on view in the WILSON ORIENTATION CENTER & WILLIAMSON GALLERY
Principally Paper
December 2, 2017 through February 11, 2018
November 25, 2017 through January 21, 2018
Moonlight and magnolias may characterize the South in the imagination of many people, but few southern photographers have turned their cameras on these subjects. However, the enigmatic ruins of Windsor, an antebellum mansion, captured the attention of Clarence John Laughlin and other artists, while country churches and baptism ceremonies stimulated artists to document these distinctive southern structures and associated religious rituals. Like their northern counterparts, many southern photographers have pictured the landscape and some have made portraits of their contemporaries. Friends and families, community elders, and renowned artists have all become camera fodder for intrepid photographers whose work is in the collection of the Museum.
Ever since the invention of paper in ancient China and the migration of papermaking to Europe in the 10th century, artists made use of the material in tandem with publishers. Whether intended to hold text and images or as a support for paintings or illuminations, paper has a very long history in the art world.
Organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts The Museum is grateful to exhibition sponsor River Bank & Trust.
Edward Russell Whiteman (American, born 1938), Stone #9, 1977, mixed media on paper, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Robert Gordy, 1981.7
Clarence John Laughlin (American, 1905–1985), The Enigma, 1941, gelatin silver print on paper, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association Purchase in memory of Adolph Weil, Jr., with funds provided by Montgomery Masters, 1996.1 10
Paper as a primary material is the theme of this exhibition. It features works from the MMFA permanent collection that are substantially created from handmade paper using the traditional technique of pressing fibers from organic sources like wood, grass, or cotton into flexible sheets. Modern and contemporary artists use paper as supports for paintings and prints, and many use the material for construction purposes.
on view in the WEIL GRAPHIC ARTS STUDY CENTER in the GALLERIES
Southern Accents
Clinton J. Hill (American, 1922–2003), Untitled, 1981, handmade paper and dye pulp, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of the Clinton Hill/Allen Tran Foundation, 2015.4.1a-e 11