Method and Meaning: Selections from the Gettysburg College Collection

What is art historical study and how it should be carried out are fundamental questions the exhibition Method and Meaning: Selections from the Gettysburg College Collection intends to answer. This student-curated exhibition is an exciting academic endeavor of seven students of art history majors and minors in the Art History Methods course. The seven student curators are Shannon Callahan, Ashlie Cantele, Maura D’Amico, Xiyang Duan, Devin Garnick, Allison Gross and Emily Zbehlik. As part of the class assignment, this exhibition allows the students to explore various art history methods on individual case studies. The selection of the works in the exhibition reflects a wide array of student research interests including an example of 18th century Chinese jade chime stone, jade and bronze replicas of ancient Chinese bronze vessels, a piece of early 20th century Chinese porcelain, oil paintings by Pennsylvania Impressionist painter Fern Coppedge, prints by Salvador Dalí and by German artist Käthe Kollwitz, and an early 20th century wood block print by Japanese artist Kawase Hasui. [excerpt]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1014/thumbnail.jp

Family Tree

Ink, Colored Pencil, and Watercolor Pencil on Canvas Board From the Artist: When I was younger and first discovered I was adopted, it seemed there were so many things I could never possibly know about myself. It was particularly hard when other children in school would boast about their cultural backgrounds and similarities to their families. In an attempt to understand myself and my features I became initially fixated on portraiture, primarily self-portraits. My work now is a product of these early examinations of myself and a refinement on the topic. The beginning of this spring semester I discovered my birth mother online. I had always assumed that finding her would answer all of my questions. I found it left me with more uncertainty. In this body of work I focus on illustrative moments, exploring the disconnections and connections between personality and facial features. Moments on the individual level are the central theme. My work examines how people are not defined by their facial features or biology alone, exploring personality as the most descriptive feature. I hope to expose the personality behind the illustration. My intention is for the audience to learn something about themselves while viewing this series of portraits. I hope that an audience can better understand that our lives are made up of everyday moments which define us. We are not specifically defined by our physical appearance or our facial features. We are defined by our personality and our lives as well.https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/studiostu/1041/thumbnail.jp