Dionte Berry
Staff Writer
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With an ominous overtone and a sense of isolation, the “New Normal: The Past Reflecting the Present” art exhibition utilizes works from the past to comment on today’s reality of COVID-19 and social distancing.
The group showing is comprised of pieces from former Murray State students, professors from the art and design department and artists who have exhibited before and visited the school.
The art and design department had another exhibition planned but had to cancel it because of COVID-19. Timothy Michael Martin, exhibit curator and director of Murray State galleries as well as associate professor of art and design, had originally planned to do non-traditional exhibitions that would require hands-on audience participation, but that would not have been possible because of COVID-19 policies.
With the cancellation, Martin thought in its place he should set up something reflective of what’s happening now.
“We are going through a pandemic, so we used our current situation as inspiration for a show,” Martin said. “Using our collection at Murray State, we have over 1,500 pieces within the collection to choose from.”
Martin was inspired by a painting in the collection that was representative of the current situation.
“I stumbled across a piece with a figure in the darkness that’s wearing a mask over their face and that inspired the ‘New Normal’ exhibit,” Martin said.
The works chosen for the exhibition all share similar emotions. Many of the pieces are depictions of empty spaces, figures alone in an ominous setting or people with their faces covered. All of these pieces have original meanings by the artists, but have been reconceptualized through the lens of life now.
“Their pieces may not conceptually be what the artist originally intended it to be,” Martin said. “They had no idea their works would be a reflection of our time of Zoom classes, social distancing and COVID-19.”
The pieces on display were created between 1910 and 1990 and are all two-dimensional works, including drawings, prints and paintings. Martin said he was steered toward curating a two-dimensional exhibit in order to create an open space for guests to social distance.
Despite the age of the pieces, Martin doesn’t see their lack of modernity as relative to their impact.
“A painting or drawing is like a book; just because it wasn’t created yesterday or within recent time doesn’t mean it can’t be appreciated or interpreted or provide some form of commentary in the present,” Martin said.
Although this wasn’t the original plan, Martin is happy that the current pieces on display are giving the audience something they can connect to.
“I enjoy when I can tell that the viewer has a connection to a certain work,” Martin said. “These works from the past have this activation of their space and how they were made and created that they can still connect with our contemporary viewers.”
Martin said he’s happy to see these works having an impact because some of them have been stowed away for decades out of public view.
The exhibit also serves as a symbol of how current emotions or moments can provoke creativity and serve as inspiration.
“The exhibit encourages people to think critically about our current condition,” Martin said. “It can also inspire and transform students’ emotive responses and help them obtain understanding of our current situation.”
The exhibit is located in the Eagle Upper Gallery on the seventh floor of the Price Doyle Fine Arts Center and will be on view until Sept. 16.
