Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Roberto MattaLe Pianiste1956 Lithograph on paper, ed. 116/12523 ¾ x 16 ¾ in. Gift of John Welsh III, Class of 1959 When I first saw Matta’s lithograph, my first impression was that I was looking at a one-eyed dog turned into some sort of clock. The work catches your eye with its clash of geometric…

Back in February, Davidson’s Classical Public Radio posted an interesting series of interpretations based on our recent exhibition, “Auguste Rodin: Truth Form Life”. Due to the closure of the gallery during the nationwide quarantine, we wanted to share this unique connection between art and music to continue the conversation about Rodin in our community and…

Catherine Opie (American, b.1961)Emily, Sts, & Becky, Durham, North Carolina1998Chromogenic print40 x 50 in. Gift of John MacMahon, Class of 1995 I first studied Catherine Opie’s work in relation to Laura Aguillar’s work in an environmental studies course. Both artists have made work depicting queer bodies in Los Angeles and elsewhere. I am drawn to…

Happy weekend from all of us working remotely for the Van Every/Smith Galleries! we hope you are all staying healthy and safe. Here is a new intern introduction to add to your list of weekend reading. This week, meet junior Adrienne Lee! Name: Adrienne Lee Hometown: I am a nomad, but I always go back…

I have so enjoyed learning about my fellow interns (more to come…) but I figured it was time for me to introduce myself as the author of this series! Though my senior year was cut short in a devastating way, I have had time in quarantine to reflect on how the gallery introduced a strong…

This semester took many unexpected turns (for example, mandated quarantine and most of us leaving campus), but we still need to celebrate the hard work that our gallery interns put in this year. Some of them are even continuing to work for us remotely! Keep reading to get to know junior Emilie Hoke, one of…

Russell T. Gordon (American, 1936-2013)Hot Dog Bridge1974Lithograph on paper17 x 17.3125 in.Gift of Lakeside Studio Hello from day seven of quarantine in Seattle! When perusing Davidson’s permanent art collection, I immediately noticed Hot Dog Bridge, a colored lithograph created by Russell Gordon (American, 1936-2013). The piece offered a bright pop of color amidst the dreariness…

An interview with Davidson Studio Art major Ella Sams ’20 by intern Alice Berndt ’22. Name, Hometown: Ella Sams | Athens, Georgia What is your primary medium? I actually don’t have a primary medium. I will use whatever materials it takes to understand a life process or concept.  What was the inspiration for your show?…

Meet sophomore intern Sarah Jackson from Johannesburg, South Africa! Working in both the studio art and economics departments here at Davidson, she is an important member of our intern staff. Name: Sarah Jackson Major/minor: Studio Art major and Economics major Why did you intern in the gallery?: I wanted to try and understand a new…

Meet our fourth gallery intern, Grace Cho! As a junior art history major, she has experience with art and art history from both a classroom and professional point of view. Keep reading to learn more about why she is invested in the Van Every/Smith Gallery, in addition to interesting facts like her interest in minimalism…

In the third installment of our intern interviews, meet Blanchard Seniff (’22) and learn about his connection to both art history and studio art (and his colorblindness!) Name: Blanchard Seniff Major?: Art History Why did you intern in the gallery?: to learn more about possible ways to apply my art history major to real-world jobs.…

We continue to interview our wonderful interns by talking with Alice Berndt! Keep reading to learn about her art historical inspirations, favorite gallery experiences, and how the Davidson art department has impacted her life. Hometown: Maplewood, New Jersey Class year: Sophomore Major and Minor: English major and Art History minor Why did you intern in…

Read below for a short interview with gallery intern Cole Thornton! Keep checking back on the blog as we continue to introduce our entire team. Name: Cole Thornton Hometown: Nashville, TN Class year: Junior Major: Art history Why did you intern in the gallery?: I had some friends who did it and I was interested…

An interview with Davidson Studio Art major Jared McElveen ’20 by gallery intern Sarah Jackson ’22. Name, Hometown: Jared McElveen | Laplace, Louisiana What is your primary medium? I have been working mostly with animation, and that is the entirety of the show. All of my works in the show are made on Adobe programs, mostly…

