Exhibitions in MARCH 2013

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This exhibition explores the topic of plants as medicinal treatment through a selection of sixteen engravings and woodcuts drawn from the Harn’s collection of herbal prints dating from the 16th to 18th centuries. Although few physicians or pharmacists grow herbs or compound treatments today, medicinal herbs were among the earliest of ingestible treatments. In the past, those who used plants to treat illness typically relied upon human and animal observation or employed traditional knowledge and superstition. Illustrated herbals and botanicals became a crucial form for conveying reliable information about plants and were critical to fostering knowledge based upon rigorous observation and consistent identification of species. Plants and Medicine is co-curated by Dulce Román, Curator of Modern Art, and Nina Stoyan-Rosenzweig, Archivist, Health Science Center Libraries. The exhibition is made possible by The Dr. Madelyn M. Lockhart Endowment for Focus Exhibitions at the Harn Museum of Art.

This exhibition highlights illustrated manuscript paintings from different regions of India and surrounding regions and their interrelationships to one other, like pearls upon a string. The paintings were inspired by musical and literary sources, historical events and varied religious traditions. When viewed together, they offer a glimpse into the richness of painting from India during the 17 – 19 centuries.

Pearls have been collected for thousands of years in South Asia, admired for their natural magnificence and prized for their exotic splendor. Traditional Indian painting is bursting with figures bedecked in precious gems, often including spectacular garlands of pearls and jewelry. Ornamentation was rarely worn solely for personal decoration, but often contained inherent symbolic meanings to communicate either specific ideas or messages from the wearer to the beholder.

This exhibition is organized by the Harn Museum of Art and is made possible by Ted and Hallie McFetridge with additional support from Central Florida Office Plus. String of Pearls includes objects from the Harn’s permanent collection and a selection of loans from Roy C. Craven, Jr. family collection and Norma Canelas Roth and William D. Roth. Special thanks to the affiliated faculty of CHiTra (Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions) and SPICMACAY (Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth) at the University of Florida for their scholarship and support. This exhibition is dedicated to the memory and legacy of the great University of Florida scholar of Indian art Roy C. Craven, Jr.

Every human culture has narrated its beginning and its worldview–including the phenomena and creatures of the world around it–through myth. This exhibition focuses on mythological beings in art from Oceania and Ancient America, using objects from the Harn Museum’s collection. Each object represents a fascinating character–a culture hero, a divinity, or a spirit being. Their attributes and deeds reflect human understanding of the cosmos and played a role in shaping social and cultural ideas for a particular group of people. Oceanic works are from Melanesia, including the Sepik River region, Papuan Gulf, New Britain and New Ireland of Papua New Guinea. Ancient American works are from Mesoamerica, Central America and the Andean region.

Printmaking in the Age of Rembrandt features prints by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and his contemporaries including Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617), Esias van de Velde (c. 1591-1630) and Jan Dirkszoon (1618-1652). These extraordinary—and at the time ground breaking—prints depict landscape, genre and maritime subjects, and a refashioning of portraiture and biblical and mythological narratives.

The exhibition includes more than 100 prints by thirty artists, and features nine of Rembrandt’s etchings and a substantial group of prints by Goltzius, who had a profound influence on Rembrandt. As a group, the prints bear witness to the growing interest among Rembrandt and his contemporaries toward depicting landscape, historical and literary subjects in a realistic and dynamic manner.

The exhibition is organized by the Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire, and is augmented by a selection of prints from the Harn collection as well as rare books and maps on loan from UF’s Smathers Libraries.

Download our gallery guide focusing on symbolism in the exhibition.

February 1 - March 3, 2013
The talented and dedicated docents at the Harn Museum of Art showcase their own artwork in the Chandler Auditorium during this annual event. A number of works in a variety of media are presented by the people who are inspired to share the museum’s collections through guided tours. These artworks reflect the variety of ways in which the Harn Museum docents’ interaction with the creative environment of the museum has sparked their own creative expression.

Surreal, Sexy, Sinister is the first solo exhibition of Berlin photographer Marta Astfalck-Vietz (1901-1993) outside Germany. The 18 reproduction photographs showcase her personal responses to the social, sexual and political transformations that shaped the German metropolis after WWI. Inspired by film and dance, they are all mediated realities in which human figures imply the figurative. Comprising mostly self-portraits, this show is a rich microcosm of creative registers: courage, humor and sexual passion. Surreal, Sexy, Sinister is curated by Dr. Katherine Tubb, University of Glasgow. Its presentation at the Harn Museum is made possible by a Faculty Enhancement Opportunity Award, Office of the Provost, University of Florida.

Joan Miró features three large-scale bronze sculptures by the artist. One of Europe’s most important 20th century artists, Miró was known for his paintings but also for his whimsical, playful and surrealist sculptures.

Why do we get scared? Why do we want to be frightened? Things That Go Bump in the Night explores the anxieties and fear people experience after the sun goes down. Popular sayings such as “scared stiff” or “frozen in fear” capture the moments we physically experience when confronted with unknown sights and sounds in the dark of night.

