MURFREESBORO — The simplicity and elegance of the
Baldwin Photographic Gallery’s new home at MTSU are impressing students, alumni
and university supporters as well as the arts community.
Reopening Monday in a
bright, airy space on the second-floor atrium of the Bragg Mass Communication
Building on campus, the Baldwin Gallery’s inaugural exhibit by photographic
artists Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor drew appreciative crowds. A VIP
preview and reception on Sunday had similar responses.
“I like that this is
a very purposeful and special space. I’m excited to see the attention paid to
it,” said Angela Purinton, a 1999 MTSU photography grad who, with her husband,
Steve, has helped promote the gallery on a volunteer basis. They set up the
Baldwin Gallery’s first Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/BaldwinPhotoGallery,
which is now handled by the College of Mass Communication.
MTSU Professor Tom
Jimison, gallery curator, taught the couple’s photo classes during their
college years, and the Purintons still make a special effort to support MTSU
photography exhibits, lectures and other events.
“We feel that as
alumni, it’s important for us to connect with the program and to keep the
artists like Jerry and Maggie coming to MTSU,” Angela Purinton said. “People
coming to MTSU to visit can see that we have a full, rich campus with things
for everyone to appreciate.”
The Uelsmann/Taylor
exhibit, which features 25 prints from each of the artists and will be on
display through March 9, is kicking off the Baldwin Gallery’s 50th year. In
1974, Uelsmann was one of the first major exhibitors in the Baldwin Gallery; he
and Taylor also spoke to a receptive crowd Monday in MTSU’s Learning Resources
Center, calling the university's photography program "one of the finest in
the nation."
“This exhibit is just
incredible,” said senior Rebecca Poole, a photography major at MTSU, after
touring the gallery with her friend Tressa Spingler, a junior social work
major.
“The quality of this
exhibit is amazing. We studied Maggie’s work in class, and it’s so great to see
this work in person and hear their lectures. What an opportunity!”
Professor Harold
Baldwin started the photography program at MTSU in 1959 and established the
photo gallery five years later to help expose students, as well as the
surrounding community, to the work of leading photographers from around the
world.
In the process, the
professor began to build a permanent collection from gallery exhibits by
artists such as Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Minor White, as well as
Uelsmann. Jimison has curated the gallery since 1991.
The MTSU Photographic
Gallery, which was renamed to honor Baldwin in 1996, was located in a hallway
of the Learning Resources Center until building renovations displaced it. Now a
professor emeritus of mass communication, Baldwin donated $100,000 in 2012 to
find and renovate a new location on campus.
MTSU turned the
former student newspaper office in the Bragg building into a 1,300-square-foot
photographic gallery, featuring 200 feet of pristine wall display space and
museum-quality lighting, to showcase the permanent Baldwin collection as well
as traveling exhibits and student work.
Watch a video from
the grand opening, featuring comments from Baldwin, at http://youtu.be/C6ADFwuBE2g.
“I just love the way
you can stand downstairs and look up and see the gallery shining. It sparkles,”
said Billy Pittard, head of MTSU’s Department of Electronic Media Communication
in the College of Mass Communication.
“We have all these
labs and classrooms in this building for our students to work in, but nothing
has been dedicated simply to inspiration until now. It’s a wonderful space.”
"This is a
spectacular renovation that allows us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this
valuable, treasured and nationally renowned gallery," MTSU President
Sidney A. McPhee added during a brief ribbon-cutting Monday night for the
gallery.
"As an amateur
photographer myself, I am thrilled to be here and take part in this historic
occasion for our university and the Middle Tennessee community."
The Bragg building
also houses the university’s Center for Popular Music, which promotes research,
scholarship and programs in American music from the early 18th century to the
present day, and the Center for Innovation in Media, which combines all student
media — print, online, TV, radio and record label — under one roof.
Uelsmann and Taylor
exhibit their photos all over the world, including recent shows in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the National Gallery of Art in
Washington, D.C.
Uelsmann’s specialty
is photomontage, a technique he pioneered that uses traditional darkroom tools
to juxtapose multiple photographic exposures into surreal and thought-provoking
works of art.
Taylor uses her
photographic background with digital tools — a flatbed scanner and computer
software — to turn images into fascinating collages.
“This exhibit is
outstanding, and the Baldwin collection is a sleeping giant,” said alumnus
Steve Purinton. “It’s almost as impressive as the O’Keeffe collection at Fisk,
and people need to know about it.
“To be able to hear
these artists speak, get a print of theirs or buy a book, to be inspired by the
work they do — it’s all an amazingly valuable experience, not just for the
students at MTSU but for the entire community.”
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