Hutchins Library News Blog

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce the exhibit "Americans Who Tell The Truth" by Robert Shetterly on display now on our main wall. The exhibit runs from now to March 31. This exhibit is part of a larger exhibit presenting a sample of his paintings for the AWTT Project. You can view an additional selection of paintings over at the Ullman Galleries. To learn more, QR codes are provided next to the paintings. The QR codes will take you to the AWTT website where you can learn more about the artist, the portraits, and the overall project.

The exhibit is free and open to the public during library regular hours.

Mr. Shetterly will be the campus convocation speaker for March 28, 2024. Convocation will take place at Phelps Stokes Chapel starting at 3:00pm.

We would also like to invite the community for the unveiling of the next portrait in the Americans Who Tell The Truth series: Berea's own Craig Williams. Mr. Williams is the Director of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation (KEF).  The KEF was instrumental in assuring the safe destruction of chemical weapons last year at the Bluegrass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky. The unveiling will take place at Hutchins Library on the main floor after convocation on March 28, 2024, at about 4:30pm.

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce that the Feminist Artists of Kentucky (link to their Facebook page) are presenting their 2024 exhibit in the main floor of the library. The exhibit is in honor of Women's History Month. The exhibit runs throughout the month of February and into middle of March. It can be viewed during library regular hours. The exhibit is free and open to the public .

The Feminist Artists of Kentucky are:

• Pat C. Jennings
• Mary Ann Shupe
• Patricia Watkins
• Karen Tillquist
• Heather Dent
• And guest artist Jackie Pullum

The artists provided the following statement for the exhibit:

"We are still here...

We are still working...

We are still relevant...

2024

Welcome to our celebration of Women's History Month. We are pleased to return to Berea College Hutchins Library for another year celebration of women and art. We are a group of mature working artists who combine our efforts and talents to expand our creativity and create art for social justice causes.

As a group, we meet weekly to create, critique, and expand growth in our art. We enthusiastically support social justice and work to bring light to the needs of our community and our world.

We believe women and art can change the world.

If you wish to purchase the for sale art, commission a custom piece, or make a donation, you can message us and follow us on Facebook at feministartistsofky.

Thank you for coming and we hope you enjoy our exhibit."

Amanda Peach, assistant library director is pleased to announce the following:

Berea student Florence Wright invites you to interact with her sculpture, Gaia’s Dream, currently housed in the lobby of Hutchins Library for this week only, November 15th - 19th. You may write directly on it or attach items to its trunk and/or branches, using glue, twine, tape, or staples. A box of supplies are housed next to the sculpture and is available immediately for you to use, but you are not limited to just those. You may add anything to the sculpture, as long as it is not wet/smelly/dirty.

Here is her artist statement:

Gaia’s Dream:

Gaia is the goddess of the Earth. She is a symbol of life on Earth, and she is used as a representation of the environmental activism movement.

Gaia’s Dream is a tree built entirely from recycled paper and plastic. I want for each viewer to find a way that they can contribute to this sculpture. The goal is to build something beautiful together as a community to bring awareness to the need for sustainability and waste minimization. Our sculpture is a collective work that belongs to the hands of the Berea community; use glue or string or staples to attach your own contribution. Feel free to use the flyer or program as your contribution or use biodegradable pigments to add something (ie. wax, natural pigments etc.)

The world is a dark place, but each step we take together to better it is a drop of light in an ocean of void.

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce "Feminist Expressions in Action", an art exhibit by  Berea College student Malaya Wright. The exhibit runs from August 23, 2021 through September 30, 2021. You can view the exhibit in the library's main floor on the center wall.

This event is free. However, due to COVID-19, Admission will be limited to Berea College faculty, staff, & students, and masks must be worn by all who attend.

The artist provided the following statement:

"I often question feminist theory; I ask: "How can we visualize these critiques? How can we navigate change?". These pieces are a response to my queries. Feminism addresses the uncomfortable - the muffled screams and fleeting glances. The whispers of change. I hope my art provides solace for the hushed and offers unabashedly bares nakedness to your soul. May you stare at them as they stare back at you."

There will be an artist talk and reception on Friday, September 3, 2021 from 4pm to 6pm. Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the campus community.

