One World, Two Artists: John Alexander and Walter Anderson

David Camp
Jackson
Jour 271
October 4, 2011


One World, Two Artists: John Alexander and Walter Anderson


Walter Anderson and John Alexander paintings are being displayed at The University of Mississippi Museum from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Both artists show the influence of southern culture, time, color, and place through their paintings.

Both Anderson and Alexander shared the inspiration of southern culture that is seen within their paintings. Anderson, from New Orleans, Louisiana, mainly used watercolors on rich typing paper. His paintings show the beauty of trees, animals, bright colors, and zig-zags. He was also expressed his love of pelicans in his paintings.

Nancy Ashley, a Programmer in Dallas Texas, said that, “Anderson had a shimmering vision,” and that “He’s the Van Gogh of America.” Anderson paintings, in his time in the early 1900s, were affordable to the public and were innovative of folk art and classical art.

Alexander, from Beaumont, Texas, was very influenced by Anderson. His paintings were much larger and darker in color than Andersons. However, they both showed their love of paintings pelicans. Alexander’s “Herons and Skull”, is much like Anderson’s “Pelicans”.

Anderson and Alexander paintings show the beauty of southern culture and how the Gulf Coast was inspiration to the both of them. Their paintings will be displayed in The University if Mississippi Museum until December 3rd.



http://events.olemiss.edu/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=33622

Not Exactly There

           Oxford, Miss. Rectangular canvases with colorful, intersecting lines bring life to the otherwise bare, white room.  Grids of blues, yellows, and pinks run across the surface drawing the eye to patterns that create squares and rectangles in electrifying array. 

            The newest exhibit to Gallery 130 is titled Not Exactly There by artist Michael Willie.  When one walks into Gallery 130, they are immediately greeted with Willie's paintings.

“This exhibition exists as a distinct departure from my main mode of creation,” Willie said.

Willie describes this collection as entering the realm of non-objective painting.  For Willie these paintings represent a new stage of questions.  Willie explained that these questions begin to surface when he was a decade out of graduate school.

“I begin to think of the paintings as stand-ins for the constant questions rattling around in my mind,” Willie said.

            “We’re very excited about the exhibit being here,” Nicki Weaver, an administrative assistant at Meek Hall, said.

            Weaver went on to say that Willie’s style is unique and will draw attention.

            In the past Willie would base his paintings on exotic landscapes such as Rome or South Africa.  For Willie this collection represents an evolution from paintings that served as a “witness to a place” to answering the questions the audience might have in their minds when viewing the painting.

            Willie’s collections of paintings have been displayed in the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston as well as the Renaissance Suites Hotel

            Gallery 130 is located in Meek Hall which is home to the University of Mississippi’s Department of Art.  The gallery opened in 2003, and can feature exhibits up to six weeks.  Philip Jackson, an assistant professor at Meek Hall, arranges the exhibits.

Willie, who earned his MFA in painting from Bowling Green State in Ohio, will present a lecture on his painting in Gallery 130 on Thursday October 6.  A reception will follow afterwards.  

Southern Crossings: Where Geography and Photography Meet.

Barnard Observatory, one of the University’s oldest structures and once a member of the University of Mississippi’s astronomy focus, now houses the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. It is also home to Southern Crossings, a moving photo exhibit known to few and adored by many. (Left: An old truck photographed by Zurick)

The South, a place long defined by its extremely apparent divisions in racial and also social aspects of its people. One might ask what defines the South? What is the blood that courses through its veins? In 1996, David Zurick, a respected geographer with a knack for photography set out to figure out just what that might be. Over the course of a decade Zurick would travel through the highlands of Virginia, the Mississippi Delta, and even the emerging metropolitan areas of Atlanta. Using his skills he sought to combine the areas of geography and photography. He did this by successfully photographing objects, moments, and nature. Combining them all to define each of their respective locations. “I feel as if I’m photographing every scratch left in the South by its inhabitants.” Said Zurick concerning his work.

“David sought to find the reasons the South seems so exclusive. How one could inherit the term Southern Gentleman, Southern Belle, Outsider/Insider. He wanted to dig deep and uncover what truly defined Southern culture.” Said Mary Howorth, Event Coordinator at Barnard Observatory and curator to the exhibit.

The exhibit is located in the left wing of the Barnard Observatory, formally known as the Lynn and Stewart Gammill exhibit. It features many of Zurick’s classic black and white stills. The exhibit is also accompanied by an assortment of antique astronomy equipment dedicated to the Frederick Barnard. The exhibit is open to visitors Monday-Friday 8 a.m-5 p.m.

Faulkner's Exhibit at the University Museum

Advertisement for the Faulkner exhibit in front of the University Museum

July 12 is a very important date for many people all over the United States. This day marks the death of William Faulkner. “Faulkner’s Geographies: A Photographic Journey” opened July 12, 2011 at the University Museum in Oxford, Miss. to celebrate Faulkner’s life.

This year was the 38^th Annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference in Oxford.

“People come from all over the United States to tour Faulkner’s house, Rowan Oak, and to enjoy a conference. The conference hosts many different speakers and meetings as well as special parties at Rowan Oak,” says Sarah Dean, employee at the University Museum.

The exhibit opened specifically for the tourists visiting for Faulkner’s conference. The idea was for the visitors to tour Rowan Oak and then examine the pictures of Faulkner displayed in the University Museum.

Photographs from the permanent collection of Archives and Special Collections at the University of Mississippi Libraries are displayed in the exhibit.

“All the photos belong to the University Special Collections at the University Museum Collection. The exhibit does not travel because these photos can only be found here,” says Dean.

