Summer Exhibition at AMUM Allows Unique Look Behind the Scenes

For release: June 15, 2009
For press information, contact Simone Notter Wilson (901) 678-4164

The Art Museum at the University of Memphis (AMUM) allows a unique look behind the scenes, an opportunity to reflect on work by the Wyeth family, and a chance to discover up and coming talent during its summer exhibitions, June 20 through August 22, 2009. The Museum will be closed on July 3 and 4 in observance of Independence Day.

Yoruba beaded mask, Nigeria, 20th century, Gift of Martha and Robert Fogelman

"Exhibition in Progress: Designing an Installation for the New African Galleries”
In AMUM’s main gallery, visitors will have the rare opportunity to witness how an exhibition is created. “Exhibition in Progress: Designing an Installation for the New African Galleries” shows all African objects in AMUM’s collection, including the recent gift from Martha and Robert Fogelman. During a two-month period, museum staff will assess the objects and consider educational interpretations for the many cultures in this vast and varied continent.

“Spotlight: Wyeth Family”

Spotlight is a new initiative of AMUM that will highlight specific works of a significant artist or group of artists. The first exhibition in the Spotlight series showcases selected works of the Wyeth family, which spans three generations of artists: N.C. (Newell Converse) Wyeth, his son Andrew Wyeth (who died in 2008), and grandson Jamie Wyeth—all known for their extraordinary and different styles. 


“Two in the Trunk” by Stephen Almond

“Two in the Trunk,” which will be shown in AMUM’s New Media Gallery is an imaginative four-minute video influenced by mass media, the culinary arts, and the Almond’s childhood. Almond, a third year photography student at the University of Memphis, was recently awarded the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship to attend Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art. “Two in the Trunk” was included in the 2009 Memphis International Film Festival.


“Unconventional Workings” by Anna Kordsmeier
Anna Kordsmeier’s work in AMUM’s Caseworks Gallery is deeply rooted in the investigation of space and place, using an abstract form of landscape and mapping that is both geographical and anatomical. Her work hinges on the fragility of the piece either in the material sense or the intangible idea of fleeting and fading memories. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kordsmeier received her BFA with an emphasis in printmaking from the Cardinal Stritch University. She is currently an MFA candidate at Memphis College of Art.