Hanging Lorna Blaine Halper

Today we are hanging Lorna Blaine Halper's solo show at the Asheville Art Museum!

It opens on Saturday, December 12th. Opening Reception is Sunday December 13th at 2pm.

And it is Free.

Lorna Blaine Halper was a student at Black Mountain College, a unique arts school located just outside of Asheville. Although it lasted only 24 years, from 1933-57, and enrolled fewer than 1200 students, Black Mountain College launched a remarkable number of the artists. The Museum is dedicated to collecting and preserving the art of Black Mountain College and continues to expand its Black Mountain College collection.

According to Assistant Curator, Cole Hendrix, Halper's "visual practice became dominated by an obsessive, introspective and sustained meditation on the line. Throughout her career Halper continually played with the terms of seeing, manipulating value, tone and scale to evince the descriptive qualities of line."

Lorna Blaine Halper: The Space Between is going up in the Museum's Community Gallery on the first floor. It is split by the Museum shop so both spaces have to be considered apart from each other and also together within the larger context of the show.

The Curators and Registrar/Preparator determine where the works should go, taking into account shapes, sizes, themes, and colors so that the pieces flow in a logical and creative way for optimal viewing. Then, the Museum's Executive Director considers the placement of the pieces, making changes as

necessary. Afterwards, the prep crew measures and hangs each piece on the wall, securing each side for added strength. The wall text is then placed onto the wall in the appropriate places and the exhibition is ready to open to the public.

Come out and visit this exciting exhibition!

Image Credits:

Lorna Blaine Halper, Untitled, 1965, oil on canvas, 34.13 x 48 inches. Gift of Lorna Blaine Halper. Asheville Art Museum Black Mountain College Collection. 2008.03.09.21; Lorna Blaine Halper, Untitled, nd, oil and ink on linen, 60 x 48 inches. Gift of Lorna Blaine Halper. Asheville Art Museum Black Mountain College Collection. 2008.03.10.21; Staff hanging the exhibition.

Discovering the Art Museum's Collection

Last week we discussed the different ways in which people collect. The Asheville Art Museum collects American Art from the 20th and 21st centuries with a focus on the Southeast and WNC. The Art Museum can only show 3% of its collection in the permanent collection galleries at any one time. Currently, their are two shows up that focus on the permanent collection but this still only means that you can see under 10% of it in person at one time. With over 2,000 pieces in the permanent collection- not including around 5,000 architectural drawings- the Permanent Collection can be is a vast-if not daunting- resources. However, it need not be unattainable.

Here at the Museum, we are trying to give you more avenues in which to discover the art of the Permanent Collection. The Permanent Collection is of monumental importance to the Museum. It is, in a way, its greatest asset for it gives the Museum a focus, collecting boundaries, and of course, a reputation. It informs all aspects of its educational programming, its exhibition organization, and its fundraising goals.

This week, we have started a project called- Work of the Week - where one work from the Permanent Collection is the focus. What is it, who did it, how did we get it, does it glow in the dark? All of your questions will be answered here at

http://www.ashevilleart.org/Announcements/Work-of-the-Week.html

Now, you can access a large chunk of the collection by first- visiting us- and second- by looking at our online catalog.
http://www.ashevilleart.org/How-to-Use-the-Collection.html
It is fun!

As a regular Museum patron, I want to share with you one of my favorite pieces from the collection-

Garage and Trailer, Cherokee, North Carolina

Photograph by Cathryn Griffin

This image was purchased with funds provided by the Asheville Citizen Times in 1999. Griffin uses her beautiful talent to juxtaposes two very different buildings within one frame . By doing this, she comments on the geographic differences of 'place' that inform how we live and who we are. Human nature told through placement!

Visit our Permanent Collection site and tell me what piece strikes you. COMMENT below! (and link if you can so we can all see it!)