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A Day of Akron Art Galleries: Skulls & Neon

Blog Date
Author(s)
Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
Akron
Art
Museums
Akron Art Museum

Thursday, November 14, 2024, a day of Akron art -- “Skull & Bones Exhibition” at the Myers School of Art's Emily Davis Gallery, University of Akron, and “GLOW: Neon & Light” at the Akron Art Museum’s Arnstein Galleries.
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After spending three days in and around Niagara Falls (see our blog post), we were out again for more fun the day after we returned. On Thursday, November 14, 2024, we had a most enjoyable day with our son, Michael, in Akron, enjoying two art exhibitions. Visiting Akron art galleries was a great way to spend a rainy day.

We first visited the Myers School of Art's Emily Davis Gallery at the University of Akron, and then went to the Akron Art Museum. We would have also visited Akron's Summit Artspace, but it is not open on Thursdays, and the three of us wanted to make use of the Thursday FREE admission at the Akron Art Museum. (See our "Summit Artspace" blog posts here.)

Our main motivation for going to Akron was to see the following two exhibitions, but we also want to share what else we enjoyed during our day:

We wrote this blog post so you can learn about our day, and to encourage you to visit these Akron art venues.

 

 

Thursday Morning, November 14, 2024 - Skull & Bones Exhibition - Myers School of Art's Emily Davis Gallery, University of Akron

Skull & Bones, the latest exhibition at Myers School of Art’s Emily Davis Gallery.

Skull & Bones brings together more than a dozen artists from around the region who use skull and skeleton imagery in their artwork.

This exhibition features traditional memento mori, folk art, and humorous depictions of life and death, which serve as reminders to enjoy our time before it ends.

Curated by Mary Urbas and Myers School of Art’s Arnold Tunstall (Director, University Galleries).

On view October 21–November 27 [, 2024].

The Emily Davis Gallery is open Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Stuart had visited the Emily Davis Gallery once before, on Friday, August 26, 2022, when he spent a fantastic day in Akron touring FRONT International 2022 venues (see our 2022 Reflections blog post). Stuart was very impressed with not only the 2022 FRONT exhibition at the Emily Davis Gallery, but also the student artwork presented throughout the first floor of the art school. In spite of this, Stuart had lost track of what exhibitions were being presented at the Emily Davis Gallery during the last two years.

Fortunately on October 31, 2024, Stuart saw on social media a great video by Yoly Miller, about the Skull & Bones Exhibition, and he knew that we would need to visit. If you search our past blog posts for "Yoly Miller," you will see that she is a good person to watch for what is happening in Akron. As we entered the gallery, we mentioned to a staff member that we had heard about the exhibition from Yoly Miller, and they indicated that they knew her.

In addition to the artwork in the gallery, we were told that that the related skull and bones art in the hallways was created by University of Akron students. If was very interesting to see a graphic in the entrance area to the Myers School of Art listing the school's majors and minors.

Very interesting list of Myers School of Art's majors and minors.
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Here are our photos and videos from our morning visiting the University of Akron's Myers School of Art:

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides, and to view the artwork more closely!!

 

 

Thursday Lunch, November 14, 2024 - Akron's Spaghetti Warehouse

. . . delicious, freshly prepared Italian food that everybody loves, served in a festive atmosphere . . .

Between visiting art venues, we enjoyed the food and eclectic decor of the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Thursday, November 14, 2024 - enjoying the decor and good Italian food at Akron's Spaghetti Warehouse
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Thursday Afternoon, November 14, 2024 - Akron Art Museum

Mission
The Akron Art Museum invites all people to enrich their lives through modern and contemporary art.

. . . In 2007, its eighty-fifth year, the Museum more than tripled in size with the opening of the new John S. and James L. Knight Building, which adjoins the 1899 building. Spanning three centuries, like the Museum’s collection, together they symbolize the Museum’s dual role as preserver of the past and herald of the future.

Curatorial Vision
The Akron Art Museum features artwork produced from 1850 to today with a commitment to engage with current, pressing issues in their full complexity and nuance. That focus animates both the building of the permanent collection and the creation of special exhibitions. To achieve this vision the Akron Art Museum follows these principles: supports artists who have historically been marginalized; champions artists whose artwork expands, redefines, or rejects traditional mediums; and promotes and displays the work of regional artists. Most importantly, adhering to the curatorial vision makes good on the Museum’s promise that all visitors feel welcome and see themselves reflected in its programming.

