One World, Two Artists

Southern artists team up for exhibit

            The bright orange koi fish swim below the surface of the canvas, hiding beneath dark green lily pads as you stare out into their “pond”.

 The fish seem to stare at you as you walk slowly through the paintings and drawings that fill the halls of the University Museum.  

            The koi painting is one of many displayed in the exhibit One World, Two Artists featuring the artwork of two southern artists, John Alexander and the late Walter Anderson.

University Museum contains plenty of painting and drawings from both artists ranging from the smallest insects to large bayous and alligators.

Anderson and Alexander were both born and raised in the south surrounded by beautiful scenery, rich with wildlife.

Freshmen Katie Sexton, an integrated marketing communications major said, “Alexander does a really great job showing his perspective of the bayou. I think him and Anderson go really well together because they both show a different perspective of the same idea.”

The painting of the fish was created by John Alexander, according to Alexander’s official website; he was born in 1945 in Beaumont, Texas. Alexander spent the first part of his life in southeast Texas until he entered graduate school at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1969.

            Alexander later established his own studio in Houston and joined the faculty of the University of Houston 1970. He finally ended up in New York and his art is displayed in many prestigious museums across the nation including the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

            Anderson was born in New Orleans in 1903 his mother was determined to make each of her sons artistic and Anderson was just that. According to Anderson's website, he was a painter, a potter, and a writer. Anderson worked in his family’s business Shearwater Pottery for most of his life, nature and wildlife along with Horn Island became his refuge from the world and the source of his inspiration.

            The University Museum is holding Walter Anderson Family Activity Day in his honor on October 8, 2011 from 10 A.M. until noon, where children can learn how to draw realistic birds inspired by Anderson’s work. There will also be a tour and refreshments for adults.

For more information about the exhibit and Walter Anderson Family Activity Day visit the University Museum’s website, the exhibit will last to December 3, 2011.

           

                                         Koi Fish by John Alexander