The Zuckerman Museum of Art held Interchange on Sept. 30th, an event that combines its exhibits with cross-discipline performances, all surrounding two central themes.
The Zuckerman Museum is Kennesaw State’s on-campus art museum hosting a variety of pieces along with rotating exhibitions. Entrance for students is free, and the museum holds a variety of events such as lectures, live drawing sessions and yoga in the galleries.
Currently, two exhibitions are on display for fall 2021. This Mortal Coil is a collection of works from seventeen contemporary artists, all focused around the concept of loss, sorrow, darkness and light. The Labor of Remembrance is a collection of print and textile works by Louise Bourgeois, a deeply personal variety of works. Both exhibitions were curated by Cynthia Nourse Thompson.
“This Mortal Coil and The Labor of Remembrance are two interrelated exhibitions in dialogue, seeking to mitigate emotional suffering and corporeal pain…Thus, the works selected illuminate empathy, grief, and loss, as shared universal themes,” the Zuckerman Museum exhibition web page states.
Interchange is a yearly event that seeks to add to the themes of the exhibitions through live performances. It featured seven performers across the two galleries, along with diary entries from Bourgeois read out by Thompson.
The performances began in the gallery of This Mortal Coil, and focused around that exhibition’s themes. Hamlet’s famous To Be, or Not to Be soliloquy was performed by Interim Dean of College of the Arts and Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies Harrison Long.
It was followed by Artist-in-Residence in Collaborative Piano Judith Cole performing Send In the Clowns on the piano. She also accompanied Assistant Professor of Voice Nathan Munson as he sang Come Away, Come Away, Death.
The finale of this portion was an excerpt performance of This Room is a Body by Lecturer of Dance Sean Nguyen-Hilton. The performances elicited emotions about death, loss and the fleeting nature of life itself.
The performances continued in the exhibition space of The Labor of Remembrance. Associate Professor of Theater and Performance Studies Charles Parrot spoke about the good and bad of his family history in Crummy.
Artist-in-Residence in Cello Charae Krueger played Preludio Fantasia. Limited Term Assistant Professor of Dance Billy J. Hawkins performed an original choreography, Living to Live Again. This performance was also accompanied by Krueger on cello. The Labor of Remembrance connected each performance through threads of metaphor, family, trauma and loss.
Overall, Interchange is an event full of interest and impact, and is recommended to any KSU student curious about the arts. Those interested in Interchange can also watch the 2020 performance, which is available on the Zuckerman Museum of Art’s website, or on their YouTube channel.
