3-D Art on Display at Allen

by Christina Morgan

It is no secret that art ranges beyond two-dimensional pieces. The current Allen Memorial Museum Exhibit Art and Artifact: Three-Dimensional Objects from the Permanent Collection, highlights the Museum’s own three-dimensional works of art through a selection of small sculptures and other decorative objects. 
The current installation Art and Artifact opened on Jan. 9 and includes works that span many different cultures and time periods. Art and Artifact displays everything from a Sumerian bust of a male figure sculpted from limestone dating back to ca. 2500-2400, B.C.E., to the 1966 glazed pottery of American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. “The exhibit is just to show the range and quality of our decorative art,” Charles Mason, Curator of Asian Art and Art and Artifact, said.
Art and Artifact is particularly worth viewing because many of the exhibit’s pieces have not been on display for many years. For example, Art and Artifact’s French Medieval painted wood sculpture of St. Eustace (St. Hubert) has not been shown in Allen since the 1940s.
The exhibit includes a wide variety of sculptures and other three-dimensional objects. The sculptures on display include everything from a 19th century depiction of Joan of Arc, to an 11th century bronze portrayal of Padampani, the Buddhist god of mercy. 

Besides the many sculptures, Art and Artifact includes several objects of particular interest. On display are five of Allen Memorial’s painted snuff bottles dating back to 19th century China. Snuff is a form of powdered tobacco that was introduced to the Chinese by the British. It became a stylish item for members of the Chinese aristocracy, and as a result snuff bottles became fashion accessories. The bottles were often made of jade and red glass, both highly expensive materials at the time.
However, the most impressive quality is the fact that many of these tiny bottles were hand painted from the inside with microscopic paint brushes, creating remarkable works of art. One such bottle displayed at Allen was even signed and dated by the artist.

Another interesting piece is French artist Arman’s “Paint Tube Cube.” Created in 1968, the work features a number of small paint tubes turned upside down in a clear cube. The colorful paint oozes out of their bottles but appears suspended in air. The peculiar piece definitely catches the eye and makes one want to remove it from behind the glass case to study how such an item is possible. “Paint Tube Cube” is a fun piece to admire and adds to Art and Artifact ’s goal of displaying three-dimensional objects of every genre. 
According to Mason, another of 
the exhibit’s goals was to show that three-dimensional art did not die out during any given time period. 

The genre- and time-crossing pieces chosen from Museum’s permanent collection for Art and Artifact are enough to show that this holds true. The current installation of Art and Artifact is scheduled to run through June 3.