Turner Sponsors State House Art Exhibit for Cape Artists

Submitted by editor on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 12:54pm
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State Representative Cleon Turner (D-Dennis) is pleased to announce he is currently hosting an art exhibit, America the Beautiful at Doric Hall in the Massachusetts State House until July 30, 2010.

 

Representative Turner welcomed the art of eleven painters and eleven weavers from Cape Cod at the July 19 unveiling, which features 22 artists’ interpretations of America the Beautiful, written by Cape Cod’s Katharine Lee Bates.

 

“Inspired by a different lyric of America the Beautiful, each painting or weaving showcases the talent and creativity from Cape Cod in a unique way.  I encourage everybody to come see the exhibit in Boston and appreciate our local talent” said Turner.

 

After leaving the State House, the exhibit will travel throughout the Northeast over the next two years, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the patriotic song’s publication.  Upcoming venues include the Cahoon Museum of American Art in Cotuit from November 16 to December 31, 2010 and the Cape Cod Museum of Art from September 24 to December 11, 2011.

  

Cape Cod artist Shawn Nelson developed the concept for the exhibition and serves as curator. She was struck by the energy and rich diversity of the crowds at the 2009 presidential inauguration and felt inspired to organize the talents of local artists.

 

“The lyrics of America the Beautiful are, in a sense, a metaphor for the beauty and diversity of the American people,” observes Nelson. “Katharine Lee Bates celebrated the natural beauty and diversity of our country far beyond her own native state of Massachusetts. For the richly diverse America of 2010, the show translates Bates’s words into the tangible media of painting and weaving.”

  

The painters featured in the show are Rita Doddridge, Pat Stark Feinstein, Anne Garton, Jane Lincoln, Barbara Melcher, Norma Mutch, Kate Nelson, Shawn Nelson, Carol Odell, Suzanne Packer, and Odin Smith. The weavers are Susan Clark, Sandra Godwin, Shannon Goheen, Christina Jervant, Katie Hickey, Nancy Kirchner, Beth Minear, Sue Pellowe, Janet Rice, Gretchen Romey-Tanzer, and Elena Tobin.

 

To learn more about the making of America the Beautiful, and to view images from the show, please visit www.paintersandweavers.blogspot.com.