UPCOMING EXHIBITION
Seeing an Exhibition Through An Artist’s Eye
Todd Herman
Chief Curator and Curator of European Art
The exhibition An Artist’s Eye, opening
to members on June 16, presents works
from our collection in a new way. The
premise is that an artist brings a different
‘eye’ and set of criteria to the table in
evaluating art than does a curator or an
art historian, whose training tends toward
historical context rather than artistic
practice. This different viewpoint – born
from a background of method, process,
creation and materials – can yield a new
and interesting perspective to the selection
and display of modern and contemporary
artwork from our collection.
The key to an exhibition of this nature is
?nding the right artist. We determined that
we wanted someone who was a respected
artist within the national scene, had the
length of career that would allow him
or her to put the artistic developments
of the last 50 years (the strength of our
modern and contemporary collection) into
perspective, was articulate and well-versed
in artistic styles and materials of the 20th
century, and, if possible, had a connection
to South Carolina.
It was not long before Sig Abeles rose to
the surface. Sigmund Abeles, now 75, was
born in New York but moved to Myrtle
Beach with his mother when he was 2
years old. He grew up in South Carolina
and earned his BA from the University
of South Carolina in 1955, after which he
followed his friend and classmate, Jasper
Johns, to New York City. At the time, New
York City had become the center of the
artistic world and Abstract Expressionism
had a strangle-hold as the artistic style. An
interesting dynamic of Sigmund’s career
(which is clearly manifest in his selections
Chuck Close, Phil/Fingerprint, 1981
Museum purchase with funds partially provided by Robert D. Ochs and Edward C. Roberts (CMA 1981.24)
for the exhibition) is that he remained true
to his calling as a ?gural artist in the face
of the juggernaut of abstraction.
It has been a delight to speak with Sig
about those years and his career as a well
respected professor and member of the
National Academy, and to listen to his
comments about the works and artists in
our collection – many of whom he knew
personally. Following is an edited selection
from an interview conducted with Sig after
spending many days working through over
2,000 of the modern and contemporary
works in our collection (the full interview
is available at columbiamuseum.org).
columbiamuseum.org
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