This program has been funded by the Berea College Women and Gender Studies Program.

May's reference book of the Month:  Dictionary of Symbols.

This remarkable and wide-ranging book is an inventory of symbols and the symbolic imagination. The editors and their fifteen contributors are drawn from a variety of scholarly backgrounds--including anthropology, ethnology, psychotherapy and art history. This diversity of approach is responsible for the book's unique character, a reflection of the multiplicity of symbols and signs and the phenomenal range of possible interpretations they offer.

This book draws together folklore, literary and artistic sources, and focuses on the symbolic dimension of every color, number, sound, gesture, expression or character trait that has benefited from symbolic interpretation. The conscious and unconscious minds are explored, desire and dreams are treated alongside the known and the chronicled. Extraordinary in its range and eclecticism, this dictionary was originally published in French as the Dictionnaire des Symboles, and it is regarded as the standard work on the subject.

~ Recommended for students majoring in Art History~

Dictionary of Symbols This remarkable and wide-ranging book is an inventory of symbols and the symbolic imagination. The editors and their fifteen contributors are drawn from a variety of scholarly backgrounds--including anthropology, ethnology, psychotherapy and art history. This diversity of approach is responsible for the book's unique character, a reflection of the multiplicity of symbols and signs and the phenomenal range of possible interpretations they offer. This book draws together folklore, literary and artistic sources, and focuses on the symbolic dimension of every colour, number, sound, gesture, expression or character trait that has benefitted from symbolic interpretation. The conscious and unconscious minds are explored, desire and dreams are treated alongside the known and the chronicled. Extraordinary in its range and eclecticism, this dictionary was originally published in French as the Dictionnaire des Symboles, and it is regarded as the standard work on the subject. by Jean Chevalier; Alain Gheerbrant (Editor); John Buchanan-Brown (Translator)

Call Number: 302.222 C527d 1996

ISBN: 0140512543

Publication Date: 1997-03-01

This remarkable and wide-ranging book is an inventory of symbols and the symbolic imagination. The editors and their fifteen contributors are drawn from a variety of scholarly backgrounds--including anthropology, ethnology, psychotherapy and art history. This diversity of approach is responsible for the book's unique character, a reflection of the multiplicity of symbols and signs and the phenomenal range of possible interpretations they offer.

This book draws together folklore, literary and artistic sources, and focuses on the symbolic dimension of every colour, number, sound, gesture, expression or character trait that has benefitted from symbolic interpretation. The conscious and unconscious minds are explored, desire and dreams are treated alongside the known and the chronicled. Extraordinary in its range and eclecticism, this dictionary was originally published in French as the Dictionnaire des Symboles, and it is regarded as the standard work on the subject.

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce that Dr. Valeria Watkins will present her solo exhibit entitled "New Visions" during the month of February 2020. The exhibit of abstract art in celebration of Black History Month can be viewed in the main floor of Hutchins Library during library regular hours throughout the month of February.

In addition, there will be a reception with the artist on Thursday, February 6, 2020 from 4:30p to 6:00p in the library's main floor. Refreshments will be served. Come and meet the artist, ask questions and take some time to enjoy this great and colorful exhibit.

All events are free and open to the public.

Dr. Valeria Watkins submitted the following biographical and artistic statement to go with the exhibit:

Welcome to the 2020 celebration of Black History Month at the Hutchins Library Gallery at Berea College. A collection of 15 new, interesting and exciting Abstract Paintings are on display for the month.

This is the fifth solo exhibit by artist Valeria Watkins. This year’s collection is entitled “New Visions”. She uses bold, colorful acrylic paints to express the creative spirit. Usually, by using two to three colors she finds nit easy to express formless connections with the colors. The work is highly intuitive while invoking strong emotional connections with the images or colors.

It is still a challenge to allow the paints to be themselves as opposed to being something specific. So, take your time with each painting and get a feel for what the painting is saying to you. Everyone has a difference experience as they listen.

"A Joyful Noise" by Valeria Watkins. Acrylic on canvas

"Peaceful" by Valeria Watkins. Acrylic on canvas

Hutchins Library is hosting an exhibit of Lakota artifacts and cultural objects in the library's main floor during the month of April 2019. The exhibit is presented in conjunction with the college convocation "History and Culture of the Lakota" featuring speaker Vance Blacksmith on April 4, 2019. Exhibit can be viewed during regular library hours. It is free and open to the public.

