February marks the opening of three new exhibits at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.
Outsiders on the Inside: Contemporary Folk Art, and Prints by Edvard Munch open Feb. 5. A Wren by Any Other Name: Selections from the Miller Audubon Collection opens Feb. 19.
"We have so many things that we offer here," said Marilyn Laufer, JCSM director. "The museum is truly a visual resource for the University."
The Outsiders on the Inside exhibit will feature 10 to 12 different folk artists, some of whom are Alabama natives, according to the museum's website.
"One of the things that distinguishes folk art, or 'outsider art,' from mainstream artwork is because these artists are usually not trained," Laufer said. "They are making art out of memory, visions or sheer passion."
Laufer explained these artists don't always have proper materials.
For example, instead of using oil paints, sometimes they resort to left over house paint, Laufer said.
Edvard Munch, expressionist painter and print maker, represents the opposite end of the art spectrum.
"He would be considered one of the great 20th century masters, and to have him is really a special opportunity," Laufer said.
Munch is most famous for his work "The Scream," which depicts a ghastly-looking man squeezing his face with his mouth wide open, a cool body of water and a hot-hued sky clash behind him.
"Munch could express the sensibility of modern man by looking at very personal feelings, such as the death of a child or the death of a mother," Laufer said. "Artists didn't always do that historically."
Andrew Henley, the museum's education curator, said he is excited that the JCSM is bringing in such a big name.
"It's going to be nice to have someone like Munch, who is in the canon of art history, shown at the same time as the Outsiders exhibit, since they are coming to the art world from a very different background," Henley said.
February's final new exhibit will be A Wren by Any Other Name, which is a series of Audubon prints from the museum's permanent collection.
"We're going to focus on those scientists and ornithologists who've studied birds and why their names are attached to that species," Laufer said.
Laufer described JCSM's Audubon collection as its "most amazing collection in terms of cross disciplinary things we can do."
A majority of the Audubon prints are hand-colored, making them extremely light sensitive.
This presents a challenge because they can only be displayed for a maximum of 16 weeks, Laufer said.
Edith Ruiz, senior in French and international trade, said she visits the exhibits each time a new one is featured.
"It's a unique place that Auburn has, and you don't feel like you're in Auburn when you are at the museum," Ruiz said.
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