From February 2nd to the 21st, Davidson students have been lucky to witness an entirely new sculpture being built by self-described “stick sculpture artist”, Patrick Dougherty, located on a piece of land between the union and the library. Similar to the Baik residency in the fall semester, this commission is unique in that the campus…

Gallery intern Helen Sturm (’20) continues to interview the senior studio majors as their exhibitions open in the Smith Gallery. Read below about Lindsey Owen’s unique musical influence, the intersection between digital and furniture design, and her future in the art world. Name, Hometown: Lindsey Owen | Charlotte, NC What is your primary medium? I…

After the opening of her senior exhibition in the Smith Gallery, Rebecca Pempek answered a few questions for us about her work and sources of inspiration, in addition to her plans for the future. Read below! Name, Hometown: Rebecca Pempek | Putnam, CT What is your primary medium? Mixed media (?) works on paper  What does…

Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863-1944)Woman 2 (The Woman in Three Stages)1895Etching and aquatint on paper Gallery Purchase In this installment of Seen From Storage, I have chosen an undated Edvard Munch etching, as Munch has been one of my favorite artists ever since taking Professor Larry Ligo’s Modern art class my sophomore year. However, before going…

We are at the point in the semester when everything seems to be accelerating uncontrollably. Thanksgiving Break is practically upon us, which means that the last week of classes and, moreover, exams, are just around the corner. It’s easy to feel like, in the blink of an eye, we will have visions of sugar plums…

            On October 22, anyone passing through the Union-Alvarez center might have noticed a brightly colored display of passports strung together next to several tables lined with papers and other craft-making supplies. Then, on October 29, you might have had a severe case of déjà vu seeing this colorful array appear again at the VAC.…

Mikael Owunna, a Pittsburgh native with Nigerian-Swedish heritage, creates work that focuses on the intersections of identity and nationality. His skills are also intersectional: he is an artist, a photographer, a Fulbright Scholar, and an engineer. Owunna graduated from Duke University in 2012, with dual degrees in Biomedical Engineering and History. Wasting no time out…

Last summer, I was lucky enough to be invited to English artist Antony Gormley’s studio in London. Gormley is a sculptor most well-known for his work creating pieces that represent the human body. His studio is a sprawling space in central London, just north of Kings Cross tube station, with indoor and outdoor spaces. The…

After introducing you to our first two resident artists, Jagath Weerasinghe and Yong Soon Min, it is time to finish our artist spotlight series with the final member of the Baik Artist Residency, Tintin Wulia. Once again, the Baik Artist Residency is occuring in the Van Every/Smith Gallery through the month of October, with the…

Jaume Plensa’s Waves III radiates outward in all directions in the form of brick paths. I find myself walking past it almost every day as the main campus sidewalks lead to, and diverge from, the sculpture. As a work of art, it is engaging and timelessly relevant. Letters from all different languages interconnect to form…

            From October 25 to November 3, the Davidson College Theater Department will perform William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. Standing at the crossroads of visual and performing art, the Galleries will decorate Cunningham Hall with various Shakespearean prints in preparation for the big show! These prints date to late-18th Century England, and cover the entire repertoire…

We have already introduced one artist of the Baik Artist Residency, Jagath Weerasinghe. Now, we are excited to introduce you to another, Yong Soon Min! Keep your eyes peeled for a third Artist Spotlight blog post about the third Baik artist, Tintin Wulia, in the upcoming days. Davidson College is lucky to welcome Yong Soon…

Over the next few days, we will be introducing each of the three artists who make up the Baik Artist Residency. For the entire month of October, each artist will be working in the Van Every gallery creating works for their combined exhibition, which will be on view from October 29th until December 11th. Today,…

Last spring, many students interning in the Davidson College Art Galleries graduated. Some also went abroad for a semester or two. Fortunately, this was balanced out by a number of talented and enthusiastic new interns who are just starting this fall. Among these new interns are two friends, Alice Berndt ’20 and Sarah Jackson ’20.…

