Uses of the Real, Part 2

July 1, 2009 - August 30, 2010

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University has received a major gift of 31 new works from the Kathryn C. Wanlass Foundation and Marie Eccles Caine Foundation. The new works are on display as part of the revamped exhibition Uses of the Real, Part 2, an exhibition that explores what constitutes art in today’s world.

Newly remodeled gallery spaces have also allowed the museum staff to bring out the collection in a way not experienced before. Walls have been knocked down and new display fixtures have been installed to allow approximately 500 more objects to be put on display, including more than 100 photographs and 250 ceramic works usually kept in storage and inaccessible to the public.

“We hope the next time our visitors walk through the galleries they will be as delighted as we are because many of their favorite objects are now out of storage and available to enjoy,” said museum director Victoria Rowe Berry. The newly revised and newly installed exhibition of Uses of the Real, Part 2 includes many new contemporary artists who explore the themes of postmodernism and reality. Artists in the exhibition take objects from the everyday world and transform them into art. From vintage upholstery fabric to a sparkling skeleton or chunks of cement to discarded musical instruments, museum visitors can see a wide variety of images and ideas.