Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Skate It or Hang It!? The Evolution of Skateboard Art At Museum of Design Atlanta June 16 – Sept. 16

This summer, the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) presents the raddest show in town, Skate It or Hang It!? The Evolution of Skateboard Art, which will open on June 16 and run through September 16. All summer, MODA will offer insane programming to go along with the exhibition that will have the whole city stoked.

Skate It or Hang It!? examines the visual aspects skateboarding, a sport important to contemporary youth culture since the 1970s, by presenting a broad range of styles, imagery, and visual expression in skateboard art. With a broad focus on skateboard graphics—in particular the styles and methods used to embellish skateboard decks—the exhibition will appeal to a broad range of skateboarders, designers and artists and to Atlanta’s youth in general.

Visitors will come to understand skateboard graphics in a variety of ways, as Skate It or Hang It!? will include a survey of skateboard art from the 1970s to the present day; original installations by Atlanta-based artists influenced by skateboard art such as Alex Brewer aka HENSE and Charlie Owens; interviews with VCJ and Jim Phillips, along with personal appearances and art by Sean Cliver, Andy Howell, Wes Humpton, Lance Mountain, Don Pendleton, and Steve Olson; an exhibition demonstrating the steps by which skateboard decks are fabricated and a nine-foot interactive skateboard sticker exhibition. There will also be interactive activities allowing children (and others) to design and create their own skateboard decks.

Skate It or Hang It?! was curated by W. Todd Vaught and is supported at MODA in part by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs.

About Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)
MODA opened in its new home in Midtown in March 2011, and is the only museum in the Southeast devoted exclusively to the study and celebration of all things design. MODA examines how design affects our daily lives through engaging exhibitions, K-12 educational outreach and exciting adult programming. MODA regularly features exhibitions of architecture, industrial and product design, interiors and furniture, graphics, fashion, and more. For more information, visit: www.museumofdesign.org or call 404-979-6455.


Museum Hours at 1315 Peachtree will be as follows:

Monday Closed
Tuesday 10am-5pm
Wednesday 10am-5pm
Thursday 10am-5pm
Friday 10am-5pm
Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 12-5pm

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Georgia Museum of Art at UGA to exhibit southern folk art

The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will feature works by southern self-taught artists from its permanent collection from April 28 to July 22. This display coincides with the museum’s exhibition of photographs by John Baeder, in the adjacent galleries, which focuses on street signs as folk art and American vernacular architecture.

Works by self-taught artists have been a recent area of focus for GMOA, and the display features acquisitions since 2006. Organized by Paul Manoguerra, chief curator and curator of American art at GMOA, “Southern Folk Art from the Permanent Collection” includes art by Mose Tolliver, Thornton Dial Sr., R.A. Miller, Purvis Young, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mary T. Smith, Minnie Adkins and Cheever Meaders, among others.

“The initiative to collect works by self-taught artists, especially from the South, continues to be important to the Georgia Museum of Art,” said Manoguerra. “This display celebrates these artists, our donors and this ongoing collecting enterprise.”

The major gift in January to GMOA by Brenda and Larry Thompson of works by African American artists is responsible for one of the works to be shown—Archie Byron’s sculpture “Homeless Man” made of sawdust formed into a moldable paste and then painted with house paint. Byron (1928–2005) was born and spent his life in Atlanta. Previous to his art career, he was a boyhood friend of Martin Luther King Jr., founded the first African American-owned private-investigator firm in the U.S. and served as a member of the Atlanta City Council.

Another highlight is Harold Rittenberry’s sculpture “Ode to Joy,” a large work in the welded metal the Athens-based artist uses as his medium. Given to the museum in 2009 by patrons Michael and Mary Erlanger, it is on display at GMOA for the first time since becoming part of the collection.

“Southern Folk Art from the Permanent Collection” also includes works given by GMOA Board of Advisors chair Carl Mullis and his wife, Marian, and by Ron and June Shelp, of New York, who have donated many works by self-taught artists to GMOA’s collection. Born in Cartersville, Shelp received his undergraduate degree from UGA in 1964.

The Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art are sponsoring the exhibition.

For high-resolution press-ready images, reply to this email or contact Hillary Brown at hazbrown@uga.edu or 706.542.1817.

Museum Information
Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the East Campus of the University of Georgia. The address is 90 Carlton Street, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. 30602-6719. For more information, including hours, see www.georgiamuseum.org or call 706.542.GMOA (4662).