The Thomas Moser Showroom in Portland Maine is hosting an exhibit of
artwork by graduates and teachers from the Corcoran School of Art and George Washington University. Thomas Moser is a GWU graduate. Check out the beautiful furniture his company makes here.
"The show is celebrating the Corcoran-GW connection in a tangible way as well: 25 percent of sales will be shared between the Corcoran School of Arts and Design and GW’s Special Collections, enabling the university’s archivist to process more than 2,000 boxes of historic Corcoran records."
'Dedicated to Art' is carved into the marble above the door of the Corcoran Museum - except it's no longer the Corcoran, because the museum's art has gone to NGA and the school has been enveloped by GWU. but alas, this is old news and not really what this posting is about. Well...kinda. For this show I made a set of 'Corcoran Memorial Mugs' Here is my artist's statement for the Exhibit:
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in 1999. My class was a small one and very close knit, as was the whole Corcoran community, nestled in the basement under the Museum. This is where most of the classrooms and studios of the fine arts department were. We felt honored to be down there. We felt special having access to the many masterpieces that hung on the levels above us. In a hallway of the Museum, there was a door that read ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ and we would proudly push it open and descend to our studios, waving to the guards, and holding dear the inspiration gleaned from having just seen, what felt like, our own private viewing of a great American art collection, because that’s what we were trying to be – American artists.
I didn’t know then that my career would be working in museums and caring for their collections, but I know now that going to school at the Corcoran is what lead me down this path. After receiving my Master of Fine Arts in ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, also a school connected to a museum, I returned to DC and began the Museum Studies program at George Washington University. I believe there is no better place in the world to learn about working in museums. My teachers had been professionals for decades, before “Museum Studies” programs existed. They paved the way for implementing the highest standards of display, collections care, curation, and knowledge sharing. My classes were held inside the buildings of the National Mall, and during my internships I worked with some of the most valuable stamps in the world at the National Postal Museum and built Plexiglas cases for the National Portrait gallery. My experience there was phenomenal, and I have a deep respect for GWU and the resources it provides its 25000 students, but I am sad that the Corcoran is no more.
I was teaching in the Ceramics department of the Corcoran when the school was enveloped by GWU, and it just wasn’t possible for it to maintain its close knit feeling. The worst part of all was that the museum was gone, the collection going to the National Gallery of Art. When you walk upstairs into the gallery, you can still feel the history and the pride of place of the Corcoran Museum, but the fabulous American art collection does not hang on the walls. And when you open the ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ door and walk down the stairs into the basement, the guards do not wave. They ask to see your identification.
WHEN Opening Reception with Artists Thursday, June 22, 2017 · 6:00 - 8:00 pm Gallery Talk Thursday, July 20, 2017 · 6:00 - 8:00 pm All work will be on display through Tuesday, October 10, 2017 WHERE Thos. Moser Freeport Showroom 149 Main Street Freeport, ME 04032 207.865.4519 freeportshowroom@thosmoser.com Artwork on display by: Cicely Aikman (1923-2013); James Daugherty (1889-1974); Abraham Rattner (1893-1978); Charles DuBack (1926-2015); Brockie Stevenson (1919-2009); Margret Baldwin; David Estey; Nina Fuller; Roberta Goschke; Jenny Moore; Lavendier Myers; Chris Osgood; Amy Wilton; Diana Ansley; Peter Egeli; Janis Goodman; Rosie Moore; John Morrell; Don Ripper; Charlotte Whitney Stevens; Joanne Williams; and Kate Hardy.
