Things with feathers — Guests visiting the gallery had the opportunity to eat “bird food,” which was provided by the 1920 Gallery.

The 1920 Art Gallery in the Barnes Student Center premiered its first student show of the year, “Things with Feathers,” Monday, Oct. 11.

Katie Walsner (sr), the curator of the 1920 Gallery, said that the show was inspired this past summer from the poem “Hope” by Emily Dickinson. Displayed at the entrance of the show were these lines from the poem:

“Hope is the thing with feathers —

That perches in the soul —

And sings the tune without the words —

And never stops — at all —”

“Things with Feathers” offers a broad range of art pieces. Displays consists of oil and acrylic paintings, ink and watercolor pieces, some photography, a conceptual piece and even stained glass all pertaining to nature and birds.

Bird food, consisting of assorted cereal and dried fruit, was set out for attendees to enjoy as they viewed the creations on opening night.

Walsner organizes all of the student shows for the semester and wants the gallery to be a “creative space where people can come in and soak it all up.”

“I want this to be a welcoming environment,” she added.

The 1920 Gallery uses its space in IWU’s Student Center with creativity. While mostly art students submit their work, anyone is invited to share his or her talent. E-mails are sent out to students whenever the gallery is having a new show; after an e-mailed submission the artist is notified whether it will work with the show or not. If after being displayed the work is sold, 25 percent of profits go to the gallery and the rest go to the artist.

Things with feathers — Joshua Whittum (fr) and other students gather to view artwork in the 1920 Gallery during the first art showing of the season.

Roommates Shannon Sutton (jr) and Angela Knisley (jr), who both have paintings displayed, had previously planned this summer to have a vintage theme in their Kem Hall bedroom using birds as accents.

“We had been working on paintings and when we heard about the theme,” Sutton said, “we both agreed that we needed to submit our stuff.”

As student artists, both roommates appreciated the opportunity to showcase their personal pieces for a larger audience.

“It was really cool getting to submit my work to a gallery because I had never done that before.” Knisley said. “This taught me how to make my piece look professional and how to matte and frame it appropriately. It’s a really great opportunity to show my work.”

Pop Art —The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Allen Whitehill Clowes special exhibition gallery houses pop artist, Andy Warhol, featuring 150 works in a wide range of media including painting, drawings, sculpture, film, video, and an extensive selection of archival materials.

Pop artist. Filmmaker. Band manager. Andy Warhol has done it all and in turn, succeeded in making himself an enterprise. For the next three months, the Indianapolis Museum of Art will feature more than 300 pieces from Warhol’s massive collection of art, films and advertisements.

The exhibit explores Warhol’s art, beginning with his 1950s ads for companies such as Tiffany & Co. and Dior, and ending with his self-portrait in 1986.

Images such as a dollar bill, which he recreates in a unique way, and a series of red and white Campbell’s soup cans are plentiful in the start of the exhibit. Warhol seemed to favor the dollar bill or the dollar sign throughout his years as a Pop artist.

“[Warhol] helped show that ‘Art’ with a capital ‘A’ was dead, and that formerly beautiful or sublime or Classical subjects could — and should — be replaced with the commercial objects upon which society placed greater value: monetarily,” said Indiana Wesyelan University assistant professor of art Kent Stiles.

Warhol’s portraits portray famous people such as Truman Capote, Dennis Hopper, Dominique de Menil and Marilyn Monroe in a way that is unlike artists that came before. These brightly colored works are a contrast to his early works such as the hand-drawn, subdued colors in his Tiffany & Co. advertisements.

Warhol was not just an artist. He also made films, managed the band the Velvet Underground and founded the magazine “Inter/VIEW”. His works from these media are on display throughout the exhibit alongside various advertisements he created over the years.

“I’m a pretty big Andy Warhol fan,” said a young atendee who identified himself only as Alex. “I like how he plays with ads.” Some of the younger people at the exhibit were Warhol fans, or there with a friend who was a Warhol enthusiast.

Pop Art — The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Allen Whitehill Clowes special exhibition gallery houses pop artist, Andy Warhol, featuring 150 works in a wide range of media including painting, drawings, sculpture, film, video, and an extensive selection of archival materials.
Sojourn Photo — Nils Anderson

This exhibit is something that can only be experienced. The vibrating effects on the dollar signs cannot be captured in a photograph. Standing face-to-face, literally, with a selfportrait of Warhol that covers a wall is something to be felt and seen, not read.

“The chance to see these works up close— well, that is the sort of experience that cannot be duplicated by a book or PowerPoint,” said Stiles. “To understand this ‘commodity’ angle, you have to see the prints in person.”

Do not worry about running out of time to experience “Andy Warhol Enterprises.” The exhibit is now open and will run at the IMA until January 2011. Admission to the museum, as always, is free but the exhibit is $14. For more information about the exhibit or the museum, visit http://www.imamuseum.org.