Whether it’s in the dreamlike, epic landscapes of Judith Brandon, the poetic figures of Stanka Kordic or the architectural, sculptural glass forms of Michael Mikula, light plays an essential role in visual art.

Opening June 3, Intrinsic Luminescence captures three artists’ techniques in creating a sense of inner light that is both inspiring and breathtaking. Curator Ross Lesko explains his motivation behind building an exhibition around this theme, and what he hopes will stay with each visitor after exploring the works of these three talented artists.

What thought process was behind the inspiration for this exhibition’s unique theme?

The three artists featured in this exhibition all have a sense of luminescence, or an interior radiance, emanating from within their work. I thought it would be interesting to build an exhibition around this theme, to highlight how each artist uses this element and draw connections between them.

How did you select the artists featured?

I was familiar with each of these artists’ body of work and recognized several overlapping elements. Each artist has an improvisational nature, inherent in their differing media, as well as their artistic natures. Michael Mikula crafts three-dimensional objects, Stanka Kordic focuses on the figure, and Judith Brandon creates landscapes. Yet each of these artists employs light and varying levels of abstraction to define their exceptional, powerful works.

Could you tell us more about the techniques employed by the three artists to create a sense of inner light in their artwork?

Stanka Kordic and Judith Brandon, while employing different media (oil paint and ink/charcoal/pastel respectively), both artists utilize a time consuming, labor-intensive process that involves many layers - and often the removal of layers - to achieve their finished work. As a glass artist, Michael Mikula’s process is quite different, though it can involve the layering of color over the clear molten glass that begins each piece.    

How does light enhance the viewer’s experience?

Light plays an essential role in visual art, giving life to a piece, and conveying mood and atmosphere. In painting, light can transform a two-dimensional surface into a three-dimensional world. Have you ever stood before a landscape, still-life or portrait that employed admirable draftsmanship, and yet it felt dead or lifeless? Did the artist set out to create a wall decoration, or a window into his or her subjective world of perception? Light can draw the viewer into a piece, not only in painting, but in sculptural works as well - compelling the viewer to connect with the light and life that emanates from within.  

How do you hope viewers will connect with and respond to the interplay of light, life and craftsmanship presented in this exhibition?

The pieces in this exhibition are exceptionally powerful. I hope that viewers will appreciate the work while they view the exhibition, and that some resonance of the artwork will stay with them, like a line of poetry, or a melody from a song that reemerges, for days afterward.

​Exhibitions presented with support from the Wendel Family Fund of the Fairfield County Foundation and Patrick & Brenda Smith.

 
A vibrant display of blooming styles will take center stage as Flower Power: Flora in Fashion debuts February 4 at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio.
 
For Gayle Strege, who is curating both Flower Power and the complementary exhibit, Botany in Buttons, showcasing humankind’s relationship with nature through the clothes that we wear provides a unique look at fashion.
 
“The colors and shapes of flowers, and whether the motifs are printed, painted or applied, are represented in various scales in this exhibit, showcasing creativity of designers,” she said.
 
Strege is the curator of the Historic Costume & Textiles Collection at The Ohio State University, a position she has held since 1996 and where she has curated more than 30 exhibitions. Flower Power: Flora in Fashion displays women’s garments, shoes and accessories drawn from the collection, and all of the items in the exhibition feature flower-inspired designs and/or plant-based materials.
 
The Botany in Buttons exhibition features hundreds of items from the Ann W. Rudolph Button Collection, a comprehensive collection of historic buttons within the Ohio State University Historic Costume & Textiles Collection. Visitors can enjoy the floral designs of hundreds of buttons made of glass, metal, ceramic, bamboo, vegetable ivory (tagua nut) and other media.
 
In anticipation of the exhibitions’ openings at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, Strege shared some of her favorite pieces and what visitors can expect when they experience the creativity and beauty of this art.
 
What are some highlights from the exhibition that visitors can look forward to seeing?
 