Statement for Lakota Cultural Exhibit

Hide painting, from Lakota Cultural Exhibit

Hutchins Library is proud to announce that the Feminist Artists of Kentucky have set up a beautiful art display in the library's main floor. The display can be viewed during the month of March 2019 during regular library hours. The display serves to honor Women's History Month.

The artists provided the following short statement about the exhibit:

In recognition of Women’s History Month 2019, a new exhibit is on display at the Hutchins Library, Berea College for the entire month. The Feminist Artist of Kentucky are exhibiting their creativity by showing a range of individual talents and skills representing art through various mediums. The artist are six women who work collectively and individually to use their creative talents to engage in various forms of service projects and involvement locally, regionally and internationally that expresses art as social and political statements.

In addition, the artists will participate in an artist talk during a reception at the library. The reception details are as follows:

When: Thursday, March 14.

Time: 4:30pm to 6:pm

Where: Hutchins Library Main Floor

Refreshments will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

Here are some photos from the exhibit:

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce that the Tibetan Monks of Tashi Kyil will be visiting Berea College's campus from February 15, 2019 to February 19, 2019. As part of their visit, they will construct a World Peace sand mandala in the central area of the main floor of Hutchins Library. Visitors can view the work during library's regular hours.

The itinerary of activities for the public includes:

Friday, February 15:

• 1 p.m.: Opening Ceremony (Atrium, Hutchins Library) & sand mandala construction. (Library closes 7 p.m.)
   

• 7 p.m.: “The Story of Tibet” (Room 100, Draper Building)

Saturday, February 16:

• 2 p.m.: Tashi Sholpa Dance and Tibetan Language Workshop (Dance Studio. 2nd Floor. Seabury Center)

Sunday, February 17:

• 7 p.m.: "A Course in Happiness." (Fireside Room. Danforth Chapel. Draper Building)

Monday, February 18:

• 10 a.m.: Meditation Workshop and Heart Sutra Chanting. (Room 006. Knapp Hall)

Tuesday, February 19:

• 12 p.m.: Sand Mandala Closing Ceremony. (Hutchins Library)

All events are free and open to the public.

Sponsored by:

• Art and History Department
• Asian Student Union
• Asian Studies Department
• Campus Christian Center
• Center for International Education
• Cosmopolitan Club
• Hutchins Library
• Office of the Academic Vice-President
• Office of the President

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce that Dr. Valeria Watkins Solo Art Exhibit, "Truth is Truth," is now on display in our main floor during the month of  February 2019. This month-long exhibit honors Black History Month. The exhibit can be viewed during library regular hours. It is free and open to the public.

In addition, there will be an artist reception on Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 5pm in the library's main floor. Light refreshments will be provided. This event is also free and open to the public.

Dr. Valeria Watkins, the artist, provided the following statement on the exhibit:

Hello and welcome to a month long exhibit in honor of Black History Month. This 2019 solo exhibit is titled “Truth is Truth” and includes 15 new amazing and beautiful acrylic paintings.

Each paintings is an expression of the creative process that I find within the stillness of my meditation. I enjoy working with all the beautiful colors of the acrylic paints. I use various tools which helps to add to the paintings structure.

Putting combinations of colors on canvas is pretty cool! The right combinations really make the creative process exciting and challenging. I am inspired to follow that intuitive spark of creativity within me which can be both bold and elusive.

I strive to convey a freedom that can move the viewer. Spend time with each painting and enjoy! And leave your comments.

Please feel free to check out my online Art Gallery if you want to see more of my work! www.valeriawatkins.foliotwist.com.

"Disruption." Acrylic. One of the various paintings by Dr. Valeria Watkins on display this month at Hutchins Library.

