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Visual Arts

Learning to listen in troubled times
People in masks talk about an exercise in listening

Ernesto Pujol leads a workshop on “Listening in Troubled Times,” part of a lecture on the topic organized by the SNF Paideia Program. (Image: Lisa Marie Patzer)

Learning to listen in troubled times

The SNF Paideia Program and partners featured Ernesto Pujol and Aaron Levy, an artist and an interdisciplinary scholar who have transformed both what it means to listen and what the act of listening can achieve as part of a lecture and workshops.

Kristen de Groot

Art from Mexico
professor and two students looking at colorful artwork on table

Patricia Vargas (left), a Penn Spanish language lecturer, took her class to the Penn Museum to see the yarn paintings by the Huichol people, an indigenous group in Northwest Mexico, and to discuss interpretations in Spanish. Juniors Abhi Bhandari (center) and George Adu-Agyare (right) talk about a work titled “Antes de la inundación,” or “Before the flood.” 

Art from Mexico

During visits to the Penn Museum this semester, nearly 200 students in intermediate Spanish classes had the chance to learn about yarn paintings by the Huichol people, an indigenous group in Northwest Mexico.
Simone Leigh’s Brick House officially dedicated on campus
Gutmann, Laurore, and Lowery-Williams smile at podium

Simone Leigh’s Brick House officially dedicated on campus

During Homecoming Weekend, President Amy Gutmann celebrated with the Penn community the ‘dazzling,’ ‘daring,’ and ‘dramatic’ sculpture—one that is transformational for the University.

Lauren Hertzler

Philadelphia artist Odili Odita’s Pavilion mural is a ‘kaleidoscope landscape’
Odili Odita stands in front of his mural in the Penn Medicine Pavilion.

Philadelphia-based artist Odili Donald Odita aimed to transport viewers to a colorful, outdoor scene. (Image: Penn Medicine News)

Philadelphia artist Odili Odita’s Pavilion mural is a ‘kaleidoscope landscape’

The mural, titled “Field and Sky” spans two floors of the Pavilion, with rich bright colors evocative of nature to generate the idea of being in different stages of daylight.

Lauren Ingeno

Penn Libraries receives major gift of rare photographic plates by Edward S. Curtis
image of a Native American

“Nootka Woman Wearing Cedar-Bark Blanket”(1915). Edward S. Curtis Photography Collection, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts; University of Pennsylvania Libraries. (Photo: Chris Lippa, Penn Libraries)

Penn Libraries receives major gift of rare photographic plates by Edward S. Curtis

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has received a rare collection of 151 interpositive glass plates by photographer Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952) from collector William H. Miller III. Appraised at $4.2 million, the gift to the Penn Libraries complements holdings across the University, making Penn a major center for research and work on Curtis, one of the most prolific American photographers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 
Answering ‘How will we live together?’ at the Venice Biennale
City X Venice Italian Virtual Pavilion A screenshot of the City X Venice Italian Virtual Pavilion, the Biennale’s first-ever virtual pavilion, with Dubbeldam serving as one of the creative directors. (Image: Winka Dubbeldam)

Answering ‘How will we live together?’ at the Venice Biennale

After more than a year of delays, Penn faculty and students were able to participate in La Biennale di Venezia architectural exhibition with both virtual and physical submissions.

Erica K. Brockmeier

A pandemic year, in photos
peter coyle and kyle cassidy exhibit

Annenberg’s Kyle Cassidy, with Pete Coyle, an art teacher at West Philadelphia High School. Together they came up with the idea for this exhibit, which Cassidy says can be adapted to almost any group and many kinds of spaces.

A pandemic year, in photos

‘Apart Together,’ a new photography exhibit at the Annenberg School, shows that despite not being physically in the same place the past 18 months, our shared experiences kept us connected.

Michele W. Berger , Julie Sloane

‘Poldergeist’ videos make knowledge of climate change accessible
pool with pumps A graphic from the Poldergeist video that explains a pump system in the Netherlands. (Image: Simon Richter, Jenesis Cochrane, Justine Seo, and Rebekah Lee)

‘Poldergeist’ videos make knowledge of climate change accessible

In the first video of a series, Simon Richter of the School of Arts & Sciences, alongside a team of interns, works to demystify the Netherlands’ handle on sea level rise.
Reimagining scientific discovery through the lens of an artist
a headshot of Rebecca Kamen in front of an abstract painting

Reimagining scientific discovery through the lens of an artist

The latest exhibition by Rebecca Kamen, Penn artist-in-residence and visiting scholar, at the American University Katzen Art Center explores curiosity and the creative process across art and science.

Erica K. Brockmeier

ICA debuts first major retrospective of pioneering video artist
Video screen and photographs hung on a wall

Behind-the-scenes photographs of Ulysses Jenkins at work and a monitor displaying a video piece, located inside the ICA for the retrospective exhibit “Without Your Interpretation.” (Image: Eric Sucar)

ICA debuts first major retrospective of pioneering video artist

In ‘Without Your Interpretation,’ the Institute of Contemporary Art showcases the work of Ulysses Jenkins, a pivotal influence on contemporary art for more than 50 years.