Alison Pack, director of Slocumb Galleries, can’t imagine a day without art.
“Art is my life,” she said, and her life is dedicated to making and talking about art.
While serving as director, pack is pursuing her master of fine arts degree in metalsmithing and jewelry design.
Pack’s job entails showing art that is technically and conceptually strong and also unique.
It is her mission to show works of art that viewers, be they community members or students, might not have seen before.
Pack said it isn’t her job, nor is it possible, to try to make viewers like all the works that come to Slocumb Galleries because there are many “aesthetic viewpoints” about art.
She thinks it is important, however, that viewers try to appreciate and understand why the artists have made those works and chosen to express themselves in that manner.
Pack’s job has an educational component, and her interest in taking the position was spurred by her desire to teach. “I want to educate them about why people create,” she said.
Pack says because of budget constraints, she cannot bring in all the work she would like to.
She is limited to showing art by artists who are rising in prominence but are not well known. However, she said it is enjoyable to work with those artists who are interested in higher education and creating challenging works of art.
Pack said she would also like to show work by established and famous artists.
She thinks it is equally important that students see works of art that have made a big impact on the art world, but rental fees for those exhibits are prohibitive.
“If I had more money, I could do more,” she said.
Blair White, director and curator of the Reece Museum, agrees that it is important for viewers to keep an open mind when looking at art.
“I’ve learned you don’t immediately dismiss something without really seeing it,” he said.
White said one frustration he feels in his job is being unable to create a greater awareness among students of the importance of visiting the Reece Museum.
He thinks looking at art is just as important a part of a college education as anything a student learns in the classroom.
“I always felt that if you are exposed to as many things as you can be then you have a much larger resource of personal information,” he said.
White believes people are intimidated by coming into a museum because art is not a prominent and required part of each student’s early education.
He would like people to see art as a crucial part of daily life and not as an occasional form of entertainment.
“I’ve decided that part of my emphasis should be to try to find ways to get the arts more into the schools, or the museum into the schools, or something, so that we can begin at an earlier age trying to create an awareness,” he said.
White said art appreciation is fostered by taking art history classes from those with a passion for art.
He also thinks for those considering a future in any area of the visual arts, or even just for viewers, a course that teaches all the artistic processes should be available and required.
White believes appreciation and understanding of art develop more quickly when individuals have experience working with various art forms.
White’s introduction to art did not come through his family but by a caring teacher who introduced him to art at a very confusing and important time in his life.
“He opened up a whole new world to me,” he said.

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