After a few months’ delay due to COVID surges and health concerns, the 11th installment of the museum’s Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts will be held August 5 and 6, 2022 at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.
Entitled “Georgia in Our Times: Modern Design and Contemporary Lens,” it highlights the connection between the contemporary and the historical, with a focus on connections between modern design and social thought. Dale Couch, our now emeritus curator of decorative arts, agreed to help organize the symposium despite being retired for the second time. He writes, “Collecting decorative art as we know it is a 20th-century activity guided by 20th-century values and perceptions. Although many observers see collecting Georgia decorative art from an earlier period as nostalgic, motivated by ‘colonial revivalist’ notions, it is also true that Americana as art was a modernist discovery. Traditional craft and design are expressions of our contemporary times, not relics.”
Couch says that Georgia material studies have been hindered by an absence of diverse voices and that he believes it is innately beneficial to have the voices of scholars from different backgrounds at the table. This year’s slate of speakers reflects that concern, and they come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Torren Gatson, assistant professor in the department of history, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, will deliver the keynote speech, “The Power of Black Hands: Honoring Black Craftspeople of the Southern Landscape.” Gatson is a trained public historian and a scholar of 19th- and 20th century southern history with an emphasis on the African American built environment. He guest edited the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts Journal’s special edition on African American material culture. In the public realm, he works with communities to build lasting public products that reflect the dynamic and difficult aspects of African American history. Alongside founder Tiffany Momon, he codirects the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive, which can be found online at https://blackcraftspeople.org/(opens in new tab).
The rest of the schedule includes the following talks and speakers:
- “Georgia’s 20th-Century Tufted Textiles,” Ashley Callahan, independent scholar
- “Mattie Lou O’Kelley: The Long Journey to Success,” John Daniel Tilford, curator of collections, Oglethorpe University Museum of Art
- “An Architect in the Garden: A Preliminary Examination of the Garden Design Drawings by Thornton Marye,” Stephen J. Goldfarb and Nicholas Langhart, independent scholars
- “William Spratling: The ‘Cellini of Taxco,’” Joseph P. Brady, independent scholar and vice president, Appraisers Association of Georgia
- “‘I learn a little something everywhere I go!’ Hilton Pottery, Kennedy Pottery, and Smithfield Art Pottery: What Georgia’s Bill Gordy Learned, and What He Left Behind, While Making Pottery in North Carolina from 1932 to 1935,” Stephen C. Compton, independent scholar
- “If this chair could talk: Stories told by iconic furniture,” Jason Wech, instructor of furniture design, University of Georgia
- “Studio Furniture: An Odyssey,” Abraham Tesser, independent scholar
- “A Retired Woodworker’s Journey: A 21st-Century Craftsman and American Period Furniture,” Bill Markert, independent scholar
- “Cobbham’s Augusta Desk,” William Dunn Wansley, independent scholar
- “History of the Artistic Woodturning Movement and the Moulthrop Family,” Matt Moulthrop and Philip Moulthrop, craftsmen and artists
- “One-Night Stand: Burying the Lead – Pasaquan,” Frankie Vagnone, president, Twisted Preservation Cultural Consulting
The full symposium package runs $385 and includes all breaks, lunches and evening events. There is a discounted rate of $225 for full-time museum professionals. We are also offering a Zoom-only rate of $55 and, as usual, UGA students with valid ID may register at no cost. Register before July 28 at https://www.hotel.uga.edu/events/henry-green-symposium(opens in new tab).
For a full list of our generous sponsors and any other changes to the schedule, see georgiamuseum.org/greensymposium(opens in new tab).
Authored by:
Museum Staff