What follows includes our three sets of photos/videos and other information about the museum that we want to share from our visit. We came specifically to see the GLOW: Neon & Light exhibition, but of course there was so much more to see. Enjoy!

 

 

Door 2 Art's Birdsong

To visit the flock in person, stop by to see them in their current nesting spot at the Akron Art Museum

. . . [currently 180] bird sculptures hand-painted by local artists . . . The flock of bird sculptures is now migrating among other communities with additional birds being added to the flock along the way. Surprising flocks of color are popping all around!

The vision of Birdsong is to discover wonder in the way birds sing their own songs for different reasons, but together they create an inspiring sound of unity. Our lives make a sound as well - what sound will they make? We aim to foster reflection and hope, spark conversation, and enjoy community centered around this narrative of gentle beauty.

We enjoyed seeing Door 2 Art Studio’s Birdsong exhibition in the Akron Art Museum's lobby. We highly recommend taking time to see these in person. While writing this blog post, Stuart called the Akron Art Museum and confirmed that the Birdsong exhibition will be at the museum until the end of the year.

On the Door2Art.com website home page, there is currently an interesting video of all the birds being installed at the museum. Use the following links to learn more about this exhibition:

We hope you enjoy the photos we took of Door 2 Art Studio’s Birdsong exhibition:

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides, and to view the artwork more closely!!

 

 

GLOW: Neon and Light

GLOW: Neon and Light
Karl and Bertl Arnstein Galleries

September 21, 2024 - February 9, 2025

. . . Showcasing artists who use analog materials like glass, mirrors, light bulbs, and neon tubes, the galleries will be filled with spectacular and immersive works. Rather than the text-based artworks typically associated with neon, this exhibition will instead feature sculptural installations, brightening the walls, floor, and ceiling with three dimensional explorations of light. Visitors will learn more about light’s scientific properties, including the different chemical elements—like neon and argon— that illuminate when inserted into electrified glass tubes.

While we hope you enjoy the photos and videos from our visit, the GLOW: Neon and Light exhibition is something to personally experience. Some of the neon lights make sounds, and the different colors are created either by using different gases that are excited by electricity or by applying different color coatings to the glass. We recommend lying on the floor to look up through the neon artwork. Then, get really close at different levels. Finally, view the artwork pieces from a distance, since you will see things differently based on your perspective. (Just be sure not to touch the artwork accidentally when you get close.) Some of the artwork has reflective surfaces, so you will see yourself become part of the artwork.

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides, and to view the artwork more closely!!

The GLOW: Neon and Light exhibition is sponsored by the Knight Foundation, Lehner Family Foundation, John P. Murphy Foundation, Hilton Garden Inn Akron, Ohio Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are grateful for their stupport of art in Akron.

 

 

What Others Say About GLOW: Neon and Light

We always like to share what others say about exhibitions we attend, so please take a look at the following about the GLOW: Neon and Light exhibition:

 

 

More Akron Art Museum Galleries

Welcome to the Museum’s collection.
The Museum collects work from 1850 to the present. Comprised of over 7,000 objects, the collection is home to important works by a broad range of artists in a wide variety of media from across the globe, including sculpture, glass, paintings, photography, digital art, and more. . . .

Here are our photos of some of what we saw in the other galleries during our visit:

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides, and to view the artwork more closely!!

 

Related Blog Posts

We always like to include a list of related blog posts that may be of interest to our readers, so here are other blog posts we have written about the Akron Art Museum:

 

Also, please see the first time Stuart visited the Emily Davis Gallery by viewing the embedded tweets from the day Stuart spent in Akron for Front International:

 

We have written many more blog posts about art venues, which you can see by clicking here.

Click here to read all our blog posts about events we have attended in the Akron area., including our visits to Summit Artspace.

 

We enjoyed our day, and want to thank the staff of both the Myers School of Art's Emily Davis Gallery and the Akron Art Museum.