We have a dress that was worn by Ladybird Johnson and a hat by Annie Glenn. Other celebs include Terre Blair Hamlisch, Betty Furness and local Lancaster people, Dorothy Peters and Harriet Fulton. There are several designer and couture dresses and accessories including Yves St Laurent, Dior, Irene, Hanae Mori, Pauline Trigere, Hattie Carnegie, Bill Blass and Ungaro.
 
What are some of your favorites that you are excited to showcase?
 
There is a Luis Estevez 1950s ballgown printed with blue roses that I absolutely love. It has a bit of a bustle in the back. The Ladybird Johnson dress is by Mollie Parnis and made entirely of white lace in a floral pattern. There are a couple beaded 1920s dresses and three coat/dress ensembles that are lovely. Another favorite that is not a designer is a gown that has a full white organdy skirt of a couple layers with appliques of daisies on it. There is also a dandelion hat that I absolutely love.
 
How does the exhibit reflect how the use of natural elements in fashion has evolved over the years?
 
This exhibit focuses on 20th century fashion from small chainstitch embroidered florals and larger beaded floral motifs in the 1920s, to overall small floral prints in the 1930s and 40s to larger scale prints in the 1950s. These patterns repeated themselves in small scale overall prints in the 1970s and even larger scale motifs in the later 1970s and 1980s.
 
What are some of the buttons from the Ann W. Rudolph Button Collection that you are looking forward to sharing with visitors?
 
There is a card of ceramic buttons with depictions of roses, and another with clear lucite buttons featuring different florals. There are rare Satsuma ceramic buttons and 18th century buttons with floral designs.
 
The oldest are from the 18th century, the others range in age from mid-19th century ceramic and glass and metal through mid-20th plastics. In addition to roses, we have cards of buttons of lily of the valley, fuschia, iris, morning glories, poppies, pansies and others of mixed florals. Among the ceramic buttons are some Royal Copenhagen and Staffordshire examples.
 
Are there any other aspects of these exhibits that visitors shouldn’t miss?
 
The educational gallery shows how plant fibers like cotton, linen, pineapple, grasses and leaves have been used to create clothing from very simple grass skirts and bark cloth to more complex processing that results in the cloth we use to make clothing today.

A Storybook Christmas (Classic holiday stories, children's storybooks, and vintage toys and decorations); Curators George and Jeanne Johnson

A Very Brady Holiday, Courtesy of the Paramount Pictures Archive (Costumes and props from the Brady Bunch films and TV series); Curator: Randall Thropp

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Celebrate the holidays immersed in favorite childhood storybooks, iconic toys and memorable costumes from one of America’s most-loved TV and movie families.

The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio will present, “A Storybook Christmas Featuring a Very Brady Holiday,” an exhibition that is sure to evoke memories from treasured Christmases past. The exhibit will open November 2 and run through December 31, 2022. 

As part of the exhibition that marks the opening of the holiday season, the festively-decorated Reese-Peters House parlors will include a combination of classic Christmas storybooks dating back to 1850, vintage toys similar to those shown in the Brady Bunch series, and costumes and props featured in the TV show and movies.

“This unique display across five rooms on the main floor blends pieces from different exhibits and creates a powerful vision under one theme,” co-curator Dr. George Johnson said. “It’s the first time we have organized an exhibition this way at the Decorative Arts Center.”

As part of the dynamic display, Johnson says visitors will enjoy stepping into the pages of classic Christmas storybooks that include “The Night Before Christmas,” “Polar Express” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” 

“We’ll have a larger collection of pop-up books on display, as well as Christmas favorites like ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and ‘Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,’” Johnson said. “We also have a variety of Golden Books and some religious pieces from the late 1800s into the 20th Century.”

While some of the books will be arranged with pages open so that visitors can read excerpts from their favorite Christmas stories, others will be positioned under Christmas trees as gifts, replicating what Christmas morning may have looked like for the Bradys and other families in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Joining the storybooks are vintage toys that the Bradys would have unwrapped that morning and costumes the characters wore in the TV shows and multiple movies.

Co-curator Randall Thropp manages the Paramount Pictures Costume Archive and is bringing several costumes and props from the Brady Bunch sets. The collection includes a two-piece pant suit that Florence Henderson wore in the episode where the Brady family takes a trip to the Grand Canyon and a horse sculpture that appeared at the base of the staircase in the Brady home. 

