Art History majors and minors at Gettysburg College curated their own exhibition under the direction of Professor Yan Sun at the college’s Schmucker Art Gallery.
The exhibit, entitled, “ART/WORK: Labor, Identity, and Society,” contains thirteen pieces from the college’s permanent collection. The exhibition explores issues of identity, equality, and injustice across cultures and historic periods by looking at diverse depictions of workers and scenes of labor.
Yan Sun worked extensively with the students in researching the artworks and curating the exhibit. “The exhibit contains a wide range of artworks that deal with issues of labor in different places such as London, Japan, United States, Mexico and China,” she said.
The students, Zirui Feng, Elinor Gass, Ran Li, Lauren McVeigh, Matthew Montes, and Lin Zhu, chose pieces from the college’s special collections that spoke to them about labor.
Matthew Montes, an Art History minor at Gettysburg College said each student chose images that were related to one another. “Some of the pieces are less obvious on how they relate to labor, but they all fit in to issues of labor regardless of where or when they were made,” he said.
Elinor Gass, a sophomore Art History Major said that each of the artworks add different things to the exhibit. “For example, Sleeping Girl, shows the effect of work and labor,” Gass said. “Together the artworks show progressive stances on labor and how it effects people. The use of artworks from different time periods and eras shows how labor issues are universal.”
“Through my research, I learned that public policy has an impact on labor…and the ways in which governments work impact ethical or unethical labor processes,” Gass said. The effect of government practices can be seen in these depictions of labor.
The exhibition provides an inclusive look into the perception of labor in different times and regions, said Sun. She said visitors can learn more about how people think about labor and the effects it has on the lower classes.
Students worked closely with the Director of Schmucker Art Gallery, Shannon Egan, on the layout of the show, taking into consideration what effect the layout of the artwork had on the meaning of the show.
Overall, the student curators hope that visitors understand that no matter the society, culture, or government, issues of labor are the same everywhere and that these photographs and prints provide a look into these issues.
The gallery premiered with an opening reception and Gallery Talk with student curators on December 7. It is free for all patrons and will be on view through March 4, 2022.
To see the exhibition, visit Schmucker Art Gallery on the main floor of Schmucker Hall at Gettysburg College, Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00am – 4:00 pm.
Schmucker Art Gallery will be closed December 9, 2021 – January 27, 2022 for Gettysburg College’s winter break.
Sarah Paul is a senior at Gettysburg College, majoring in Art History and Italian Studies. She is from Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to being an intern with Gettysburg Connection, she also works at Schmucker Art Gallery, is the treasurer of the Italian Club, and a member of a sorority. After graduation, Sarah hopes to pursue a Master’s Degree in Art History and Museum Studies.