RELEASE DATE: OCT 6, 2020
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro has organized the exhibition Ties that Bind: Selections from the Collection, on view until February 14, 2021. John Fawcett wrote a hymn on the theme in 1800, “blest be the tie that binds.” Bruce Springsteen took a different approach in an eponymous song popular in 1980, singing “you don’t want nothin’, don’t need no one by your side/You’re walkin’ tough baby, but you’re walkin’ blind/To the ties that bind.” Whether entwined in fellowship with kindred spirits or stretched to the point of breaking, the ties that bind us to one another are often some of the most significant markers in our lives. Ties that Bind explores the various types of relationships that define, brighten, inspire, or perhaps even challenge us on a daily basis.
The exhibition includes works from the Weatherspoon’s collection by, among many others: Janine Antoni, Benny Andrews, Diane Arbus, Romare Bearden, Jean Charlot, David Hass, Nan Goldin, Alex Katz, Nikki Lee, Malcolm Morley, Fairfield Porter, Charlie Roberts, Vibeke Tandberg, and Marion Post Wolcott. The works explore familial relationships, be they between mother and child or self-identified families, and less fixed, but equally important ties—to lovers, friends, and even objects. And, because life can be arduous at times, the tension, separateness, and alienation that result from unhealthy ties or from a lack of connection are also considered.
The exhibition is on display at a time when we are (re)examining our relationships with one other, particularly friends and family who we can and cannot spend time with due to the global pandemic. The artworks prompt viewers to contemplate the people and things that might be important to their mental and emotional health and why. In short, who brings comfort and joy to our lives and who are we separated from by distance, if not love? Images like Benny Andrews’ Two Women with Two Children (1971) and Nan Goldin’s Bruce’s mirror. Portland, Maine (1996) offer alternative definitions of “family.” Other images, particularly Malcolm Morley’s Beach Scene (1969) and David Haas’ more recent Carousel, Copenhagen (2019) celebrate moments of shared pleasure, while early twentieth-century artists Jean Charlot and Marion Post Wolcott highlighted families working together for the common good. The separateness and alienation that can result from unhealthy ties or from a lack of connection are apparent in Vibeke Tandberg’s and Nikki Lee’s photographs, Living Together #6 (1996) and Part (37) (2002), as well as Charlie Roberts’ drawing, Possible Heads (2010).
As we navigate through the upheavals of 2020, Ties that Bind offers some opportunities to think about how we live, love, and relate to one another during these challenging times and conditions.
The exhibition is organized by Elaine D. Gustafson, Curator of Collections.
Image: Nikki S. Lee, Part (37), 2002 (detail). Dye coupler print mounted on aluminum, 29 ⅞ x 22 ⅞ in. Weatherspoon Art Museum. Gift of Leslie Tonkonow, 2009.21. © Nikki S. Lee
About the Weatherspoon Art Museum
Mission
Embracing its public service role, the Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro fosters the ability of art to impact lives and connect multiple communities.
History
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro was founded by Gregory Ivy in 1941 and is the earliest of any art facilities within the UNC system. The museum was founded as a resource for the campus, community, and region, and its early leadership developed an emphasis—maintained to this day—on presenting and acquiring modern and contemporary works of art. A 1950 bequest from the renowned collection of Claribel and Etta Cone, including prints and bronzes by Henri Matisse and other works on paper by American and European modernists, helped establish the Weatherspoon’s permanent collection. During Ivy’s tenure, other prescient acquisitions included a 1951 suspended mobile by Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning’s pivotal 1949-50 Woman, and the first drawings by Eva Hesse and Robert Smithson to enter a museum collection.
In 1989, the museum moved into its present location in The Anne and Benjamin Cone Building designed by the architectural firm Mitchell Giurgola. The museum has six galleries and a sculpture courtyard with over 17,000 square feet of exhibition space. The American Alliance of Museums accredited the Weatherspoon in 1995 and renewed its accreditation in 2005 and 2015.
Collections + Exhibitions
The collection of the Weatherspoon Art Museum is one of the foremost of its kind in the Southeast. It represents all major art movements from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Among the nearly 6,500 objects in the collection are works by such prominent figures as Sanford Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, Nick Cave, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Louise Nevelson, Gordon Parks, Adrian Piper, Jackson Pollock, Betye Saar, Cindy Sherman, Amy Sillman, David Smith, Jennifer Steinkamp, Joseph Stella, Henry Ossawa Tanner, and Edward Weston. The museum regularly lends to major exhibitions nationally and internationally.
The Weatherspoon is also known for its dynamic exhibition program. Through a lively annual calendar of exhibitions and a multidisciplinary educational program for audiences of all ages, the museum provides an opportunity for visitors to consider artistic, cultural, and social issues of our time—enriching the life of our university, community, and region.
UNC Greensboro
Led by Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., UNC Greensboro is one of only 59 doctoral institutions recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for higher research activity and community engagement. Founded in 1891 and one of the original three UNC System institutions, UNC Greensboro is one of the most diverse universities in North Carolina with 20,000+ students and 3,000+ faculty and staff members from 90+ nationalities. With 17 Division I athletic teams, 85 undergraduate degrees in over 125 areas of study, and 74 master’s and 32 doctoral programs, UNC Greensboro is consistently recognized nationally among the top universities for academic excellence and value. For additional information, please visit uncg.edu and follow UNCG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Weatherspoon Art Museum
UNC Greensboro
1005 Spring Garden Street
Greensboro, NC 27412, (336) 334-5770, weatherspoon@uncg.edu
For more information or press images, contact:
Loring Mortensen, (336) 256-1451, lamorten@uncg.edu
