Through August 11, 2012.
Miami Dade College’s Art Gallery System is showcasing three exhibitions of works by international artists as part of its special summer program. Emergence & Structure, Embedded: A Photojournalist Captures Conflict and Resistance, and Collections & Curiosities are currently on view at the Freedom Tower. All free and open to the public.
Emergence & Structure is an exhibition of scientifically inspired artists whose work visually explores the often esoteric concepts in scientific theory. Curated by New York-based artists Ron Janowich and Daniel Hill, the show features more than 40 works by 16 internationally renowned artists, including Mary Hambleton, Ed Kerns and Jim Toia, among others. The pieces are primarily two-dimensional and vary from acrylic on fabric to graphite and tea on paper, oil on linen, and acrylic and resin on Plexiglas. This exhibition is presented in collaboration with the University of Florida, University Galleries and the Richard A. and Rissa W. Grossman Gallery at Lafayette College.
Embedded: A Photojournalist Captures Conflict and Resistance consists of more than 800 still photographs, countless rolls of film and numerous oral testimonies collected over a nine-month period in the mid-1960s by Jim Nickless, a freelance cameraman for NBC News. Nickless documented the training, raids and daily activities of a group of Cuban patriots under the auspices of the Movimiento de Recuperación Revolucionaria (MRR) movement that attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro. He reveals rare images of conflict, war, duty, and unyielding patriotism. Organized and curated by his children, Lea and Chris, Embedded is as much an exhibition about the portrayal of a photojournalist during Cold War America as it is about a father’s unexplored legacy.
Collections & Curiosities provides a rare glimpse into two personal art collections gifted to the College from the estates of Jock Truman and Norma Niurka, respectively. Both Truman and Niurka played important roles in the South Florida arts community and left behind an equally unique, colorful portrait of who they were as individuals. Truman, a Harvard graduate in architecture, was the director of the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City. Niurka was an acclaimed journalist, writer and theater critic for The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald.
The Truman collection contains a variety of curious indulgences, such as primitive ceramics, works by the great American artist Saul Steinberg, constructions by American Leo Rabkin and a selection of watercolors executed by Truman. The Niurka collection is a very personal and eclectic mix of works from Latin American artists, including prominent local figures Arturo Rodríguez, Antonia Eiríz, and Ramón Carulla.
Since MDC opened its doors in 1960, the College has actively collected works of art as educational resources and to enhance the campuses’ visual aesthetics. The Permanent Art Collection is known for works by emerging artists, as well as major figures in modern, post-modern and contemporary art. Over the years, the collection has amassed to more than 1,600 objects through the generosity of donors and artists.
MDC’s Freedom Tower
600 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33130
305.237.7700
www.mdc.edu
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