Want to read Prof. Doherty's chapter for yourself? Find it here:

Translating Early Modern Science by Sietske Fransen; Niall Hodson; Karl A. E. Enenkel

Call Number: 418.035 T772 2017 - BC Scholarship Collection (3rd Floor)

Publication Date: 2017

"Ordinary skill in cutts" : visual translation in early modern learned journals by Meghan C. Doherty

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce that Dr. Alan Mills and additional faculty and students of 2017 KIIS Winter Program are displaying a series of photographs of Maya Mexico from their recent trip. The exhibit runs from February 5 to February 16, 2018. This event is free and open to the public during library regular hours, and it can be viewed in the library's main floor on the right wall of the center lobby.

In addition, there will be a reception with the artists on Friday, February 16, 2018 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm in the library's main floor. All are invited. This event is also free and open to the public.

Student artists featured are:

Nick Bottom (Berea College)

Rachael Ferguson (Centre College)

Michelle Marshall (Eastern Kentucky University)

Lily McAfee (Eastern Kentucky University)

Jalen Prater (Berea College)

Lily Setters (Berea College)

Nathan Summey (Berea College)

Chris True (Berea College)

Chris Works (Berea College)

Leah Wright (Morehead State University)

Faculty:

Dr. Alan Mills (Berea College), Dr. Chris Fulton (University of Louisville), and Dr. Marie Petkus (Centre College)

Here is a small sampling of the items on display:

"Calle 55." Photo by Michelle Marshall

"El Castillo de Chichen Itza." Photo by Lily Setters

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce that during the month of February, and to honor Black History Month, we will feature a solo art exhibit of Dr. Valeria Watkins' work. The exhibit will run throughout the month of February. It can be viewed in the library's center wall on the main floor. The exhibit can be viewed during regular library hours.

This event is free and open to the public.

In addition, the public is invited to a reception with the artist on Friday, February 9, 2018. The reception will run from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm, and it will be held in the gathering area in front of the center wall. Light refreshments will be provided.

Dr. Watkins has provided the following statement to accompany  the exhibit:

"Welcome to Black History Month and this 2018 solo exhibit. It consists of 15 new Abstract Acrylic Paintings. I have added oil pastels to some of the images and they are identified as multi media.

The title of this series is, “Challenges to the Personal”. I work hard at stepping outside the frame of my personal idea of what is correct and incorrect to allow the colors to find their own boundaries and connections. My process begins with meditation.  It is from that space of stillness that I first engaged the creative process and I maintain this stillness until there is a finished canvas.

The more I spend time painting, the more I feel the energy of the combinations of colors and the rhythm they create when combined. And I fall in love all over again. I don’t see images and I don’t try to do… something. My intention is to allow my intuition to be my guide from beginning to end.

Thank you for viewing this work. I hope you will be inspired to discover the artist within you.

Enjoy, Dr. Valeria"

Some photos from the exhibit:

Wide view of display.

Painting entitled "Waking Up."

Painting entitled "Blue Invasion."

Hutchins Library will be displaying the art exhibit entitled "The Other Side" in the library's main floor. The exhibit will run from November 1, 2017 to November 30, 2017. The display can be viewed during library regular hours. It is free and open to the public.

The artists featured are Christine Kuhn, Karla Rose Weakly-Gruber, and Sylvia Zingg. The artists provided the following exhibit statement:

"The Other Side" is an art show of work created by former students of the Berea Art Department who for one reason or another did not graduate from the college but instead, transferred to other institutions to finish their degrees or were graduates of Berea College who received non-art related degrees and after graduating became artists.

Christine Kuhn is an artist/muralist who lives, works, creates and sometimes teaches in Lexington, Kentucky. Her works of art have been seen and published in various publications and venues in Kentucky and elsewhere.

Karla Rose Weakly-Gruber is an artist who lives in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky.  She is the owner of Front Porch Art and former artist/art teacher at the Music and Art Center of Cultural Learning in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.  She studied art education at both Berea College and Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. 

Sylvia Zingg currently resides in Omaha, Nebraska with her family. She actively volunteers her time and talents to various community organizations. She is an RN by trade, but recently has been creating art and working in her studio.

Art piece by Christine Kuhn:

Art piece by Sylvia Zingg:

Art piece by Karla Rose Weakly-Gruber

Hutchins Library is hosting an art exhibit of the Feminist Artists of Kentucky titled "Engaging communities to impact social justice." This art exhibit celebrates the Women's History Month and features pieces by 6 artists: Trish Ayers, Pat Cheshire Jennings, Jackie Pullum, Mary Ann Shupe, Patricia Watkins, and Valeria Watkins, as well as a guest artist Lynn Marrapodi. 

