Unhindered by Seriousness Sculpture by Carl Blair

Opening July 3 at the Morris Museum

Anyone that loves animals can’t be all bad. - Carl Blair

Unhindered by Seriousness: Sculpture by Carl Blair features 22 polychrome wood relief sculptures, as well as free-standing three-dimensional works by one of South Carolina’s most admired artists. The exhibition opens Saturday, July 3, 2010 at the Morris Museum of Art and remains on display through Sunday, August 29, 2010.

“Using nature as a point of departure, Blair has created a world populated by whimsical, three-dimensional animals of his own creation,” said Kevin Grogan, director of the Morris Museum of Art. “Most of these creatures are derived from barnyard animals that find themselves in precarious, humorous, or dire situations and pursuits. The artist’s good humor and bracing world view are amplified by his use of color, expressive line, and intriguing titles for his sculptures.”

“Animals have reoccurred in my sculptures for years,” said artist Carl Blair. “I grew up on a farm, so as a young boy, I was surrounded by animals—we had coon hounds, chickens, and pigs and our neighbors had Brahma bulls, cows, and goats. Animals are like people, they are unique; they have their own personalities and own souls; some are mean and some are nice.”

Typically, Blair does not walk into the studio with an idea of what he is going to create. He begins working and the object or animal changes as he works on it. The animal then takes on a story, theme, or song lyric. For example, Live Free or Die is about patriotism (Blair is a Korean War veteran) and Billy Goat Gruff is based on a poem from Blair’s youth.

Born in Atchison, Kansas, in 1932, Blair is a painter and sculptor who was a professor of art at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina for more than 41 years. Now retired, he continues to create and exhibit throughout the Southeast. Blair has a long history of awards and exhibitions. His work has been featured in previous exhibitions at the Ringling Museum of Art, the Hunter Museum of American Art, and the Greenville County Museum of Art.

Carl Blair will discuss his work Friday, July 16, at noon during the Morris Museum’s Art at Lunch.. Members, $10; nonmembers, $14. Lunch by Moe’s Southwest Grill. Paid reservations due July 14.

The Morris Museum of Art was founded in 1985 and opened to the public in 1992. It is the oldest museum in the country that is devoted to the art and artists of the American South. The museum’s permanent collection holds approximately five thousand works of art that date from the late-eighteenth century to the present. The Morris is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., and on Sunday, noon–5:00 p.m. For more information about the Morris Museum of Art, visit www.themorris.org or call 706-724-7501.

Morris Museum of Art
Augusta, Georgia I 706-724-7501
www.themorris.org

---
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga
Read our other Arts related blogs:
http://backstagegeorgia.blogspot.com/
http://musicmattersga.blogspot.com/
http://hummingbirdhollowstudio.blogspot.com/
http://georgiaswriter.blogspot.com/
http://artzapalooza.blogspot.com/
http://dancingacrossgeorgia.blogspot.com/
http://gaclicks.blogspot.com/
http://secallsforentries.blogspot.com/
---
Also check out :
www.Hummingbird-Hollow.com
Twitter: @hhpotterystudio
www.HorizonsLTD.com
www.SoftCoolers.com
www.ClothesLessTraveled.org
---