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Art Exhibit The Sight of Music: From the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams On April 11, 2003, the Gibbes Museum of Art presents a special exhibition from one of the world’s most acclaimed American print collections with the opening of The Sight of Music: From the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. This celebrated exhibition features diverse etchings, lithographs, silk-screens and engravings encompassing numerous interpretations of, and variations on, the theme of music. “Suffice it to say, The Sight of Music brings together a delightful medley of visual interpretations of music,” stated Reba and Dave Williams. “Diversity abounds in style, technique, and image, but the artists’ shared muse brings true harmony to the exhibition.” The Sight of Music proves itself to be as varied as the musical sounds, styles and subjects created and performed in 20th century America, offering not only a record of this important aspect of our culture but also a survey of work by some of the country’s most significant 20th century artists working in print media. The artists featured in The Sight of Music translate classical jazz and rock movements to paper using artistic styles as varied as American Regionalism, Neo-dadaism, Pop and Conceptualism. The exhibition includes South Carolina artists William H. Johnson and Jasper Johns. The Sight of Music includes 91 works on paper dating from 1920 to 1996 that can be generally grouped into six subject areas. The exhibition highlights twelve portraits of musicians or composers, including Chuck Close’s Philip Glass and Andy Warhol’s Beethoven and Debbie Harry. There are illustrations of specific music or songs, as with Thomas Hart Benton’s I Got A Gal on Sourwood Mountain, and numerous works inspired by historically significant American music locations. For example, William Sharp’s Jam Session represents New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, and Lou Barlow’s Jitterbugs represents the music and dance that ignited New York’s Harlem in the 1920s, making it the cultural mecca for black music in the 20th century. Other artists that are exhibited attempt to render actual music, translating into the visual arts the sounds and movements that they have heard, such as John Cage’s Global Village. Named among the top 200 art collectors in the world by Art News, Reba and Dave Williams have been collecting prints with musical themes since 1975. Their prestigious collection of American prints now numbers more than 5,000 works and includes 2,000 artists. The collection emphasizes prints made by American artists between the World Wars, with particular concentration on works by artists employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and 1940s. The Williams place the emphasis of their collection on breadth and strive to encompass all styles and movements. The Sight of Music stays in tune with this mission, celebrating the diversity and depth of artistic expression in the disciplines of music and the visual arts in America.
The Sight of Music: From the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams opens at the Gibbes Museum of Art on April 11th and will be on view through August 24th, 2003. This sound-inspired exhibition will be on view during Spoleto 2003, offering Spoleto-goers the opportunity to experience works on paper by some of the most renowned visual artists of the 20th century.
Special Events Surrounding the Exhibition
Museum Hours
Tuesday - Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Admission:
Adults: $7.00
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