The Mint Museum Permanent Collection (Charlotte, NC)

As promised, a review of the permanent collection at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC:

I would describe the permanent collection that was on display as carefully procured, eclectic, Surreal, and inclusive.

I went to the modern and contemporary art side first, as I was under a time constraint, and where they had a sculpture in deep purple (Night Wing, c. 1972-78) from Anne Truitt, whose Daybook I would strongly recommend. I’ve read her Daybook, but had never seen her work in person, so catching it at the Mint was a surprise treasure. :)

Cristina Toro, who was also featured in the collage exhibition, had a painting, Without Exception Everything is Reflected in this Mirror, 2015-2016, which is the coolest self portrait I have ever seen, and she is definitely someone to follow, as her work is a visual delight, overflowing with detail, texture, color, and life.

There were also works from Andy Warhol: one of his Marilyn Monroe screenprints. There was also a hand-pulled acrylic and enamel screen print of Nina Simone with diamond dust on linen by Russel Young—which I mistakenly attributed to Andy Warhol in an earlier draft of this post. I took a Boomerang of the print and will be posting it in my Instagram stories for a Flashback Friday. There was also Ed Ruscha, Norman Rockwell, and Ansel Adams, as well as funky surreal works by Harold Lehman and James Guy, a quaint landscape by Constance Richardson, American art from the 30s-50s featuring factory towns and leisure activities, and a through-three-different-doorways portrait of studio and family life by John Wilde, an influencer on American Surrealism.

A favorite subject matter of mine in the work of female artists is that of the transcendent, mysterious, and surreal. Surrealism is one of my favorite genres anyway, but the quiet, spiritual, and enigmatic scenes in work like Gertrude Abercrombie’s Deportation (1948) is as special a find as Anne Truitt’s Night Wing (c. 1972-78). There were also works by Post-Surrealist painter Helen Lundeberg, Poetic Justice (1945), and Surrealist painter Kay Sage’s Ring of Iron, Ring of Wool (1947), all beautiful, dreamy, haunting, and treasures to behold. The work of the 1930s-1940s are way underrated in my opinion, so to see it collected so carefully and lovingly by museums like the Mint is refreshing. I should really go on a personal quest to find as much art from the 1930s and 40s that I can. The 30s gave us Surrealism, factories, daily life, and an explosion of female artists, so it should definitely get more attention. Now on to Romare Bearden.

Romare Bearden’s watercolor work is deeply saturated with color and features city scenes from his life. Screenprints like Salome (1974) depict Biblical scenes with rich texture and pattern. The coolest works by Bearden were his collagraphs of city life featuring buildings, musicians, and other life. Now that I’m looking at them again, I need to do some collagraphs, stat. So freaking cool. Definitely unique and worth checking out.

So to wrap things up, the Mint Museum’s permanent collection is thoughtful, unusual, and worth the trip. I also saw a bathing suit from the early 20th century, which would apparently be worn with full-length dark cotton stockings. What a bummer to have to wear! So thankful society has changed for the better in what qualifies as swimwear, and so thankful to see so many unique pieces in the Mint’s collection. It was refreshing and rejuvenating, and I strongly recommend a visit. :)

Under Construction: Collage from the Mint Museum (Charlotte, NC)

Ahoy, mateys!

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining the National Collage Society for a tour of Under Construction: Collage from the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was an absolute delight to see the variety of methods used by artists who collage. I enjoyed works by Tim Rollins and KOS, Robert A. Nelson, Man Ray, Cristina Toro, Shepard Fairey, Kristina Rogers, and Mark Wagner. The collages featured were irreverent and funny, dark and mysterious, narrative or abstract, or everything all at once and in between. There were collages made of trash and there were collages made of cash. The exhibition did an excellent job of showcasing how versatile and relevant collage is to the last century and beyond. It was exciting to see the potential of collage in the form of an exhibition, and I hope to see more of its kind in the future.

Speaking of relevant, the Mint Museum has quite a collection of Romare Bearden’s work, as they should! Romare Bearden grew up in Charlotte and became the 20th century’s most important collage artist. His work depicts memories and rituals from his childhood, with baptismal ceremonies being a particular focus of several pieces, as well as musical performances. The coolest part about his work, besides the symbolism and moods he created, is the variety of materials and methods he used to create his collages, mixing photos from magazines with colored papers with watercolored paper with wallpaper and drawing and so on. I don’t have the guts yet to use such a variety of materials in my own collage work, but I will get there. My favorite pieces by Bearden in the show were the ones featuring musicians, especially Guitar Magic (1986). He used photo, construction paper, watercolored paper, and drawing. The joy and energy of their performance were captured so well in his use of color, line, and shape! He also captured the soft, pale, quiet light of dawn in his Morning By Candelight (c. 1968-1972). If you venture into the Mint Museum’s permanent collection, you’ll find more of Bearden’s work, especially his forays into print making. You’ll have to hurry to see the collage show, though. It comes down on August 18, 2019.

I’ll do another blog post about other works in the Mint Museum’s permanent collection; it deserves a post of its own!

After touring the exhibition, the president of the National Collage Society, Gretchen Bierbaum, led a collage workshop in the atrium for all ages. We started with a postage stamp, and used sewing patterns, stained envelopes, credit card envelopes, old calendars, slide frames, etc. to ignite our creative fires and, for me, make something that I wouldn’t normally make on my own. For starters, I mostly use images from National Geographic, and I definitely do not just rip the paper by hand. I like to precisely cut around the edges of things in a meditative state. This workshop was about action and intuition, and it was just what I needed to loosen up and branch out into something new. Many thanks to the National Collage Society and the Mint Museum for these wonderful experiences and fresh eyes. :)