The Visual Resource Collections and Gallery hosts Fables and Folklore: Selections from the UTA Asian Art Collection on Feb. 11 in the Fine Arts Building. Cheryl Mitchell, associate professor of practice of museum studies, curated the event.
The Visual Resource Collections and Gallery is hosting the Fables and Folklore exhibit until April 25, featuring pieces from UTA’s Asian Art Collection. The exhibit is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Fine Arts building.
Fables are stories typically told to highlight a prominent moral in society, with some of the oldest fables originating back to the Asian diaspora. The exhibit displays the tradition of Ðông Hò woodcut paintings, which share symbols of good luck wishes for the new year and humorous scenes of animals in human settings.
A series of Chinese and Japanese woodblock prints narrating the stories of immortals and supernatural figures, as well as traditional landscapes and nature scenes, will also be displayed.
Art pieces from the Asian diaspora are being displayed at the Visual Resource Collections and Gallery on Feb. 11 at the Fine Arts Building. Some of the oldest fable stories date back as early as 1500 BCE.
Cheryl Mitchell, associate professor in practice and collections specialist, said the gallery has been collecting Asian art over the past few years. The exhibit showcases over 20 works.
The gallery is used as a training ground for students interested in pursuing museum studies, Mitchell said. Every semester they organize a showcase, from the planning to the exhibition, with students working hard on the display.
Asian folklore was chosen partly to complement the “Solace in Painting: Reflecting on a Tumultuous Century” exhibition currently at The Gallery, which features a more contemporary view on Asian art, Mitchell said.
Collections of Asian Fable art pieces are being displayed at the Visual Resource Collections and Gallery on Feb. 11 at the Fine Arts Building. The exhibit showcases Ðông Hò woodcut paintings as well as a series of Chinese and Japanese woodblock prints.
She said the exhibit contains work from Asian countries with commonly highlighted cultures, like China and Japan, but they wanted to specifically support and spotlight Vietnamese culture, which is the largest Asian demographic in Arlington.
Mitchell said Vietnamese culture is often left out of the conversation as the focus is often put on the Vietnam War.
“I wanted to rebut that kind of overarching knowledge to allow focus on the culture, the beauty, the concepts,” Mitchell said.