Emerson Gallery

In Art We Trust: Senior Art Show 2012, a presentation of works by 10 graduating art majors, will open at the Bristol Center Hub on Thursday, April 26.  The exhibition includes photography, illustration, painting, mixed media and sculpture. An opening reception will be held Thursday, April 26, from 4-6 p.m., at Bristol Center.

The Emerson Gallery began its final year of programming by opening a recently unearthed time capsule from 1871, so it is perhaps fitting that the last Emerson Gallery event of the year was the official dedication of a new time capsule to be opened on the occasion of Hamilton College’s Tercentennial in 2112

The Hamilton College Bicentennial has encouraged the study of what the Hamilton experience has been over the past 200 years. This kind of retrospective creates a feeling of self-awareness: we know that one day we will be similarly studied, and we must think about who we are and how we want to be remembered. The 2012 time capsule, to be sealed at the Bicentennial closing in June and opened for the Tercentenary in 2112, gives us an opportunity to convey these messages about ourselves to the future Hamilton community.

Among the Bicentennial Kickoff celebration weekend activities were more than 30 Bicentennial colleges and tours. Besides several dedicated to the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, these lectures and historical tours covered topics ranging from the Archaeology of Hamilton College to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.  Student writers attended the Colleges throughout the weekend to provide a glimpse of the range of topics covered.  Following are synopses of a few that took place on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 22 and 23.

A time capsule buried by Hamilton’s class of 1871 was opened at the Emerson Gallery on Sept. 15. The event was in conjunction with the Gallery’s new exhibit, Time Capsules and Cornerstones: 200 years of Collective Memory at Hamilton.

The Emerson Gallery will present two exhibitions in conjunction with the college’s bicentennial celebration. The exhibitions will commemorate its cultural history while providing a view toward the future with objects from various campus collections and archives.  Time Capsules and Cornerstones: 200 Years of Collective Memory at Hamilton and  Learning to Look: Hamilton's Cabinets, Galleries and Museums Past, Present and Future  will be on view Sept. 15 – Dec. 16. The exhibitions and related programs are free and open to the public.

An entry on the popular New York Times blog, The Choice, featured a photograph of the Chapel in an article titled “Summer College Tours Withstand High Gas and Airline Prices” on August 11. Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer was interviewed about families making trips to visit the college in this column that focuses on “demystifying college admissions and aid.”

Works from Hamilton’s art collection that were recently on view at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice are now part of an exhibition at Tate Britain in London.  The Emerson Gallery lent four paintings by English artist Dorothy Shakespear (1886-1973), wife of Ezra Pound, Class of 1905, to the exhibition, the first attempt to recreate the three Vorticist exhibitions mounted during World War I in London and New York. Two of the Hamilton works have been prominently featured on the BBC’s website and other English media outlets as well as in marketing materials.

The Emerson Gallery Student Art Invitational 2011 features artwork from 16 students who recently completed courses in the visual arts at Hamilton College and celebrates their creativity. The exhibition includes photography, video, sculpture, drawing, painting and mixed media ranging from introductory to advanced academic levels. The exhibition opens on Thursday, June 2, and will close Tuesday, Aug. 30, with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

The Senior Art Show 2011, a presentation of works by 11 graduating art majors, will open at the Emerson Gallery on Thursday, April 21. The exhibition includes photography, drawing, painting, mixed media and sculpture. An opening reception will be held Thursday, April 21, from 4-6 p.m. at the gallery. The show will close on Sunday, May 22.