Probably everyone on campus has seen the alumni art show currently installed in Seegers Union, and as with every year, it took a lot of work to get the show off the ground. Jessica Ambler, Ph.D., director of Muhlenberg’s Martin Art Gallery, explains what went into creating what we can all now admire on our way to the dining hall.
“I work closely with Tara Simpson [‘02] in Alumni Affairs,” Ambler said. To begin the selection process, “Tara sends out the call for submissions in the early spring each year.” Any Muhlenberg alum was eligible to submit any work of theirs. “We don’t have a theme for the alumni art show,” Ambler continued. “I wanted to encourage as many submissions as possible so that we can showcase all of the amazing work by our alumni.”
The selection process this year was pretty easy, all things considered. “All of the work submitted this year was included. I made this decision based on the high technical quality of each work, the variety of subject matter and media and the interesting stories provided by the alumni.”
Once the works were on campus, the next step was to figure out how to arrange them on the wall. Ambler stated with no uncertainty that “…this was a challenge given the amount of work! I wanted to make sure to group works by artist but beyond that I wanted to make sure to highlight the range of media and subject matter. To do this, I tried to vary placement so that groups of photographs were placed next to paintings for example.”
This year, however, creating the layout for the show was more of a puzzle than usual. “I think the one fun-and unique-challenge this year was my decision to branch out beyond two-dimensional work (paintings, photography) that can be hung on a wall in order to include the ceramics vases by Meghan Woods ‘03. I’m really happy with the vitrines I used to display the ceramic works, and it’s so great to expand the range of what we could include.”
Each piece in this year’s show has something interesting to say, but different pieces speak to different people. “I do appreciate the ELO [Electric Light Orchestra] needlepoint, ” Elliot Griffiths ‘27 mentioned. Owen Clearwater Brown ‘27 was more intrigued by the work of Susan Feely Gettlin ‘82. He said, “I found the framed warm and cold front piece to be very interesting. It brings your attention to the beauty in things that you don’t normally notice.”
One of the great things about the art show is that it attracts works from alumni of all ages. “We have alumni from the 1960s to the 2010s participating which I think really demonstrates what a big part Muhlenberg still plays in their lives,” Ambler said. “This is also demonstrated by the high number of alumni who participate each year. I really enjoy working on this show because I get to meet so many interesting people and hear about their lives and careers after college.”
Interestingly, Ambler indicated that most of this work does not come from former art majors: “For the most part these alumni have careers outside their artistic practice, and many of them picked up art making after graduating from Muhlenberg—artists like Val Mahan [‘62], for example, have been fortunate to travel around the world for their jobs, and they use this as an opportunity to photograph new places.”
As for the impact she wants the show to have, Ambler continued, “I think the most important takeaway is that we are truly fortunate to have such engaged and talented alumni. Their success is a testament to the skills they learned at Muhlenberg and the spirit of inquiry and creativity they learned here has stayed with them.”
You can check out the show on the wall opposite the Great Room in Seegers Union. If you want to learn more about the artists, their artistic processes and the pieces the show features, there are guidebooks available next to the display. The show will run through the entirety of this semester.
