02/01/08

People expecting to see architecture for the new show, “The Next 150 – Celebrating a View Toward Tomorrow” at the Holt-Russell Gallery will not see what they were expecting.

“This showing is not a part of the original schedule,” Walt Bailey, special assistant to the president for development of the arts, said.

The new showing, “Celebrating Our Glorious Friends,” will be taking its place Tuesday at the Holt-Russell Gallery and will be open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Bailey said the change in shows occurred because of an alteration in the schedule. Tom Russell, one of the people the gallery was named after, had a birthday.

“Russell’s family used the gallery for his 90th birthday,” Bailey said.

“Celebrating Our Glorious Friends” was originally put on display in October and was taken down early for Russell’s family. Instead of continuing along with the scheduled shows, the art department decided to make a change.

“The original show was to get people to think about what architecture would look like that would last for the next 150 years,” Bailey said. “But that would require far more money than we could put together.”

Instead of spending the money, the department decided to put up the older show.

“This show is honoring our friends and patrons,” Bailey said. “People hadn’t seen enough of these pieces.”

To help people appreciate and understand the art, many faculty members from the art department will be present.

“Walt asked us to come talk about the pieces,” Professor of Art Inge Balch said.

During the initial opening session, the faculty will talk about a few pieces.

“Walt asked us to choose two or three pieces,” Lee Mann, chair of the art department, said. “I guess we’ll have to get together and decide what we’ll each talk about.”

The pieces range from paintings to prints to sculptures. Every piece on display was donated or loaned to Baker by a patron or friend for instructional purposes. Bailey said during the conversation, the instructional nature of the gallery will be demonstrated.

“I truly enjoy introducing people to these works,” he said. “College students have not really had this kind of experience.”