As a freelance photographer in the late 1890s, Johnston sought out subjects that could illuminate the rapid social advances of the Progressive Era.
Disability Studies in Art History
Encountering Disability
In analyzing my experiences with pieces by Close and Lei, my goal is to understand the ways these artists chose to portray the disabled body through their art, how they chose to represent their own disabilities, and how this impacted my experience as a nondisabled viewer.
Murals from Tholing Monastery
A Mysterious Kingdom in Tibet
Tholing Monastery, located at the border of the Tibet Autonomous Region and India, has preserved most of its extraordinarily gorgeous and valuable wall paintings from the eleventh century to the sixteenth century.
Japanese Folding Screens
The Beauty of Byobu
The diversity of the Byobu screens displays the different stages of Chinese influence, from screens that are exact copies of Chinese paintings to those that merely interpret Chinese subjects.
Bird Days at the Museum
Being part of this project gave me a chance to engage with the local community and to plan two separate activities whose main goal was to educate and connect humans of all ages.
Where in the World Was MSAB over Jan Plan?
Every year Colby students from all majors and class years have the opportunity to focus their studies intensively on one subject for the month of January. This year, nearly every Museum Student Advisory Board (MSAB) member chose to focus his or her studies on life outside the Colby campus. Here’s a little bit of what MSAB members have to say about their experiences. . . .
Audubon and Ornithology in Early America
A Bird Watcher’s Perspective
Audubon’s contributions to ornithology derive from his love of birds, exquisitely expressed through his keen observations and arresting visual depictions. Although his work has been criticized by the ornithological and art communities as appearing exaggerated, a closer look reveals details that are accurate and could only have been produced by someone intimate with their subjects.
Julianne Gilland
Deputy Director
Julianne Gilland, our new deputy director, joined the Museum this fall. We recently sat down with Julianne to discuss her role at the Museum, her background, and her experiences living in Central Maine.
Seniors’ Tour & Tea 2017
In anticipation of the upcoming Marsden Hartley’s Maine exhibition, which opened in summer 2017, a senior-geared program provided an overwhelming opportunity. Bayley Ray-Smith ’19 developed the foundations of the program and, in early summer, Jake Abbe-Schneider ’19, Linde Family Foundation Summer Education Intern, worked under the supervision of Margaret Aiken and Jordia Benjamin, Mirken Coordinator of Academic and Public Programs, to bring Bayley’s plans to fruition.
Art, Community, and Ethical Urban Development
Students enrolled in the course hosted Theaster in a class discussion, joined him on a tour of Waterville’s South End, attended multiple community meetings arranged around his visit, and traveled to Chicago to visit some of his projects on the South Side. These are some of their responses to that experience.