Visiting the Harn Museum of Art at University of Florida

"Cardinal Meditations II" by Kenneth Kerslake (1983)

Here's a shocker -- I try to work at least one art event into any travel plans. And so when I visited my nephew at University of Florida in Gainesville, I made time for a visit to the Harn Museum of Art. It was definitely a worthwhile stop. 

"Speechless: Text & Image in Global Culture" had some terrific works that showed "how words, aesthetics and materials have supported religious, political and socio-cultural agendas for millenia." While the exhibit contained some stunning artifacts -- including a 19th century Ethiopian protective scroll you can see by clicking here -- I was drawn to the more modern works, like Kenneth Kerslake's "Cardinal Meditations II." 

Kerslake was a renowned printermaker who taught at the University of Florida for almost 40 years. He spent time in Cortona, Italy where he learned about Etruscan texts such as the Tabula Cortonesis. (As an aside, the 2200 year old bronze tablet was found at a construction site in Cortona in 1992. It is thought to be notarized documentation of either a real estate transaction or a will. Lawyers were much more succinct in those days.) Kerslake replicates Etruscan writing as the background of his Cardinal series, with the Cardinal being a stand-in for Kerlsake himself and a reference to man's mortality. Some of the writing on the work quotes from a section of Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." Click here to read the poem. It is nearly as incomprehensible to me as the Etruscan writing but apparently has to do with celebrating the lives of the commoners buried in the cemetery.   

"White Hinged Poem Dress" by Leslie Dill (1994)

Speaking of poetry, I loved Lesley Dill's "White Hinged Poem Dress." Portions of the poem "This World is not Conclusion" by Emily Dickinson are carved out of the metal sculpture. I particularly like the phrase "Narcotics cannot still the Tooth/That nibbles at the soul." 

Dill is a multi-media artist who "works in the intersection of language and fine art." It was Dill's mother who turned her on to poetry -- through the work of Emily Dickinson. Dill has said she never liked poetry, thinking herself "too speedy" for it. She'd automatically skip to the bottom of the page rather than contemplating the words line by line. 

On the occasion of Dill's 40th birthday, her mother gave her a book of Dickinson's poetry. A brave and optimistic present for someone who wasn't a poetry lover. Dill was not particularly thrilled with the gift, thinking she had no interest in Dickinson's words. But as she reluctantly began reading, she recounts having a reaction similar to what happens when you take your first sip of a strong drink. "The words went into my mind and body before I could even process them." Dill says her world -- and her art -- changed that day. To see a short video in which she talks about this moment, click here. To see more of Dill's dresses, click here. To read an interview in which she talks about the inspiration for her dress works, click here. And to go to Dill's website, click here.  If you're getting the sense that I'm happy to have discovered her work, you're right. 

"Untitled, from the Eatonville Portfolio" by Carrie Mae Weems (2003)

Then there was "Untitled, from the Eatonville Portfolio" by Carrie Mae Weems. I might not have paid attention to this work had I not recently seen an exhibit of photographs by Weems and Dawoud Bey at the Tampa Museum of Art. Although I knew Weems' name, I wasn't aware that she paired so many of her works with text. (Her "Kitchen Table" series was on display at TMA along with the accompanying narrative. I wish I'd spent more time with it.) 

The Eatonville Portfolio pays tribute to the Florida home of author, filmmaker and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston of Harlem Renaissance fame. Eatonville is the oldest Black incorporated town in the United States. The atmosphere in this photo is thicker than the moss hanging from the trees. There's no question you're in the South. 

"Obiribea" by Jeremiah Quarshie (2016) 

The exhibit "Global Perspectives: Highlights from the Contemporary Collection" was also a treat. As I walked into the gallery, I saw what I thought was a huge photograph across the room. I was amazed to find that it was instead a hyperealistic painting by Jeremiah Quarshie. 

Quarshie was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, a community where water is a political issue. In his "Yellow is the Colour of Water" series, he depicts Ghanian women from various walks of life with the ubiquitous Kufuor Gallons. He often arranges the containers in the manner shown here to create a throne of sorts, albeit one for the masses. 

In Accra, the water supply is uncertain from day to day. Sometimes the water flows freely; other days the tap runs dry. You wake up every morning not knowing which it will be. As a result, residents spend a good deal of their time in search of water to fill their Kufuor Gallons. (The containers are actually two and a half gallon containers originally filled with cooking oil. They are named "Kufuor" after Ghanian President John Kufuor who held office during the water crisis of 2001-2009. The crisis still exists today.) Not surprisingly, this task generally falls to the women. Quarshie honors their work in this series. To see more of Quarshie's paintings, click here. And for a story about the use of Kufuor Gallons in Accra, click here. 

And so close my musings on my latest art outing. For more on the Harn Museum, click here. If you're in the Gainesville area, it's worth a visit.