The exhibit is on display in the library's main floor. The exhibit may be viewed during library regular hours. It is free and open to the public.

The artists provided the following artist statement for the exhibit:

"We are six working artists who combine our efforts and talents to expand our creativity and create exhibitions that challenge the social norms. We are delighted to bring this exhibit to the Berea College Theatre Laboratory during its current production of plays written by Kentucky women playwrights. We support gender parity and equality in the art world, including theatre. 

If you wish to purchase our art, you may call 859-302-3709 and we will explain the details of your transaction and answer any other questions you may have. 

Thank you for coming and we hope you enjoy our exhibition."

Some artists' personal statements:

Valeria Watkins: "Women's History Month offers us all an opportunity to honor the work of women. It is a pure joy to work with my fellow artists  as Feminist Artists of Kentucky.."

Patricia Watkins: "My work as a feminist artist is most often inspired by women, their roles in our culture, and their legacies. Being in my seventh decade, I also am influenced by the body of work that I hope to leave behind..."

Hutchins Library is hosting the solo art exhibit of Dr. Valeria Watkins titled "liberation." This winter art exhibit features 20 abstract pieces by the artist new for 2016. The exhibit is on display in the library's main floor. The exhibit may be viewed during library regular hours. It is free and open to the public.

In addition, we would like to invite the community to a reception and talk  with  the artist, Dr. Watkins at the library. The reception and talk will take place on Friday, February 10, 2017 at 5:00 pm. Refreshments will be provided. This event is also free and open to the public.

Dr. Watkins provided the following artist statement for the exhibit:

Welcome to this new exhibit of paintings called “liberation” which were painted in 2016.  These new paintings are an expression of where I am in my life. They are all ABSTRACT paintings which I love, because it is a language all its own. I believe Abstract helps to uncover something wonderful within the viewer and the artist.

 I am tapping into that creative spark within while making a visual image on the canvas.  Setting aside all distractions and self-talk allow the paintings to unlock the door from within.

I don’t see images and I don’t try to do anything. My greatest challenge with painting is to not stifle the creative process with details or thoughts of trying to do something. I become engage with the colors allowing the strokes and movement of the tools I use to shape and form the patterns with the paint. I am excited about repurposing used products so that they influence the texture and ultimately the painting. Those pieces are designated as multi-media.

Thank you for viewing this work and I hope it will speak to you as it has to me.  It is a journey of discovery with me hoping you will be able to go beyond what you have been conditioned to see. Enjoy the colors, experience the energy, find the images and experience something wonderful.

Have fun with the journey!

Hutchins Library is hosting an exhibit of Robert Boyce's fiber work art during the month of June. Robert Boyce is a graduate of Berea College (1966, BA Art). He has an MA in Art History from IU Bloomington and a PhD in Art History from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a tenured faculty member at Berea College from 1982 to 2008. Dr. Boyce has provided the following artist statement:

"For years, I have been interested in the fiber work of the American artist, Sheila Hicks. Born in Nebraska, trained at the Detroit Art Institute and later Yale U. under Joseph and Anni Albers, Hicks has studios in New York City and Paris. From weavings that hang on the wall to wrapped pieces that move away from the wall, her site specific art is colorful, sculptural and almost architectural in its size and mass.

Using Hicks wrapping techniques, I use analogous colors of wool and synthetic yarns that are as tightly wound around a warp as I am able to wrap them. This tight wrap with interior metal allows the units to move away from the wall as sculptural structures to play with interconnected negative and positive spaces. I explore shape, movement, and color with my domestic scaled sculptures, and entice the viewer with evocative titles."

The following pieces are featured on the display:

• "Three Button Coat for a Cephalopod" (April 2016)
• "Starry Night" (March 2016)
• "Garden Gate" (February 2016)
• "Bittersweet" (January 2016)
• "Bougainvillea" (January 2016)
• "Green Iguana" (August 2015)

The exhibit can be viewed in the library's main floor during regular library hours. The exhibit is free and open to the public.