Stark Museum opens new photography exhibit

The Stark Museum of Art houses one of the finest collections of 19th and 20th century Western American art in the country. The collection focuses on the stunning land, dramatic people, and diverse wildlife of the American West. The museum, which began as a vision of H.J. Lutcher in 1927 with a shared passion of his wife Nelda, also holds a significant collection of American Indian art as well as collections of rare books and manuscripts and of decorative arts.

Playwright and novelist Mehmet Murat ildan expressed, “Photography is an art of teleporting the past into the future.” Those words can be explored, in person, in the Stark Museum of Art’s brand-new exhibition, “Enlarging the View: Contemporary Photography and Connections,” on display through Aug. 27. The exhibition includes a selection of contemporary photographs that each are paired with historic works of art from the Stark Museum’s collections. The exhibition offers the viewer the opportunity to make connections between the present and the past. This project pairs the photographs with historic works of art.

The exhibition includes over 90 works of art, including many new acquisitions on exhibit for the first time at the museum. Recent donations of contemporary photographs form the core of “Enlarging the View.”

“Our newest exhibition, ‘Enlarging the View,’ challenges guests to draw relationships between works that at first glance may seem wildly distant,” said Director, Exhibitions and Collections Ryan Farrell. “After careful consideration viewers will find shared elements connecting the works which really speaks to the value of perspective and experience.”

The Stark Museum received a significant donation of works through The Museum Project, a collaborative group of fine arts photographers. The group includes photographers working in a range of style and approaches. Represented from The Museum Project are Barry Andersen, Darryl Curran, Robert W. Fichter, Kenda North, Sheila Pinkel, Bonnie Schiffman, Michael Stone, Robert von Sternberg, Melanie Walker and Todd Walker. The exhibition will have a video on The Museum Project, interviews with two photographers, and a playlist for audio. 

Other photographers in the exhibit are Richard Buswell, William Clift and Don Russell. 

Museum staff members have related the photographs to historic works from the collection. The exhibition includes paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare books, decorative arts, Native American basketry and historic photographs. Among the many artists are John James Audubon, O.E. Berninghaus, John Gould, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Charles M. Russell. 

“We are very excited to present more contemporary works of art that provide new ways of seeing,” said Stark Museum Curator Sarah E. Boehme. “The photographs with the range of stylistic and technical approaches can be beautiful, challenging, humorous and more. By relating them with historic works, we hope the viewer will make connections and find bonds between what is now and what has passed.”

While you are at the Stark Museum of Art, view paintings, sculptures, prints, and rare books that also interpret the West from 19th century frontier artists to the 20th century artistic colonies in New Mexico and focus on the stunning land, dramatic people, and diverse wildlife of the American West. The museum features artists such as Frederic Remington, John James Audubon, John Mix Stanley and Charles Marion Russell. Also featured is a significant collection of American Indian objects, including baskets, pottery, clothing and jewelry.

Nestled in the heart of downtown historic Orange at 712 Green Ave., the museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, view starkmuseum.org or call (409) 886-2787.