In Fall 2020, students led by Associate Professor Louise Siddons created a digital project documenting the art exhibition history of Oklahoma State University, with the assistance of Digital Scholarship Librarian Megan Macken. Students used the digitized archive of the student newspaper, the Daily O’Collegian—today the O’Colly— to construct a database of exhibitions held between 1960 and 1999.
Here on the collection blog, we’re featuring reflective essays written by students about their work on this project, based on the research they did to compile the online exhibition history. This week’s essay is by Nyomi Barrick. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Between 1980 and 1984, a large portion of the exhibitions at OSU were of faculty and students’ art. There were several exhibitions of Native American art that stood out during this time period as well. In fact, there was definitely a lot of variety. A few examples of exhibitions were “American Images: Documentary Photographs,” Australian clay pottery, etchings, steel sculptures by David Roberts, jewelry by Ken Bova, “Rainbow Nets and the Insect World,” and serigraphs.
In this time period, there was one organizer who stood out. This man was named B.J. Smith. He was a faculty artist, and in these five years he organized or was a part of at least 10% of the exhibitions listed. Other organizers were mainly students or organizations of students. Those organizations were either for the student body such as the Student Union Activities Board (SUAB) or groups related directly to the exhibition such as students directly involved in the arts.
The 1981 exhibition “Art Study – Display on the Human Body,” featured Manuel Neri. The Daily O’Collegian article barely mentions anything about the art being showcased, but mostly pertains to how the Gardiner Art Gallery is the only gallery in the region for modern art and the exhibition is to show, “central Oklahoma a different fare of art than what is normally available.” B. J. Smith, who organized the show, is interviewed within this article and he states, “I would guess that 85 percent of the people on campus, faculty included, do not even know we have a gallery.”
I believe this specific exhibition applies to current events under the conversation of gender and gender identity. When viewing the work of artists who are not afraid of the human body, the average person can begin to look at the body from a different perspective. This is completely relevant to today’s current events and I admire Neri for creating such beautiful work.
James Huelsman in the Gardiner Art Gallery. Source: The Daily O’Collegian.
In 1983, sculptures by James Huelsman were showcased in the Gardiner Gallery of Art. The Daily O’Collegian included a photograph of a student by the name of Lisa Harper sketching the sculptures from the exhibition. In a June 2020 interview, artist Kerry James Marshall stated, “I’d read in books how artists became artists: that they copied the work of a master and learned to make pictures that way.” I find that this photo perfectly captures that act. While the viewer is unaware of the reasoning behind Harper sketching these sculptures, one can assume it could be an exercise. There could be a lot of speculation from this single photo, but I believe it shows how artists will continue to inspire artists.
When it comes to American art history and the period of the early 80s, I would have to say at this time people were interested in other cultures’ art. This is seen through the “Australian Clay” exhibition (1980), multiple Indian Art Exhibitions (1982 & 1983), and a 1981 “Photo Exhibition-Chinese Civilization.” These exhibitions offer an insight into the desire to explore outside cultures and bring them to Oklahoma State University. While the exploration of those cultures is present there is a lack of exhibitions related to Black American culture or art within this time period. There is not one exhibition listed to promote Black art, at least as seen in the titles listed.
I would therefore propose an exhibition along the lines of “Experiencing Black Culture – Different isn’t Always Bad.” In today’s climate living in America, a self-proclaimed “melting pot” of cultures, there is this unspoken notion that “different” is bad and what we as Americans do is change what we do not understand. This exhibition would hopefully tear apart that mindset and force reconsideration for those who were not aware they followed this notion.
Oklahoma State University Art Collection 