The "Gettin' Some Culture" Story

A young patron
 documenting her visit.

It was an ordinary day.  Visiting with our State College friends Jerry and Just Sue for the weekend.  We recently traveled together to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands and wanted to share our finished scrapbooks with each other and talk about the good times we had on the island.  Traveled to State College on Saturday and Sunday morning decided to visit the Palmer Museum of Art on the Penn State campus to view the exhibition titled "Linocuts" by James Mullen which was just put on display today and is part of the "Celebrating Forty Years Of Gifts: Works On Paper From The Permanent Collection."  The museum is a dramatic structure which just celebrated its 40th anniversary and was designed in 1972 by Charles W. Moore with Arbonies King Vlock.  Moore was an American architect, educator, writer, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and winner of the AIA Gold Medal in 1991 while the Arbonies King Vlock architectural firm provided architectural and interior design expertise.  The Palmer Museum of Art has eleven galleries, a print study room, a 150-seat auditorium and a garden for large-scale contemporary sculpture.  Their program states that the: "Celebrating Forty Years Of Gifts: Works On Paper From The Permanent Collection" is a selection of works on paper that have been given to the museum since its opening in the fall of '72.  The prints, drawings, watercolors, and pastels in the exhibition, ranging in date from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century, represent the many individuals and groups whose generosity has played a critical role in building the museum's collections. When I taught graphic arts and photography in high school, my students produced stone lithograph prints, woodcuts, linocuts and copper etchings.  When I read that the exhibition opening today featured linocuts, I was anxious to view the work.  The museum on the Penn State campus is a work of art in itself.  The two huge mountain lion paws that greet you at the entrance were a gift in 1992-93 of "Lion's Paw" which is a Senior Society whose activities and alumni are dedicated to promoting the welfare and perpetuating the traditions of Penn State. Once inside, the tall pillars, stained glass panels and polished stone floors lead you to the first of the galleries.  We traveled through the lower level galleries which had oil paintings, pottery and sculptures then headed to the stairs for the upper level.  In the stairwell was my favorite piece in the gallery, a peacock blue and yellow seaform set with yellow lip wraps which was made by Dale Chihuly who was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941 and studied glass sculpture in Venice, Italy.  The blown glass piece of art was purchased with funds provided by the Stein family in 1995. I have included a few of the works on paper as well as a couple three-dimensional pieces that were spread throughout the galleries.  Artist's name and pertinent information also accompanies the work.  Penn State should be proud to have such a beautiful building and artwork exhibit on its campus and a visit only costs a donation.  Don't miss it if you are in Centre County, PA.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Entrance to the Palmer Museum of Art

Pillars covered in colored tile.

Wall leading into one of the eleven galleries.

Interior of the first floor of the museum.

Neat architecture inside the museum.

German limewood or walnut; c. 1510; Artist unknown 

Carol viewing an earthenware tomb figure that has a polychrome glaze;  Possibly from the Wanli period (1573-1619); Ming Dynasty artist unknown. 

My favorite piece in the exhibit.  Artist is Dale Chihuly.

Titled "Going Home." This is a Chromogenic print by American artist Eleanor Antin.

American artist Willie Cole created this mixed media presentation made from woman's shoes. 

Acrylic on canvas print titled "Private Lives" from 1981; American artist was Roy De Forest. 

Featured artist James M. Mullen's linocut from 1976 titled "Black Cap."

Another Mullen linocut from 1970 titled "Lineup."

This is a wood and mixed media rendering titled "Blackfoot Delegation to Washington, 1916" which came to the museum in 1993 and was created by Marisol who is an American who was born in France in 1930.

"Little Fat Man" was sculpted by Leonard Baskin, an American.  Made in bronze in and purchased in 1955. 

This etching by American Eugenie Glaman is titled "Shearing Sheep" from 1934.

"Dakota Grain Elevators" from 1939 is an oil on canvas by American Emil G. Bethke.

Another oil on canvas titled "The Vaudeville Act" is from American Everett Shinn and dated 1902-1903.

This mezzotint is another of my favorites.  It was made by Carol Wax who is an American artist who created this work titled "Singer I" in 1984. 

American artist Jim Dine created this etching titled "Self Portrait (B) in 1975.

This lithograph titled "The Missed Leap" was by American John Steuart Curry in 1934.

Spanish artist Pablo Picasso rendered this etching in 1904 titled "Le Repas Frugal (The Frugal Repast).

"La Marchade de moutard" (The Mustard Merchant) was etched in 1858 by American James Abbott McNeill.

This woodcut printed before 1511 by Albrecht Durer is considered one of the finest works in the museum's collection. 

Another one of the prized works in the museum is this color lithograph titled "Forward Pass" by Benton Murdoch Spruance which was made in 1944.

The final piece I have included is the museum's extraordinary watercolor from 1825 by Peter de Wint titled "Warwick Castle" c. 1825.  It was a gift from the alumni and friends of The Pennsylvania State University.