By Acadia Otlowski
The infamous red solo cup has been put to a distinct new use in the New Britain Museum of American Art, where artist, Lisa Hoke, created a mural of colored plastic cups. The prominently placed display has become the centerpiece of the museum which has displays from artists across America.
The New Britain Museum of the Arts is only a short 10 to 15 minute drive from CCSU. In addition to being close in proximity, the museum has a partnership with CCSU, allowing students who show their student ID to enter the museum free of charge.
Walking into the museum, one is immediately drawn to how open the space is. Before one enters the actual exhibits, the visitor is greeted by a wax security guard who’s intimidating posture is quite lifelike and convincing.
Glass doors lead to the exhibits, which flow from a smaller room into a larger gallery, where many sculptures are placed in the center. This gallery splits off to many smaller rooms containing many works and leads to a set of stairs, where a stunning hanging piece made of blue glass and Hoke’s plastic cup mural are set above a landing.
Hoke’s piece is a temporary installation, named The Gravity of Color: New Britain, and will be replaced in two to five years by another artist, according to the museums website. From a distance, the cups don’t appear like plastic cups. They look more like a tile, creating a mosaic. It isn’t until one approaches the exhibit that it becomes apparent that the entire work is in fact plastic cups.
At the top of the stairs, more painting and sculptures are placed in a main room, which then diverges into several other rooms.
Another one of the featured exhibits of this time is Toulouse-Lautrec & His World. His works, separated distinctly from the museum by a curtained doorway, contain several rare pieces of his work, which are on loan from the Herakleidon Museum, in Athens, Greece. This piece is making its first tour in America; previously, it had never left Europe. The artist lived in a time in Paris called the Belle Époque (Beautiful Era).
The exhibit in the museum that I enjoyed the most by far was Tony de los Reyes’ collection of works, entitled Chasing Moby-Dick. I enjoyed how Reyes obviously put a great deal of effort into translating the written words of Moby Dick into a visual medium. The individual works were well executed, from the spear sculpture that stands in the center of the room, to the painting depicting an American flag superimposed over an ocean scene.
Although the New Britain Museum of American Art is not huge, it is more than possible to spend quite a few hours there viewing the art, and maybe learning a little something on the way. For CCSU students, this is a great way to spend any free time one may have. Not only is the museum close and convenient, but it features local artists and artists from all across the country, making it a perfect place to learn about local culture.
The Art Galleries at CCSU are now hosting an exhibit called Paintings from American Illustrators. This exhibit is on loan from the New Britain Museum of American Art.
According to a flier, Mark Strathy from the art department said that the paintings in this exhibition were selected through their use of oil paint in a traditional way and showed classical training of the artists, thus blurring the line between fine art and illustration.
The paintings in the exhibit range from the early 20th century up until the 1970s . According to Strathy, one can follow the trends of illustrations throughout the time periods.
The gallery will be open between 1pm and 4 pm, Monday through Friday up until Feb. 21. The exhibit is located in the S.T. Chen Fine Arts Center in Maloney Hall on the second floor.
