As far as categorization, some South Carolina art is strictly regional, just as some southern literary works fall into the category of sectionalism. However, South Carolina art is hardly limited to romanticized landscapes depicting moss-draped trees, black sharecroppers or Charleston's Rainbow Row. When asked if many South Carolina artists have gained national prominence, Severens replies, "Yes, two come directly to mind. William H. Johnson and Jasper Johns have national reputations. They both transcended their roots and established uniquely personal artistic vocabulary. The exhibition also features artists who have done work in South Carolina, including the well-known American scene painter Edward Hopper."
Colorful Complements
Complementing the exhibition are three installations -- Jasper Johns: Just Thinking of a Series of Dreams; Charleston Renaissance; and William H. Johnson: Native Son.
Jasper Johns: Just Thinking of a Series of Dreams is an autobiographical display of paintings, watercolors and prints by Johns whose work since 1983 has begun to reflect more on his South Carolina childhood. Largely self-taught, Johns was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1930 and attended the University of South Carolina and a commercial art school in New York before entering military service in 1951. Johns and his colleague, Robert Rauschenberg, served as the bridge between Abstract Expressionism and the fashionable Pop Art and Minimalism of the 1960s. Today, Johns resides in Connecticut. This exhibit, which includes his iconic Flags I (1973), can be viewed until September 27, 2009.
Scheduled to run until September 6, 2009, Charleston Renaissance is dedicated to what Severens describes as "the period of renewal between 1915 and 1940 that brought Charleston from being a sleepy rundown town to a major tourist destination as we know it today." Severens explains, "This reshaping of Charleston was largely the result of artists and writers who put Charleston on the map, as it were, by 'packaging' the city. Several local women -- [including] Alice Huger Ravenel Smith and Elizabeth O'Neill Verner -- tended toward quasi-romantic portrayals. Other artists, mostly men from the outside, were often more straightforward and less likely to gloss over the tired streetscapes, and they also saw the life of the local population, especially the blacks, in more realistic terms." Charleston Renaissance represents the period well, offering a sampling from all of the key figures. "I think we have one of the strongest Charleston Renaissance collections, not all of which is up, and ours is broader than the one at the Gibbes [Museum of Art in Charleston]," Severens points out.
William H. Johnson: Native Son, running until October 4, 2009, is an installation dedicated to one of South Carolina's most important African American artists. Born in Florence, South Carolina, a railroad hub and farming community in 1901, Johnson's plight would mirror that of other southern African Americans. Moving to New York at the age of 17, Johnson performed menial jobs to support himself as he studied art at the National Academy of Design. He also became an assistant to Ash Can School painter George Luks. During his career, he would travel to various European cities, including Paris, Florence, Hamburg, Cologne, Copenhagen, Oslo and Kerterminde (Denmark), before returning to New York in 1938 due to the rise of Nazism. Johnson's European works contrast sharply with his later paintings. This exhibit, a virtual paradigm of Johnson's career, includes some of his expressionistic landscapes as well as exciting, colorful scenes painted during his time in New York's vibrant Harlem community.
Creating a Richly Layered Canvas
The Greenville County Museum of Art is a pinnacle in a region where a variety of important museums and collections abound. "We have charted a course which is different from our sister museums, in part because we have different audiences, but also we have devoted a lot of our resources to building the collection whereas others are more exhibition driven," Severens remarks.
Supported by the local community, the museum in turn serves the community by exposing its visitors, who range from school-age youngsters to veteran artists, to a world of art that might otherwise be accessible only in major metropolises like Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago or San Francisco. When asked what patrons might expect to experience or glean from the current exhibition, Severens replied, "It is a lesson in history, but it is also an aesthetic journey. It is broad and deep and varied and, I think, something for everyone's taste. Some of it is nostalgic, some challenging."
Art and Artists of South Carolina will be on view until January 3, 2010. As always, admission to the museum is free.
