"Freedom: A Fable, a Curious Interpretation of the Wit of a Negress in Troubled Times With Illustrations" is a 1997 handmade book by Kara Elizabeth Walker. The work is part of the collection of the Hunter Museum of American Art, a 1998 gift of Cleve Scarbrough.IF YOU GO* What: "Slavery: A Legacy Continued" exhibition.* When: Through Sunday, April 6.* Where: Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View.* Admission: $9.95 adults, $4.95 children 3-17.* Phone: 423-267-0968.* Website: www.huntermuseum.org.
The Hunter Museum of American Art has resurrected an exhibition focusing on slavery that was originally presented in a different format in 2005.
The first exhibition featured works by artists of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. This incarnation, titled "Slavery: A Continued Legacy," looks at the issue through the lens of more contemporary artists, using some works that have been acquired by the museum for its permanent collection within the last few years.
"While we have seen great strides in our nation in terms of racial issues, there are still many challenges ahead of us, and each of the artists represented in this exhibition offers a unique perspective on this rather complex topic," says Nandini Makrandi, chief curator at the Hunter.
"Slavery: A Continued Legacy," on view through Sunday, April 6, features a selection of works by black artists who develop this theme, from celebrations of freedom depicted by Jacob Lawrence and Elizabeth Catlett to the searing paper cuts of Kara Walker and the enigmatic responses to the long history of prejudice by Lorna Simpson and Carrie Mae Weems.
A related exhibit, "African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond" will open Friday, Feb. 14, at the Hunter.
"Il Mostro" is a 1998, 84- by 96-inch encaustic on canvas painting by Tony Scherman donated in 1999 to the permanent collection of the Hunter Museum of American Art, in honor of Julius L. Chazen, a gift of the Unus Foundation, Nanci and Steve Chazen and Jack Saks-Chazen.
Lesley Dill's "White Threaded Poem Girl" incorporates photo silkscreen, oil paint and thread on tea-stained silk.A two-month run of figurative art will close Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. "Go Figure" features nearly 40 works from the Hunter's permanent collection.
The selections, all from contemporary artists, examine the human form and the portrait from a variety of perspectives.
Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, noon-5 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $9.95 for adults, $4.95 for children 3-17.
For more information, call 423-267-0968 or visit www.huntermuseum.org.