Laramie, WY - January 15, 2016 — Internationally known art collector Jordan D. Schnitzer will lead a public gallery walk through at the University of Wyoming Art Museum from 3:30 – 4:45pm on February 2, 2016. Mr. Schnitzer will discuss the featured exhibition, Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker’s Tales of Slavery and Power, on view from January 30 – May 14, 2016.
Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker’s Tales of Slavery and Power, explores Walker’s transformation of historical materials through a range of different projects including Walker’s works on paper, a video, wall painting, and sculpture. Kara Walker is a contemporary African American artist that is renowned for her engagement with issues of race, gender, sexuality, media, and power that form the basis for her artistic expression. The exhibit will highlight Walker’s artistic process with the aim to make her challenging approach accessible to a diverse audience.
“Kara Walker is the preeminent artist of our time who forces us to deal with issues that many people would rather not deal with,” said Jordan D. Schnitzer. “Her art needs to be seen and the themes need to be examined. When I first saw her work, I was grabbed by the power, the passion, and the pain of both the themes that were presented and the depth of the artist bearing her soul.”
In conjunction with UW’s weeklong Martin Luther King, Jr. Days of Dialogue events, the Art Museum will host a panel discussion starting at 5pm at the Art Museum. Kerry Pimblot, assistant professor of African American Diaspora Studies; Colleen Denney, professor of Art History and Gender and Women’s Studies; and Peter Fine, assistant professor from the Department of Art and Art History, will each share their reflection on the artist and their pedagogical strategies for integrating artwork into the classroom. Jordan D. Schnitzer will add commentary on his collection of over 9,000 contemporary prints and the power of the arts in challenging times.
The panel will be a starting point for student and audience dialogues about the historical experience of enslavement, emancipation, and reconstruction, as well as broader themes of race and historical representation as they relate to Black women.
The University of Wyoming Art Museum would like to invite the public to attend and participate in these free special events in conjunction with the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.
For more information, please call the Art Museum at 307-766-6622 or visit our website at http://www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Through its Museum as Classroom approach, the University of Wyoming Art Museum places art at the center of learning for all ages. The museum is located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 Willett Drive in Laramie. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday hours are extended to 7 p.m. February through April and September through November. Admission is free.
About the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation
At age 14, Jordan D. Schnitzer bought his first work of art from his mother’s Portland, Oregon contemporary art gallery, evolving into his lifelong avocation as collector. He began collecting contemporary prints and multiples in earnest in 1988. Today, the collection exceeds 9,000 works and includes many of today’s most important contemporary artists. It has grown to be one of the country’s largest private print collections overall. He generously lends work from his collection to qualified institutions and has organized over 90 exhibitions at more than 72 museums. Mr. Schnitzer is also President of Harsch Investment Properties, a privately owned real estate investment company based in Portland, Oregon, with 22 million square feet of office, multi-tenant industrial, multi-family and retail properties in six western states. For more information about the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, please visit www.jordanschnitzer.org.
About Martin Luther King , Jr. Days of Dialogue
MLK Days of Dialogue is having its 15th annual week long tradition that is intended to expand institutional awareness about issues of diversity, to build a sense of community and to celebrate diversity. The Days of Dialogue serve as a renewal of UW’s commitment to making campus a more welcoming and empowering place for people from different backgrounds, heritages, orientations, abilities and perspectives. For more information please see the schedule of events by visiting www.uwyo.edu/studentaff/mlkdod/schedule-of-events