Here, the Noyes (Museum of Art)

Inspired (actually required) by the massive open online course (MOOC) I'm taking, I visited an art museum this weekend in search of one attention-grabbing work. Since I was in the neighborhood, kinda, I drove up the Garden State Parkway to the Noyes Museum of Art of Stockton College. I expected it to be small, but I didn't expect it to be so pleasant and inviting. The museum is adjacent to the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, and features a deck overlooking Lily Lake. That's a Barnegat Bay Sneakbox parked on the bank in the picture.

Lily Lake from the Noyes Museum of Art

Inside the museum are four galleries featuring temporary exhibits of contrasting styles and media. I was especially interested in the work of Trenton-born Eric Schultz who creates sculpture out of found objects. I read signs, usually, and noticed one that warned me not to take photographs, but I can show you his video:

I chose his "Magic Lantern" to write about since it dominated the gallery and I could see it from the bench I was sitting upon. (I was required to spend time with my chosen piece of art.) This sculpture is a large ogre-like figure sitting on his haunches and holding an illuminated red lantern. I enjoyed studying Schultz's creations identifying the objects he used, but there's another level of interest here. Schultz uses materials appropriate to the theme of the work. For his angel sculpture he used items related to air, for example. I didn't notice this so much in "Magic Lantern" but I did notice that the found objects matched the shape and contour of the part of the body they represented: two red car ramps for the ogre's back, for example, green and blue wire for his braided hair, and pitchfork feet. Good news: "Magic Lantern" is pictured on Schultz's website here. He is the one with the lantern.

Two artists, Nancy Staub Laughlin and Peggy Fox, were featured in the next gallery. Laughlin works with pastels on paper and adds sparkly bits and details from landscape photos, creating her own worlds mindful of theories of aesthetics. Fox is a photographer inspired by theories of physics. By the way, each gallery offered me two-sided guides to the exhibits to help illuminate each artist's purpose and background.

Curlee Raven Holton works with paints and printmaking as he explores life's realities. His exhibit is entitled "Curlee Raven Holton: In the Sahdow of Contemplation." A recent series of prints on display here are inspired by Shakespeare's Othello. You can see some of his art on this flyer for a teacher's workshop. "Blind Spots" from 2004 is a highlight of this exhibit and can be seen on the linked flyer.

The exhibit "Fabio Mazzieri: Memory of Material" consists of painted strips of fabric, around 70 centimeters wide, draped over ceiling beams and lying on the floor, under and around which the visitor can walk. Thanks to the handout, I learned that this fabric had been woven in Perugia, Umbria, Italy by the artist's mother and grandmother. Some of the fabric is 100 years old. Mazzieri discovered the stash in a chest, probably intended for a wedding dowry. Here's a video showing Mazzieri's work exhibited not at the Noyes, but in an old monastery which now houses his studio. This is hard to describe with words, so watch the video, please.

All of these artists would have kept me interested for an afternoon, even if the Noyes Museum wasn't such a welcoming place, but I haven't even mentioned the music yet! Singer-guitarist Nicolas Castillo was performing in a strategic central location and I enjoyed his R&B and Indie Pop as I made my way through the galleries. Castillo wasn't just some guy with a guitar pulled off the street to lend some ambiance--he sounded as if he had just emerged from a radio station (WWFM for example) to grace the museum. Evidently, the music is a Sundays-in-March thing, so don't expect to be as lucky as I was when you go!

Outside the Noyes