Shaquille Blackstock
           Staff Writer

Continuing in its mission of bringing enthralling art and experiences to our campus, the Weatherspoon Art Museum collaborated with the Department of Kinesiology to present an exhibit unified by a single concept that is familiar to most living things: movement.

Organized by Elaine Gustafson, Curator of Collections, the collection of statues, charcoal, steel and painted works appeals to those interested in art with movement.

During the year, the museum boasts any number of exhibits, and one of particular interest was the “In Motion” exhibit, presented until February 28. Featuring the works of artists such as John Steuart Curry, Inka Essenheigh, Hugo Robus and Jana Sterbak, the exhibit was united by the theme of movement.

Upon entering the exhibit room, one is struck by its minimalist design. The simple room works to highlight the display, while the art is set out on the floor and hanging on the wall in such a way that seems to invite the viewer to scrutinize each piece up close, or stand away and try to take in every detail. Each piece is distinct, but all impart the impression of movement.

They are not just drawings or statues, but conduits of motion in various ways. American artist, Peter Agostini, lived from 1913 to 1993, and drew “Horse and Lion” in 1942. Upon gazing at “Horse and Lion,” one is immediately swept away by the dashing effect of graphite shading and the two figures in stormy action.

Not only do the lion’s teeth and the horse’s mane seem to be in constant motion, but the eyes and grimacing of both subjects underscore psychological and emotional motion as well. The drawing’s complex level detail also served as an interesting contrast against its medium of simple black and white imagery.

What sort of situation might have resulted in this unsuspecting death match? Which one is to be the victor? Agostini, according to the accompanying information given by the museum on the piece, favored powerful horses as a motif, saying that they were always “about flight, bursting out.”

There was a sculpture on the floor that looked like a silver coffee table melting, with a pool of almost reflective metal beside it.

A piece with a striking presence was a sculpture of a woman in a green dress falling, depicted right at the moment where her back impacts the ground. It almost parodied any sort of graceful movement one might expect to see in an art museum because the statue seems to express shock and surprise in every way.

Another black and white drawing seemed to portray a riskier and darker aspect of movement that might otherwise be forgotten: “The Missed Leap,” by John Steuart Curry, shows two trapeze artists, a man and a woman, clutching for each other midair beneath the vastness of a gray circus tent. When examining “The Missed Leap,” one can sense the tragedy upon the realization that the woman will fall to her demise.

The accompanying synopsis mentions that Curry drew inspiration from the 1931 death Lillian Leizel, who died while on tour with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. One year after Leizel’s death, Curry himself joined a circus tour in the hopes of attaining a better understanding of the fluid and daunting movements he wished to portray.

Adding to the exhibit’s sense of timelessness was an almost mystical work by Inka Essenheigh, called “Poseidon II”. Although the work was made in 2006, the shifting, fluid motion of waves evokes a serene sense of age.

Essenheigh included elements of myth, like Poseidon’s trident, whales and the ocean, but portrays a more relaxed version of the deity than the wrathful, virile and tempestuous version seen in classic sculptures or read about in literature. The painting’s spin on an old legend evokes a tranquil feeling, which is enhanced by shades of blue that almost seem to shimmer and drift listlessly.

These works of art were only a few of the exhibit’s stirring works inspired by art and kinesiology. “In Motion” is an exhibit that energizes the senses, both in color and content.

Where one might expect to be underwhelmed by monotone color schemes, you’re instead exhilarated by an unexpected motion within the subject, one that the artist successfully imparts upon the viewers and visitors.