Numero Uno
In preparation for meeting with the group of students working on the re-hanging of the library, I re-read Looking to Learn about a 1996 student-curated exhibition at the University of Chicago. One of the main focuses of this exhibition was to incorporate art with books, objects, and papers relating to the art, making the viewer re-think traditional expectations of art and its functions. The works were not left isolated in a museum space where art is usually “enjoyed.” Instead, “Looking to Learn challenged such a decontextualized approach to images and to learning by setting ritual, functional, and intentionally aesthetic objects side by side, together with inventories, technical viewing devices, photographs of ceremonial practices deploying the objects, printed materials representing them, and records and fragments of some of the environments in which they belonged,” (10). This show incorporated a larger range of materials to showcase the interdisciplinary quality of art. I feel that it aimed to reach a larger target audience, drawing in more than just the art and art history students.
I have a similar aim, to make people notice the art. As I have noted before, there are many students and faculty on campus that do not realize we have an art collection. There are also those who believe that the sole purpose of art is to decorate empty walls. I still feel certain that this is the approach of the University in general, but they appear to be shifting their philosophy to see the art as more than decoration. This exhibition at the University of Chicago has been my inspiration for pushing passed these superficial boundaries. I want people to arrive at a greater understanding of art as a means of accessing the past instead of just something pretty to occupy empty or even “boring” space. Art should be noticed and be more than just appreciated. The Looking to Learn text also outlines a tradition of the University to loan out art from the Art to Live With Collection to “acquaint students with the experience of having an original work of art to live with,” (46). Elon does not have the means of establishing a program like this one, but the accessibility of the art gave the students a better understanding of the “complexity of art” (47) and an unforgettable experience of living everyday life with art, instead of having to make the effort to find it in a museum. This power of the art to affect the students stems from its ability to communicate without words and drive an emotional connection with the viewer. My goal is for people to see the art as more than just stuff on the wall- thus my project title.
The first meeting of the group went well. We de-installed the African art shows from last semester and placed a few of the objects back in the library. The African collection, since it is the strongest that we have at Elon, should be a large part of the re-hanging. Right now, many of the pieces are randomly placed in the cases with no rhyme or reason. This is exactly what this project is looking to counteract, so these cases must be re-fashioned with themes and text before the opening in April. This group of students was very active in the execution of the African shows in the fall. I feel confident that they can develop ideas and follow through with them. They were given a brief synopsis of the entire collection to start thinking about the artworks and issues that they wish to address in the mini-exhibitions. The next step is finding time to meet again and explore these ideas to begin piecing together the exhibition as a cohesive whole. I do not want to dictate exactly what needs to be “created” in terms of the exhibitions, but they do need too all revolve around the idea of my Elon College Fellows project as a whole.

Numero Dos
Email the group to start a list of collection and theme interests to start them brainstorming on more details for their mini-exhibitions.
Start making some of the art available for the group, so they can begin to form a plan of what will go in their exhibitions.
Tour the library to learn what art needs to come down and what spaces appear promising for the mini-exhibitions.
Establish what needs to be done in terms of inventorying and organizing before spring break or really at all for this project.
Start doing things.