The Japanese works on display portray images of animals, spiders, demons, skeletons, ghosts, and other nocturnal creatures that may be haunting to those who encounter them.

Dated between the 14th and 20th centuries, these portrayals of artistic enchantments explore how human reactions can generate a feeling of fright. What these works of art all share is a connection to the human tendency to fear things that go bump in the night.

This exhibition features seven areas showcasing a remarkable group of international artists who work in multiple mediums from painting and photography to installation and film engaging a wide range of aesthetic and cultural concerns. This exhibition is made possible by the 150th Anniversary Cultural Plaza Endowment. Installations include:

Still and Moving Images
This Faculty Focus Exhibition explores the relationship between photography and cinema by juxtaposing contemporary European photography from the Harn with film stills from New German Cinema.

Social Media
Social Media focuses on issues of personal identity as expressed in a social and media saturated world.

Africa and Africa in America
Images in this body of work trace intertwining systems of economy and labor, both historically and in the present.

Lumination
Light is a scientific form of radiant energy but it is also related to cerebral and spiritual concepts of illumination and enlightenment.

Passages
This selection of works traces changes over geological, historic and personal time.

Art Film
Contemporary experimental art and documentary short films are featured in the Pavilion’s screening space.

Japanese Ceramics
Japanese ceramists work in a variety of scales to render objects of great precision and technical skill.

June 19, 2012 - March 17, 2013

This installation, drawn from the Harn’s permanent collection, displays a selection of recently acquired photographs by Anne Noggle. An acclaimed artist whose work is included in many public and private collections, Anne Noggle became a professional photographer at age 40, after serving as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) and as a captain in the US Air Force during WWII. Through self-portraits and photographs of family and friends, Noggle’s work explores female vitality, aging and beauty with an honest, respectful and sometimes humorous view. This exhibition is made possible by the Sidney Knight Endowment and the Fund for Excellence with additional support from the Harn Annual Fund.

Ongoing

The Cofrin Asian Art Wing contains four main galleries and two focus galleries with more than 680 works showcasing the Harn Museum’s collections in Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and South and Southeast Asian art. The inaugural installation of the David A. Cofrin Asian Art Wing is made possible through the generosity of the AEC Trust with additional support from the Londono Family Endowment. Installations include:

Ceramics: Avenues of Exchange
Ceramics from China, Japan, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia mark the transition space between the new wing and existing galleries to remind visitors that the Silk Road and Silk Maritime routes were points of new cultural contact. Ceramic wares across the regions will be displayed to create a visual dialogue that highlights the inspiration each culture owed the other.

Wit and Wonder of Kogo Incense Boxes: The Sandra G. Saltzman Collection
Kogo are small containers that house pieces of incense wood or blended aromatics for ceremonial use. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, designs and materials.

Sculptures: Religion in the Round
This exhibition features sculpture from throughout Asia made from stone, ivory and wood, dating as far back as the 4th – 5th century. It examines various religious traditions side by side to demonstrate the multiple forms and functions sculptures had across Asia.

Jades: Imperial Material
Chinese jades and glass works from the Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing dynasties (1644 – 1911) are featured in this exhibition. Intricate carvings of landscapes and animals, as well as vessels, demonstrate the importance of jade to China’s artistic traditions and creative imaginations.

Korean Art: Collecting Treasures
Paintings, ceramics, sculpture and folk materials from the first several centuries CE through the early 20th century are be on display. The majority of the works were given to the University of Florida in 1988 by General James A. Van Fleet. This exhibition is generously supported by the AEC Trust, Korea Foundation, and the Korea Cultural Heritage Administration. Korean Art Online Exhibition

Ongoing

This exhibition presents highlights from the museum’s holdings of modern American, European and Latin American art spanning the mid-19th century through the first half of the 20th century. Featured works include still life, landscapes, city views, mural studies, portraits and figural studies by more than 40 artists such as Claude Monet, Theodore Robinson, Auguste Rodin, Milton Avery, George Bellows, Isabel Bishop, Pedro Figari, Raphael Soyer and Hale Woodruff. In addition, the exhibition includes a special area devoted to works on paper that rotates about every six months. The current installation, “Women of Art and Science,” includes a selection of botanical prints by women artists. The exhibition is made possible by the Eloise R. Chandler Program Endowment.

Ongoing

Comprised of works from the Harn Museum’s African collection, A Sense of Place features objects from homes, palaces, shrines and other sacred spaces, including sculptures, paintings, ceramic vessels, textiles and architectural elements such as doors, window frames and roof ornaments. Groupings of objects suggest particular 20th century spaces, including an Owo Yoruba ancestral shrine, a Yoruba palace, a Bamana tent dwelling, an Ethiopian church, a Somali pastoralist home, Igbo guardian deity shrines and a men’s communal house. Contextual images accompany each display and give the viewer a sense of how art enhances and defines spaces for everyday activities, worship and royal courts. The exhibition is made possible by the Harn Program Endowment.