“The show was only on for five seasons, yet it’s become a part of Americana,” Thropp said.

Both Johnson and Thropp will host highly-anticipated Curator Talks in which they will share stories about many of the pieces featured in the exhibition.

Johnson’s Curator Talk will take place at 1 and 3 p.m. November 13 and will include an informal lecture on Christmas-themed children’s books and the process behind collecting the vintage toys featured in the exhibition. 

Thropp’s Curator Talk will take place at 1 and 3 p.m. December 18 and will include an informal lecture on the costumes displayed in the exhibition that were worn by Brady Bunch actors and actresses.

Cost for each talk is $10 for non-members and $5 for members in advance, and $15 at the door if space is available. Register here for the Curator Talks, as well as any current programming.

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Above: Images by Dorothea Lange (left) and Autumn Bland (right)

Although two very different historic times, the Great Depression and the COVID-19 pandemic have had major impacts on American life and society.

Photographers were there to document the effects wrought by these experiences, and their impactful work is being showcased in a new exhibit at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio.

Featuring photography from two times of national struggle, Chronicles: The Great Depression and the Pandemic highlights Depression-era photographers from the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) Farm Security Administration (FSA) program and contemporary photographers reacting to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

For curators Christine Fowler Shearer and Arnold S. Tunstall, pairing these two historic times together for one exhibit offered an opportunity to showcase the resilience of the American people as they tackled the trials and tribulations placed before them. 

“This exhibition is unique because it looks at a past major event in history, The Great Depression, and the most recent COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of artists and photographers,” Shearer said. “I enjoyed curating this exhibition because of the ability to tie the past and present together into a narrative.”

The photographs chosen for the historical aspect of the exhibition feature the work of Great Depression photographers, but are presented in ways that are not normally seen, she says.

“The FSA photos were acquired by spending lots of time looking through the digital archives of the Library of Congress,” Shearer said. “I specifically chose works that were not well known from the Depression, and many of them have never been printed.”

While some images have connections to Lancaster and throughout Ohio, the majority of the photos are universal in theme and feeling, she says.

“They represent collectively the Depression era and can relate to most places and people in the Midwest,” Shearer said. “I wanted to show the wide range of styles while also showing the overall intent of the FSA photographers and their assignments.” 

Two of the galleries will make juxtapositions between the past and the present by showcasing historic and contemporary artists together. 

“I think overall it will be a jumping off point to learn from the past while making connections between past and future,” Shearer said.

Thematically, photographers from both eras have similar styles in how they tell stories, Tunstall says.

“The artists are working in very similar styles and working with similar modes of storytelling, using portraiture and the home to highlight the average citizen and to amplify the ‘noble American worker,’” he said. “The photographers also use landscape and vernacular buildings and signage to convey part of the story.”

Depression-era photographers include Esther Bubley, Jack Delano, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, Carl Mydans, Gordon Parks, Arthur Rothstein, Ben Shahn, John Vachon and Marion Post Wolcott.

Contemporary photographers include Autumn Bland, Donald Black, Jr., Angelo Merendino, Jane Alden Stevens and Shane Wynn.

Shearer and Tunstall say they hope visitors will walk away from the exhibit with a better appreciation for the value of documentary photography and how the style established by the FSA photographers in the ‘30s and ‘40s still influence photographers today.

“We hope visitors understand that history often repeats itself and we can learn from the past - both successes and failures - and that overall, the American people persevere in difficult times,” Tunstall said.

Chronicles: The Great Depression and the Pandemic runs through August 28, 2022. 

Complementing this exhibition is the lecture, In Search of America: WPA Arts and the New Deal Culture, which will take place at 2 p.m. June 19. David Steigerwald, Professor of History at The Ohio State University, will explore works of WPA photography and the impact of these works on the culture of the New Deal. Register for this event.

An Artist Talk with photographer Shane Wynne will also take place at 2 p.m. August 7. Wynn will share the stories and process of her works that are included in the current exhibition. Register for this Artist Talk.

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