Zanesville Museum of Art Opens Exhibition of Art Made of Wood
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Susan Talbot-Stanaway, Director
January 25, 2010 phone 740-452-0741 or susan@zanesvillemuseumofart.org.
ZANESVILLE MUSEUM OF ART OPENS EXHIBITION OF ART MADE OF WOOD
Wood and woody materials, such as bamboo, offer the artist or artisan many alternatives. “Going with the Grain” is a new exhibition featuring 52 pieces of art made out of wood. The oldest piece is a simple Egyptian mummy mask that dates to about 1,000 B.C. In fact, wood was one of the first media to be made into art, and it has been used to serve many artistic and cultural purposes. Included in the exhibition is sculpture with spiritual and historical meanings from Europe, the Americas, India, China, Southeast Asia, West Africa, and ancient Egypt. These include a fruitwood image of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child made in northern France in the 1300’s. From southern India, visitors will find sculptures of traditional Hindu gods and goddesses dating from the 1600’s to the 1800’s.
The natural beauty of wood has inspired artists and craftsmen to create decorative forms and turn functional objects into amazing objects. For example, there are turned bowls by Tom Laser, two intricate inlaid pieces by Zanesville’s Raymond W. Thomas, large and small abstractions by Rosanna Moore (Alexandria, OH).
As wood is often a handy material that can be shaped by simple means, it has been used for building models. The exhibition features Japanese and Thai house models and early wagon models and toys. Harry Hupp, formerly of Zanesville, was a whittler. His whimseys and toys are made out of a single block. The capacity of wood to take fine detail and paints has resulted in bird carvings by Gary J. Bryan, Nashport and Myron Jay Wood, formerly of Roseville, and a painted sculpture by Joan Quinn, New Concord.
The largest object is Chief Penokee; this life-sized “show figure” stood outside the Gobel Tobacco Store on Market Street in Zanesville beginning in the 1890s. He was carved by Thomas Brooks (1825-1895) of New York. These figures were made by the same artisans who made figureheads for ships. Whether simple and stylized or created with meticulous realism, show figures were commonplace on the streets of American towns and cities from the 1860s through the 1920s. They represent one of the largest and most expressive of all American sculptural traditions. They also tell us a great deal about the history of American advertising and cultural stereotypes.
Now open for view, the exhibition continues through April 24.
The Zanesville Museum of Art is located at 620 Military Road, Zanesville, OH 43701. Phone: (740) 452-0741; FAX (740) 452-0797. On the web, www.zanesvillemuseumofart.org. Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10 – 5; Thursday, 10 – 8:30; Saturday 9 - 5. Closed Sundays and Mondays.