College is a time of soul-searching for many students, a formative period during which much is discovered or shifted about identity. Questioning the perception of self in terms of ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status often feels like a shortcoming — aren’t we supposed to have all the answers by this point?
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art could have just the thing to allay those fears with its newest exhibit, “The Human Touch: Selections from the RBC Wealth Management Art Collection.” The exhibit delves into all those tricky questions of identity and the human condition with stunning artwork.
The exhibit’s curator, Don McNeil explained the mission behind the art collection.
“From the beginning, they decided to focus on a couple of themes,” McNeil said over the phone from New York. “The firm wanted art that had to do with the human figure and the human condition.”
The methods and effects of the portrayals are wide-ranging. At the right end of the gallery is a work by Vik Muniz entitled “Individuals,” which is a photograph of a depiction of his own creation: a sea of human faces and figures outlined in chocolate syrup.
From there you’ll find “Les Femmes du Maroc #21 B” by Lalla Essaydi, which features an Muslim woman from a rear perspective, giving the audience full view of her uncovered hair and the calligraphy which covers the entirety of the work.
“Calligraphy is a high art form that men are supposed to be in charge of … and this is actually the artist’s diary overlaid,” said Jill Hartz, executive director of the JSMA.
Although the painting next to it, “Radiant” by Julia Jacquette, focuses instead on the manicured hands of 1950s and 1960s women. Both express subtle but powerful commentary on the roles of women within their respective cultures.
UO student Sydney Talbott was particularly drawn to “Radiant” when she visited the exhibit over the weekend.
“I really like the hands as objects of desire,” Talbott said.
The works in the exhibit encompass a vast range of cultural and social experiences, which was a chief concern of Hartz’s when she organized the exhibit.
“Diversity in age and culture was really important to me, especially after the Kara Walker show (the museum’s last major exhibit in the Barker Gallery.) We have art from major Native American, African American, Latino and Asian American artists,” Hartz said. “It’s really interesting to see how they approach the human figure. I tried to cover all those bases so that I would have a show that … explores this idea of what it means to be human.”
The exhibit will be at the JSMA until Sept. 14 and entry to the museum is free for UO students.
“The Human Touch” is worth seeing not only because it features art from world-class artists but also because it raises important questions about identity and the ways in which humans see themselves and others.
As Hartz described it, “The artists are negotiating their physical place in the world, and that’s what we are all doing every day.”
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