The Arts at the University of Virginia is dedicated to building on innovative research and fostering inspired expression that equips us for the future.
Seven and a half hour performance engaging viewers, exploring modes of existence and the authority of museums in our society.
How does one exist in the world? This central question of the human experience lies at the heart of my practice. In my work, it becomes a question of identity (how to exist in the borderlands of race, nation, sexuality, and gender), a question of history (how to exist alongside the trauma of the past, both inside and outside of time and narrative), and a question of ethics (how to engage with others as an artist, a political entity, and a human being). I see the body as the starting point for any effective discourse surrounding these questions. It is the bridge between our selves and others, our connection to
our pasts, and our most basic and visceral tool for understanding our environment.
Recently, I have been interested in exploring forces of authority and forms of resistance. During my time as a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago I became interested in the tradition of display in the Western conceptualization of the museum and how this tradition served to perpetuate specific types of power. I’ve been exploring ways to “speak back” against this silent, invisible authority using a wide range of approaches such as bronze performance objects, image/text work, and performance interventions.
~Maya Mackrandilal
Painting the American Flag Projects by students in Prof. Sanda Iliescu's Painting and Public Art,
Arch. 5780
On view—
School of Architecture Exhibit: April 18–28
Elmaleh Gallery + Salon Walls + Corner Gallery
Final Fridays Reception: April 26 | 6–7pm 6 pm Gallery Talk with Sanda Iliescu and students
I used the flag because, as images go, it's a very powerful common ground. Everybody knows it, and everybody has feelings about it. It's a startling composition in many different ways. Impossible to miss, the stars and stripes give students a rich material to work with, both visually and symbolically. Politically and socially, the US flag can lead to interesting if difficult conversations. The fact that it has been used before by artists from the past (such as David Hammons and Jasper Johns) offers us an opportunity to study and reinterpret precedents in the recent history of painting.
On view— A mural at the University of Virginia Old Cabell Hall Map >
Lincoln Perry, one of America's foremost figure artists, painted the work in the tradition of mural painting that relates to the surrounding architecture. He incorporates the architecture of the lobby in the mural and the painting itself appears contiguous with the lobby space. The landscape is the view of the mountains south of the building.
The mural was commissioned by a group of U.Va. benefactors who also raised funds for it. They include Ruth and Robert Cross, Gertrude Weber, Richard Guy Wilson and Eleanor Wilson, and Donald J. Innes and Allison Innes.
On view— Between Clemons and Alderman Library Map >
Memorial to James Rogers McConnell, 1887-1917
Berlin Wall Andrew Salmon
Andrew Salmon Berlin Wall, 2009
On view— Outside Ruffin Hall
Andrew Salmon, a third-year studio art and foreign affairs major at the University of Virginia, recently won first place in an art contest sponsored by the German Embassy and German Information Center for his sculpture, "Without Walls."
The contest was part of "Freedom Without Walls," a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall held in late September at more than 30 college campuses across the United States. More >
Poetry Walk Permanent installation of the Hindsight/Foresight: Art for the New Millennium project, 2000
Agnes Denes Poetry Walk, 2000
On view— Near Brooks Hall & the Corner
American artist and scholar Agnes Denes brings the past, present and future together, commemorating the millennium and the area's rich heritage in the permanent art installation, "Poetry Walk," near Brooks Hall. Covering about 520 feet bordering on University Avenue, the project installation began April 24, 2000
At first glance the project near Brooks Hall may appear simple and straightforward -- 20 granite stones of various types and sizes laid flat into the ground. Upon closer inspection, how- ever, these stones should give passers-by pause. Carved into each one are excerpts from the writings of Thomas Jefferson, poems by contemporary and historical poets and writers of the area, and accounts from the history of Virginia that resonate for the whole country. Read more >
Photo credit: Stephanie Gross
Clark Hall Murals Allyn Cox
Allyn Cox Clark Hall Murals, 1930-1934
On view— Charles L. Brown Science and Engineering Library, Clark Hall
The murals in Clark Hall were painted by Allyn Cox on a commission from William Andrews Clark, Jr. who was the donor of the building. The project took four years from 1930-1934. Mr Cox (1896-1982) was responsible for painting and designing the murals in collaboration with Clark and Lile, Dean of the Law School. One of the nations leading muralists during the 1930’s, Cox was the son of the renowned artist, Kenyon Cox. He studied under his father and at the National Academy of Design in new York, and earned a fellowship in painting at the American Academy in Rome. Cox had worked with Clark before, painting the ceilings of the W. A. Clar, Jr., Library in Los Angeles between 1925 and 1927. Cox’s later works included murals for the George Washinton National Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, VA.; mosaic mural in Grant’s Tomb, New York City; completion of the frieze in the rotunda of our nation’s Capitol Building; and murals in the east corridor of the House Wing of the U.S. Capitol. More >
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