An internationally recognized art master spent 40 years collecting art items in Japan — and now, Ohio University students will be able to use them in their everyday lectures.
The Interpreting the Visual Objects in the Harris Collection exhibition will display a gift Frederick Harris gave to OU: a collection of ceramic vessels, sculptural works, fine arts books, master watercolors, ink drawings and personal sketchbooks. The exhibition will be shown from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Friends of the Library Room, 319 Alden Library.
Harris was an American citizen who lived more than 40 years in Japan. During his time there, he became a collector of the various objects now shown in the exhibition.
Before his time in Japan, Harris taught painting at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He attended the High School of Music and Art, the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design, all in New York City.
Sara Harrington, head of art and archives at OU, helped organize the exhibition.
“The workshop is about how the objects can be seen through various disciplinary perspectives,” Harrington said. “The workshop hopes to encourage the use of the objects in classrooms, and we want the Harris Collection to be used as a teaching and learning collection for the university community.”
Brad Schwieger, chairman of OU’s ceramics department, is serving as a panelist at the exhibition.
“The collection is very interesting and is an amazing teaching tool for students,” Schwieger said. “The library is very lucky to own these pieces.”
Schwieger said that he is one of seven panelists and looks forward to a discussion sparked by the pieces of artwork included in the Harris Collection.
“Each panel member knows a little bit about these different objects, and we will have a roundtable discussion and share our opinions about the work to communicate to people from all different backgrounds,” Schwieger said.
Gary Ginther, fine arts librarian at OU, said one of the main goals of the exhibition is to show that art and cultural objects can reveal different meanings to the observer.
“Depending on a person’s cultural and educational background, some objects carry different meanings and different values to people,” Ginther said.
Harrington said that as a person with a background in art history, when she looks at an object, she first thinks of how history relates to it.
An understanding of art and its cultural significance is important for students, Harrington said.
“I think that students and all people are immersed in visual culture,” Harrington said. “We are constantly exposed to imagery, and it is important to be critical about the images and objects, just as it is important to think about the objects that are part of our everyday lives.”
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