Clark Atlanta University Art Museum
Atlanta Art Week Event:
Guided Tour | Westside
Wednesday, October 4, 2023 | 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tours will begin at the top of each hour.
223 James P. Brawley Dr., S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30314
Visitor parking Student Movement Blvd (Fair) and Mildred St
About:
The tours of the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum will include the "Art of the Negro" murals by Hale Woodruff and the four exhibits on display in the gallery: "From Black Spring of the Eternal," "The Audacious Platform," "Wilay Mendez Paez: Portals to a New World," and "Hidden Gems: AUC Faculty & Staff Exhibition."
About CAUAM: Clark Atlanta University Art Museum's purpose is to collect, preserve, research, and exhibit fine artworks that document the role of African Americans in American history and culture. The primary goal of the institution is to maintain and cultivate a representative collection of American and African Diaspora art and to encourage scholarly research giving special attention to the development of African-American artists in relation to the historical context of American art and transnational art historical movements.
Through increased accessibility, CAUAM serves the interests and goals of the university by providing a range of aesthetic and educational experiences for both the CAU community and the general public. Exhibitions and related programs are designed to enhance the cultural and intellectual development of these communities through the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of important works of art. In serving both the academic goals of the institution and public interests, CAUAM disseminates knowledge about and stimulates interest in the permanent collection via special programs, information services, publications, and cooperation with other museums and cultural/educational institutions.
Hours of Operation:
Sunday: Closed
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday: Closed
Current Exhibitions:
The Audacious Platform
The Audacious Platform foregrounds the significance of Clark Atlanta University as a site for the display and critical examination of African American art from the forties until the present. A limited survey of the permanent collection, it includes works acquired during the Atlanta Annuals (1942-1970), which was an ambitious and surprisingly bold endeavor that emphasized African American art in an era when black art was rarely considered in mainstream institutions. The works from the Annuals are contrasted with later acquired pieces that provide insight into the institution’s presentation of African diaspora art from the American and Global South.
From Black Spring to the Eternal
Inspired by Charles Alston’s 1962 painting Black Spring and a work from David Driskell’s Young Pines series, this exhibition highlights depictions of natural scenery and their metaphorical implications from the permanent collection. Ranging from visual commentaries about sociopolitical issues to the idea of transcendence, these works, which were created from 1905 to 2015, encourage reflection on the ways African American artists engage rural, urban, and cosmic landscapes to convey ideas about their place within society. It also draws attention to explorations of humanity in relation to spiritual and celestial realms.
Wilay Mendez Paez: Portals to a New World
Wilay Mendez Paez: Portals to a New World provides insight into the artistic practice of the Atlanta-based, Afro-Cuban artist. Wilay is the inaugural fellow for The Workshop, a multi-year Clark Atlanta University Art Museum initiative that seeks to close the distance between artist and audience by highlighting the steps fundamental to the creative process. The artist will conduct a series of public workshops illustrating the role of writing, sketching, and modeling in his work. He will also expand an existing project that uses sculpture rather than face covers to give visual form to masks as a broad concept. Masks, for Wilay, are more than a form of disguise and ornamentation. His sculptures, similar to performances in costumes in African and African Diaspora masquerades, draw attention to objects as conduits for reflection about social interactions. They conceal, protect, and serve as a site for developing new vantage points.
The exhibition includes drawings, collages, and sculptures that show how Wilay moves from a vague, not fully formed idea to the realization of a material object. His drawings experiment with bold lines and color contrasts before serving as the basis for his sculptures. His collages carefully combine fragments of ruined buildings, debris from car wrecks, and pages of old books with fine lines, paint, and, at times, shading from burn marks. Inspired by urban decay and decline, this body of work shows how discarded materials can be recuperated for use in a new context. Damaged and cast-off things, therefore, become a gateway, or portal, to a world of possibilities.