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John J. McDonough Museum of Art announces the opening of the fall exhibition season.The John J. McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown State University's Center of Contemporary Art, is excited to announce the opening of our fall season with four exhibitions. Shona Macdonald's Flash of Light Illumines a Dark Landscape and the #notwhite collective's #notwhite collective will be on display September 5 – November 4. The work of Betsy Stirratt's Embedded Histories is on view September 5 – October 20. A reception for all artists takes place on Friday, September 8 from 5-7pm at the McDonough. From October 24 — November 4, the Museum will also feature the Short Shorts Festival highlighting the work of Ilena Finocchi, Illya Mousavijad and Michael Schmidt.
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Shona Macdonald's
Flash of Light Illumines a Dark Landscape
September 5 – November 4
"...these drawings portray the intimacy of protection through covering"
Shona Macdonald received her MFA in 1996 in studio arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her BFA in 1992 from Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. Known both nationally and internationally, her work has appeared in solo shows from New York to New Zealand and in numerous group shows across the United States, UK, Australia, and Canada. She has been a Visiting Artist at over fifty institutions and the recipient of grants and fellowships in the US and Europe. She is currently Professor of Studio Art at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Of her work in Flash of Light Illumines a Dark Landscape Macdonald states, "The works I am exhibiting at the McDonough...were developed over the past five years. Based on many sources, including tents, gardening tarps, shrouds, as well as robes and drapes from art history, these drawings portray the intimacy of protection through covering. I am drawn to the tent and gardening images because they typically are used to shield humans and plants from the elements, offering protective ‘skins.’ These ‘ground coverings’ convey our creative use of draping to encourage the cycle of life, both growth and dying. "
SEPTEMBER 8, 5:30pm • Gallery talk
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#notwhite collective#notwhite collective
September 5 – November 4
"We utilize our arts practice singularly and collectively to Excavate Histories, Expose Realities, and Exorcise Oppression."
The #notwhite collective is a group of 13 women artists whose mission is to use non-individualistic, multi-disciplinary art to make their stories visible as they relate, connect, and belong to the Global Majority. The works vary in medium and content but all give voice to thought-provoking and timely ideas and provide viewers an opportunity to connect with the issues faced in contemporary culture.
"We are bi/multi-racial/cultural, immigrant or descendants of immigrants investigating the many ways we are seen or not seen, how we self-identify and how we seek liberation through sharing space and stories; research and art-making; discussing the history of imperialism and its effect on us, on the whole not-white world. We actively reject colonialism through our non-hierarchical process." —#notwhite collective website
SEPTEMBER 20, 6:30-8pm • #notwhite collective walking tour of exhibition
NOVEMBER 4, 11am-2pm • Ekphrastic Writing Workshop
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Betsy StirrattEmbedded Histories
September 5 – October 20
"I explore natural and social histories through photographs, books, paintings, objects and video to create multiple layered narratives about the interactions of humans and nature."
Betsy Stirratt’s creative practice focuses on themes about nature, collections and the environment. She is the Founding Director of the Grunwald Gallery of Art at Indiana University Bloomington where she has curated exhibitions and published catalogs since 1987. Exhibiting her own work widely since 1983, solo exhibitions include La Maladie at The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia and the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago and Veiled Taxonomies at the Center for Book Arts in New York. Her work has been included in group exhibits at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Indianapolis Museum of Art, and White Columns and Art in General in New York among others. She is the recipient of a Visual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
OCTOBER 4, 5:30pm • DALS Lecture
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Ilena Finocchi, Still from Creatures in My House
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Short Shorts Festival
October 24 – November 4
Featuring the work of Ilena Finocchi Illya Mousavijad and Michael Schimdt
Creatures in My House is Ilena Finocchi’s first animated short film. The exquisitely handcrafted world in this stop motion animated short, follows a house full of peculiar monsters waking up amuck in this askew home. Discover what the ruckus in the kitchen is really about in this colorful nod to film noir and German expressionism.
As a celebrated multi-disciplinary artist, Finocchi's sculptural work has been exhibited nationally, including Art Basil Miami, SoFA Chicago, and the Museum of Art & Design, NY. In addition, she has been an artist-in-residence at the Archie Bray Foundation, MT and the McKnight Residency, MN. Working in public art she recently completed a grant funded library project featuring a 20’x30’ mural and flip book workshop series.
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Illya Mousavijad, Still from Between a Lost Home and a
Losing Destination
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| Illya Mousavijad's Between a Lost Home and a Losing Destination is a computer animation film/video piece using 3D scanning and Photogrammetry. This animation investigates the depth and limits of the exile and migration experience as they relate the artist's heritage/Iranian diaspora. The translation to 3D/computer aims to explore the notions of proximity, distance, access, and inaccessibility.
Mousavijad is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Isfahan, Iran. He received his BFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and his MFA from Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. He has collaborated with international artists of various disciplines and exhibited in Iran and the US. He is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in Art and Technology at the Ohio State University.
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Michael Schmidt, Still from Passages
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| Michael Schmidt's two stop-motion animations, Passages and Collapse, feature events and experiences of employees of AEP Conesville, a coal-fired power plant that operated out of Coshocton County, Ohio from 1957 to 2020. These animations were made as part of a performance that gave voice to the loss of a way of life and paid tribute to the generations of coal-energy the plant produced.
Schmidt holds an M.F.A. in drawing and painting from California State University, Long Beach (2013) and a B.F.A in painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art (2004). He has exhibited internationally and is in private collections around the country. Schmidt currently works as an adjunct professor at the University of Mount Union, The University of Akron, and is a freelance artist.
October 25, 5:30-7pm • Viewing Party
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McDonough Gallery Hours
The McDonough galleries are open Tuesday-Saturday from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. The Museum is free and open to the public.
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SEPTEMBER 5 – NOVEMBER 4 Shona Macdonald's Flash of Light Illumines a Dark Landscape #notwhite Collective's #notwhite Collective • Reception: Friday, September 8, 5pm to 7pm
• Gallery talk: Shona Macdonald Friday, September 8, 5:30pm
SEPTEMBER 5 – OCTOBER 20 Betsy Stirratt's Embedded Histories • Reception: Friday, September 8, 5pm to 7pm
SEPTEMBER 20, 6:30-8pm • #notwhite collective walking tour of exhibtion
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OCTOBER 4, 5:30pm • DALS Lecture: Betsy Stirratt
OCTOBER 19 – 21 Lit Youngstown Fall Literary Fest • Must be registered to participate. Registration Link.
OCTOBER 24 – NOVEMBER 4 Short Shorts Festival • Viewing Party: Wednesday, October 25, 5:30-7pm
OCTOBER 23, 5:30pm • DALS Lecture: Hyla Willis
NOVEMBER 4, 11am-2pm • Ekphrastic Writing Workshop: #notwhite collective DECEMBER 1-16 Fall 2023 BFA Exhibition • Reception: Friday, December 1, 5-7pm
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Youngstown State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, age, religion or veteran/military status in its programs or activities. Please visit www.ysu.edu/ada-accessibility for contact information for person designated to handle questions about this policy.
These exhibitions are made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.
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