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Common Ground: Discovering Community in 150 Years of Art,
October 23, 2004–January 31, 2005
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Press Preview: Tuesday, October 19, 2004, at 10 am Washington, DC—Common Ground presents an exploration of community and its complex web of human connections. Celebrating the universal human experiences of struggle, transcendence and redemption, the exhibition showcases such notable artists as Shimon Attie, Whitfield Lovell, Carrie Mae Weems, Roy DeCarava, Fred Wilson, Malick Sidibé, Howard Finster, Jacob Lawrence and William Christenberry, among others. Dedicated to building bridges between cultural understanding and art, Julia “Judy” Norrell has assembled an outstanding collection that addresses the notion of a collective past and the role of memory and activism in finding common ground among diverse communities. Encompassing photography, painting, sculpture and works on paper, Common Ground: Discovering Community in 150 Years of Art, Selections from the Collection of Julia J. Norrell is on view at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from October 23, 2004 through January 31, 2005. “There are many different ways in which artists have explored the nature and diversity of ‘community’ during the past 150 years: as a sense of place and as a concept that defines our bonds with the outside world,” notes Philip Brookman, Corcoran Senior Curator of Photography and Media Arts. “This is always a process of discovery, one that emerges from relationships established between artists and communities. Artists’ responsibilities have not been simply to observe or document the world we know, but to create from their observations new and progressive ways for us to see into universal human experiences.” From an early focus on books and folk art from the American South, Norrell has expanded her collection to encompass more than 1,500 works by artists from throughout the United States and abroad. Featuring approximately 185 works of 19th, 20th and 21st-century photography, painting, sculpture and works on paper, Common Ground is divided into five sections guided by key themes: past and present; a sense of place; community; hope and belief; and memory and tribute. Past and Present addresses historical events and political struggles in the United States and abroad, as well as how photography pictures the passage of time. This section features pieces by James VanDerZee, Deborah Luster, Walker Evans and Roman Vishniac, among others. A Sense of Place explores land, nature and people’s relationship to the environment; this section highlights major works by Ben Shahn, Renée Stout, Beverly Buchanan and Gordon Parks. The Community section delves into the territory of places, people, kinship and race and incorporates a diverse selection of works by Dorothea Lange, Lewis Hine, Jim Goldberg and Margaret Bourke-White, among others. Hope and Belief focuses on the universal concepts of belief, faith and loss and concentrates on works by Brassai, Addison Scurlock, Richard Misrach and Edward Grazda. Memory and Tribute is devoted to works about family, dreams, memoirs and personal narratives and includes pieces by William Eggleston, Eudora Welty and David Driskell. “When I first started collecting art, I chose works that spoke to me in an immediate, visceral way. Over time, I was increasingly drawn to pieces that addressed tough, universal issues such as racial conflict, hypocrisy, politics and religious intolerance,” comments the Washington, DC-based Norrell. “Growing up in the South, I witnessed inequity and dire limitations on freedom. I was one of those Southerners who loved the South but hated the irrationality, hated the cruelty, hated the ignorance disguised by arrogance.” ABOUT THE COLLECTOR EXHIBITION CATALOGUE PRESS PREVIEW PRESS IMAGES EDUCATION PROGRAMS Artist Talk: Deborah Luster and CD Wright Artist Talk: Eldridge Bagley and William Christenberry FAMILY DAY PUBLIC PROGRAMS On Thursday, November 11, 2004, at 7 pm Common Ground artist William Christenberry speaks in the Corcoran Gallery of Art's Frances and Armand Hammer Auditorium. For additional information, or to register, please call the Corcoran's Public Programs Office at (202) 639-1770 or :: click here For more information on the Corcoran's Public Programs :: Click here. EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND SPONSORSHIP EXHIBITION ITINERARY ABOUT THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART Founded in 1890, Corcoran College of Art + Design is Washington’s only 4-year college of art and design, offers a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree program in Fine Art (painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics and digital art), Graphic Design, Digital Media Design, Photography and Photojournalism; a two-year Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) degree program in Fine Art, Photography, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Digital Media Design, a Masters of Arts (MA) degree in Interior Design, Teaching and Education, as well as a 5 year combined BFA/MA in Teaching; and a Continuing Education Program encompassing more than 250 courses and seven certificate programs aimed at meeting the needs of part-time adult students; as well as year-round classes designed especially for children and teens. The Continuing Education Program, which offers part-time credit and non-credit classes for children and adults, draws more than 3,500 participants each year. The Corcoran Gallery of Art is located at New York Avenue and 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC, and is open every day, except Tuesday, 10 am – 5 pm and until 9 pm on Thursday. The museum is closed every Tuesday. Admission to the Corcoran is: $6.75 for adults; $4.75 for senior citizens; $3 for students with current ID; and $12 for families. Free for Members and children under 12. Admission is “pay as you wish” on Monday all day and on Thursday after 5 pm. A satellite educational facility is located at the Corcoran’s historic Fillmore School in Georgetown at 1801 35th Street, NW. The public information line for the museum is (202) 639-1700; the public information line for the college is (202) 639-1800.
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