MU Campus Gallery Culture Crawl includes art from UMKC

The event included works from different professors and a graduate student.

By Andrew Bach

Published Oct. 10, 2008

With the election nearing, politics met art at the fourth-annual MU Campus Gallery Culture Crawl.

The Tuesday event included galleries where students, faculty and community members could experience art and culture of all kinds while enjoying treats.

"Our goal is to encourage more people to understand that there is a lively art center here on campus," Craft Studio coordinator Kelsey Hammond said.

In its first year, the event showcased three galleries, though it expanded to include five this year.

"Each year it gets bigger," said Christine Montgomery, a photograph specialist for the State Historical Society.

The historical society featured original political cartoons from famous artists, including Pulitzer Prize winners Daniel Fitzpatrick and Tom Engelhardt. The chronological arrangement by artists gave a viewer a history lesson in the form of cartoons.

"It's a way to make history and elections fun, it enlivens things," art curator Joan Stack said.

Montgomery said she believes a student can benefit from experiencing political cartoons from decades ago.

"Things may change, but it's still relevant today," said Montgomery, referring to one of Engelhardt's pre-election cartoons.

The Museum of Art and Archeology displayed a variety of exhibits, including 8-foot-tall sculptures of Greek Gods, Egyptian artifacts and Middle Eastern pottery. The time periods of the artwork ranged from the B.C. era to modern art.

"A well rounded education includes art and culture," assistant director Bruce Cox said.

Wooden Arts of Papua New Guinea was the featured exhibition of the Museum of Anthropology. Authentic masks and wooden carvings from the island of Papua New Guinea were just one example of cultural art in the museum. The museum's permanent exhibition of Native American culture was also open for the Culture Crawl. On display was the museum's collection of Southwest pottery and Navajo weavings.

"Something in here will touch everyone in some way," associate curator Candace Sall said.

Professors from UM-Kansas City presented their art at The George Caleb Bingham Gallery. The art consists of photographs, paintings and film art, and is all an example of the work of artists at UMKC. Bingham Gallery director Daniel Farnum said UMKC also displays work from professors at MU. He said the exchange of artwork works as an advantage to both schools.

"It promotes teachers' art and it works to build more of a relationship with the school," Farnum said. "We try to make a community out of it."

The Craft Studio Gallery had a solo exhibition of graduate student Ming Zhou, called "'Glorious' Life." The colorful acrylic on canvas paintings criticize the changing lifestyle of middle-class China, she said.

"It's blind worship of American culture," Zhou said. "Everyone in China now wants their own car, but there really isn't much need for it."

Her showcase was the only student exhibition in the Culture Crawl.

This is the first year the Culture Crawl has included a raffle for attendees. Visitors were given a postcard at the first gallery they went to, and each subsequent gallery offered a different stamp. A person with all five stamps could enter his or her card in the raffle. Prizes included gift certificates, art supplies and a chocolate bunny.