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For Immediate Release —December 29, 2008
Clash of
Cultures
Mixed Marriage Tom MacPherson
Installation Raises Issues Through Images of Grandmother’s Home GENESEO,
N.Y. – The State University of New York at Geneseo will feature the works of
faculty member Tom MacPherson in the exhibition “Tom MacPherson: The Italian American Family Album” Jan. 20 –
Feb. 21 in the college’s Lederer Gallery.
The exhibition, which is free and
open to the public, is an interactive and collaborative installation of egg
tempera paintings placed within the simulated environment of MacPherson’s
grandmother’s home. MacPherson is
professor of art at Geneseo. “The exhibit
raises issues about family, immigration, domesticity, memory and the
transmigration of individuals and families,” said Cynthia Hawkins, director of
galleries at SUNY Geneseo. “His work
shows how that transmigration reformed relationships to the ‘old country’ and
culture and shaped their relationship to the new country and culture.” The
installation began with the living room in his grandmother’s home in 2007. Since then, he has completed her dining room
and bedroom. The rooms contain some of
MacPherson’s grandmother’s actual furniture as well as some acquired period
pieces. Within the rooms are egg tempera
paintings of MacPherson’s family members that detail particular aspects of
their lives. The artist’s goal is to
complete an installation that reproduces his grandmother’s entire house. MacPherson
has exhibited his evolving installation at numerous venues across the country
and has exhibited other paintings and prints at both national and international
exhibitions. A reception for the artist
is scheduled Jan. 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Lederer Gallery. The event is open to the public without
charge. The
Bertha V. B. Lederer Gallery is in Brodie Hall on the SUNY Geneseo
campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from noon to 4 p.m.,
Friday and Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. For additional information, call
585-245-5814. |
