I liked school. I anticipated August as it signaled new notebooks, folders, and a few clothes for the September kickoff of the newest school year.
Now, I help my high-school junior purchase bewildering quantities of highlighters and index cards – in what is, ironically, the digital age – and my third-semester university student scrub her microwave and Keurig in preparation for dorm move-in. I suggested cleaning them as soon as they landed back in the house in May, but I was informed that August is equally adequate – which led to a lively debate about adequate versus sufficient. My kids like school.
Serendipitously, my career also revolves around a September-start calendar. The Woodson Art Museum’s flagship exhibition, Birds in Art, opens each fall on the Saturday following Labor Day. Planning for Birds in Art 2018 began the Monday after the 2017 opening of Birds in Art. Jurying, organizing, curating, and exhibiting an internationally renowned exhibition of the finest contemporary avian art is a monumental task. And, much occurs behind the scenes – in our case, up the stairs, in the office space.
What happens in the galleries while staff prepares? This summer, a tiger lounges majestically, a hobbled-horse grazes, a hippo floats in The World According to Federico Uribe, on view through Sunday, August 26. Words cannot adequately – or sufficiently – capture its spirit and ambiance. The public’s response to Federico’s fantastical animal sculptures – created from everyday objects – is overwhelmingly enthusiastic and exceedingly effusive. Interestingly, Federico creates many sculptures from colored pencils because he believes most people have positive connections to our earliest introduction to art, drawing with them during childhood.
Whatever August means to you – lazy last days of summer, school supply shopping, coffee-maker cleaning, vacationing – visit the Woodson Art Museum often through August 26 to experience Federico’s World. Then gear-up for the September 8 opening of Birds in Art 2018. We are preparing for your arrival!
On view September 8 – November 25
Cindy House, Autumnal Colors, 2018
