Art icons on the walls

Names like Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol permeate even the shallowest of art educations.

With the newest art exhibition at the Crisp Museum, those names and more will be within reach for Southeast Missourians.

The exhibit, called "Guild Hall: An Adventure in the Arts," features more than 70 works by 40 iconic artists on the walls of the Crisp Museum. The traveling exhibit, brought in part by funds from a Missouri Arts Council grant, features art from the Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, N.Y.

"Warhol would be the one most people would recognize the quickest," said Jim Phillips, curator of collections and exhibitions at the museum.

The exhibit features many iconic images, including one of Warhol's colorful portraits of Marilyn Monroe.

Other recognizable names include James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns.

The works span before and after the pop art movement and include abstract pieces and sculptures.

"All of the artists are well-known artists," museum director Peter Nguyen said. "Some of the names stick out more than others."

Warhol was not just an artist, he was an American icon.

"And everybody likes a pop icon," Phillips said.

The exhibit will open to the public Friday and hang until Nov. 1. The museum will hold a reception coinciding with September's First Friday Art Walk on Sept. 4.

With more than 70 works, Phillips said, arranging the show was a bit of a puzzle, complicated by the large size of many pieces. To echo the name of the show -- "An Adventure in the Arts" -- the walls were moved to give the space a mazelike feel.

"I think it adds a fun factor for the kids," Phillips said. "For the college kids and the public ... these are the things you see in textbooks.

"To be able to actually have it here in Cape and be able to interact with it is a lot better experience," he said.

The traveling show will stay at the River Campus for two and half months, giving people time to appreciate all the works.

"These types of work are rarely seen in rural parts," Nguyen said. "It's a big deal because there are artists in this that normally you have to drive all the way up to St. Louis to see."

charris@semissourian.com

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