The museum displays 36 of Faulkner’s photographs. Most of the pictures show Faulkner in Oxford, but a few show him in Japan. Two of the most famous photographs hanging are “William Faulkner at Rowan Oak” (1947) and “William Faulkner in the Library at Rowan Oak” (1947) by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Dean explains that the exhibit has drawn a large crowd and even attracted the students who study Faulkner, history, and photography.

The museum is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. The exhibit will remain open until October 1, 2011.

http://museum.olemiss.edu/2011/05/faulkners-geographies/

Exhibition story

Wildlife, Alive.

Oxford, Miss --Nature. One World, Two Artists is the work of two men that pour their love of nature into every piece of work. Walking through John Alexander and Walter Anderson’s exhibit at the University of Mississippi’s art museum is less of an art show, and more of a wildlife extravaganza.

If there was ever a way to completely grasp the flora and fauna of the deep south, this is it. Animals in their natural habitats are portrayed in a different aspect with loud contrasting colors that make everyday animals seem like mythical creatures.

Turtles, alligators and a whole spectrum of waterfowl are portrayed so accurately that it feels like they are busting through the canvas into the room. While the two artists are very similar, the difference in their styles is evident when scanning the room.

John Alexander does most of his work on canvas using paint, charcoal and etching to show his side of the wild side. There is a definite tangibility to Alexander’s paintings that Anderson’s paintings do not seem to match. Alexander has a way of adding layers to his work that give them a realistic feel.

Walter Anderson depicts nature primarily with watercolors on anything from canvas to loose leaf paper. While his paintings are more flat and quaint, they have a more realistic look. Larry from Mobile, Alabama was familiar with Walter Anderson before he attended the exhibit.

“I own a piece of Walter Anderson’s work back home and I was very excited to see the rest of his work,” he said. “There is a just a way that he represents nature that makes him unmatched.”

John Alexander a native of Beaumont, Texas earned his MFA in 1970. He started a studio in Houston before moving to New York, where he currently resides. His works can be found in art museums and art collections nationwide.

Walter Anderson, born in New Orleans had the influence of his mother who was also an artist. After going to school in New York and New Orleans, he finished his education at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. After studying abroad in France, he came back to the United States where he traveled for 18 years painting everything in nature he possibly could. Most of Anderson’s works were stored in a vault in Ocean Springs, Mississippi when Hurricane Katrina came and the majority of them were destroyed. Although some of his art has been salvaged, his legacy is kept in the remains of his work today.

pictured above: There's a Bluebird on My Back, John Alexander.

Should We Mourn and Move Forward?

It was 10 years ago Sunday when the nation witnessed a day that will forever scar its memory. While many will never forget that day, some have grown cynical toward the events of 9/11.

“Where were you?”, “Never forget”, “The day the world stood still.” Each a phrase that can be linked to that scene 921 ft. above Manhattan’s financial playground, but as America reaches the decade mark it seems some grow weary of such mourning. The question has been posed as to whether or not America can overcome this great tragedy with this annual dip into depression,

“Let us mourn our lost and move on….for good. I’m as patriotic as the next American, but this year has taken the cake. It seems every news channel is either footage from 9/11 and/or the war waging in the Middle East. I can understand war coverage for the first half of the decade, but as the years have worn on it has just become stale and disinteresting.” Says Ashley Grantham, daughter of an Afghanistan War veteran.

Even novelists are finding it hard to produce 9/11 novels 10 years after the disaster. “at its heart, 9/11 was meaningless. I realize that sounds inflammatory, but hear me out. A novelist explores the winding and unwinding of long strands of cause and effect, in the reasons people do things and often the unanticipated results they get. And it’s hard to infuse that with the 2,996 deaths of 9/11. Those deaths were simply abrupt and unanticipated. AS is the case with most disasters.”

Said Laura Miller, Author of “The Magician’s Book” and senior writer at Salon during an interview with Newser.com

Could it be that 9/11, while a catastrophic scratch in our nation’s history, is just that….history?

Tracy Kisner, a resident of Water Valley said, “It was a national disaster, never to be forgotten by this generation or in future generations to come. That’s why we have these moments of silence yearly, to remind people of what we lost that day, and what we stand to lose every day. Grievance is not a sign of weakness.”

Art Gallery-Barnard Observatory

Oxford, Miss- The Barnard Observatory, here on the campus of the University of Mississippi features a gallery dedicated to Lynn and Stewart Gammill, a couple from Hattiesburg, Miss. who were avid supporters of the southern studies program at the university.

The gallery includes astronomical instruments and Southern inspired photographs that were taken in Florida, New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, Georgia and several other Southern regions.

The compilation of photos that were captured by David Zurick are called Southern Crossings: Where Geography and Photography Meet. Zurick is a student of cultural landscapes. “Photography is the visual language I use to examine landscapes and to share my thoughts about them, “ stated Zurick.

One photograph featured in the gallery was of a piece of desolate land in the Mississippi Delta. The caption read, “Silos and Approaching Storm, Washington County, Miss, 2005.” The image captured the emptiness and flatness of the land and how the storms continue to shape the land.

The unique astronomical instruments displayed in the gallery were Dent’s dipleidoscope, Babinet’s goniometer, a camera obscura, and Pike’s Transit Telescope, which was “used with a clock to observe the passage of celestial objects across the meridian.”

The gallery is endowed with a great deal of history about the South. Considering the contributions that the Gammils have made to the program for southern studies, some would agree it is very fitting to have the gallery dedicated in their honor.