm | Back to TOP | |