While looking through the Davidson College Gallery archive, I had a difficult time deciding which piece to write about and where it fit in in my experience working in the gallery. I considered a fascinating and complicated Victor Vasarely print composed of deep purple, red and white. However, I have always been drawn to photography,…

Upon returning to campus in August, Davidson students were welcomed by a new addition to the campus’s collection of outdoor art – the painted steel sculpture titled Walking See Flower (2001) by Texan artist James Surls. Even I, as an art history major and gallery intern, was surprised by its presence outside of commons, as…

Although many of the students working in the Davidson College Art Galleries major or minor in the arts, this is certainly not the case for everyone. Students from the Physics, Biology, English, and Environmental Studies departments are all represented on our intern staff. Two such exceptional interns are Paul Stouffer ’21 and Elizabeth Young ’20.…

This past summer, the interns of the Davidson College Art Galleries explored all around the country and the world. Two long-time interns, Helen Sturm ’20 and Alexandra Zirinis ’20 travelled across the Atlantic Ocean, spending their summers in the United Kingdom. Helen, an Art History major who hopes to one day be a museum curator,…

Joelle Dietrick and Owen Mundy — spouses, artists and frequent collaborators — make art with a message. Their work deals with global trade, climate change and privacy issues in the Internet age. This isn’t art you buy to hang over the living room sofa. This is art designed to make you think. And maybe even…

Meet Yasemin Tekgurler! Yasemin is a Studio Art and Sociology double major from Istanbul, Turkey. On first glance at her senior show, you might think wax is her medium of choice, but during her time at Davidson, she has worked with many different media. In one of her favorite classes, Basic Sculpture, she was first…

Asking directions to the Davidson College Art Galleries over twenty-five years ago would have sent you to Chambers, where the College’s “exhibition space” consisted of a dark, cramped hallway located in the basement of the building. My own art history professors love to recount stories of the old days, when the entire art department consisted…

On April 14 from 11am-3pm, Davidson College will welcome more than 50 exhibitors for Queen City Zine Fest 1.5, a gathering space for makers of independently published, non-commercial zines, small press publications, and other printed matter to come together to share their work with each other and with the public at-large. These creators will come…

Meet one of our senior Studio Art majors, Quinn Massengill! Quinn is a Studio Art/English double major. While he started his English major very early on in his Davidson College career, Quinn’s passion for art evolved later, during his sophomore year. At the time, Quinn was writing stories, but also practicing figure drawing. His drawings…

As I progress through my final days as a student at Davidson, I am acutely aware of the most remarkable parts of being a student here. Among the things I’ll miss the most, my daily walk past Auguste Rodin’s sculpture of Jean d’Aire ranks high. Rodin’s sculpture entered the Davidson collection in 1993 on a…

If you’ve ever given or asked someone for directions to the Sloan Music Center, you’ve probably heard of the Spirit Waves Fountain sculpture, more commonly known by students as “the French fry sculpture.” Here we would like to note that, as artist Aristides Demetrios reminds, “you only nickname a person you’re acquainted with.” That is, here at…

Written by Lisa Rab, arts correspondent for the Charlotte Observer. In his quest to capture the shape of wind, Yinka Shonibare started with a hair dryer and a piece of fabric. The British-Nigerian artist sees movement as a metaphor for the migration of people – immigrants, slaves, refugees. He wanted his fiberglass sculpture to convey that…

Written by Elizabeth Young ’20 and Isabelle Sakelaris ’19 Passing through the atrium of the E. Craig Wall Jr. Academic Center, visitors can’t help but notice the giant video wall often used for presentations and lectures. When the wall is not being used for presentations, you can see a number of digital artworks, initially selected…

Angy Rivera is a Colombian-American immigrant who fled to the U.S. with her mother due to violence in Colombia when she was just a child. Now in her 20s, she is one of the most vocal undocumented youth activists. Rivera has two siblings who are American-born, and is experiencing the unique struggles of being in…

Yinka Shonibare’s Wind Sculpture (SG) I (2018) made its debut in New York City this past March with much media attention. Resembling a large scrap of fabric or a sail waving in the wind, the sculpture features Shonibare’s signature use of Dutch wax print and remarkably was the artists’ first public work in New York.…