In April the University of Georgia celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Performing Arts Center(opens in new tab). The Performing and Visual Arts Complex, which opened in 1996, includes not only the Performing Arts Center but the Lamar Dodd School of Art, Hugh Hodgson School of Music and the Georgia Museum of Art. Although the actual 25th anniversary was in 2021, its celebration was postponed due to COVID-19. The museum opened in 1948 (meaning that its 75th anniversary will be celebrated next year, in 2023) but moved to East Campus in 1996.
This “City on the Hill” is seen as the focal point of artistic expression and education on campus. The UGA Performing Arts Center held a gala week of performances when it originally opened in 1996. Gala week returned this year in celebration of the anniversary and included a concert by Audra McDonald, performances by UGA’s and Atlanta’s symphony orchestra and an event in which the museum took part.
“Arts Chat: City on a Hill” was a free event held April 28, 2022, in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center. The conversation was led by museum director William U. Eiland and the museum’s deputy director, Annelies Mondi. Eiland and Mondi focused on the three artists whose work is displayed in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center: Lamar Dodd(opens in new tab), Josephine Bloodgood(opens in new tab) and Neil Tetkowski(opens in new tab). These artists’ work has been exhibited there since the building opened. Lamar Dodd’s “Small Unfinished Crucified Sun” and “Large Crucified Sun” were gifts from the Lamar Dodd Estate and consist of oil and gold and silver leaf on canvas. Josephine Bloodgood’s oil on canvas painting “Quintessence” interprets the five elements: air, earth, fire, water and spirit. Neil Tetkowski’s “Red Volcanism” is a ceramic work given by an anonymous donor.
The event paid homage to the opening gala week in 1996, when Time magazine art critic and TV producer and host Robert Hughes gave a talk that emphasized the intersection of intellect, spirit and the physical body (represented by the Ramsey Student Center nearby). Eiland and Mondi discussed how all the works of art connected, with Dodd’s art representing space, Bloodgood’s the sky and Tetkowski’s the earth. The gold in Dodd’s art and the fifth element in Bloodgood’s symbolize the spirit, while Tetkowski found and interpreted truth in nature for a pure expression of art.
Mondi said, “Bill [Eiland] and I were pleased to participate in the celebration of this anniversary of the Performing Arts Center and the entire Performing and Visual Arts Complex. It gave us the opportunity to relive that exciting time.” The talk allowed for discussion of the past, present and future. Attendees reminisced about the past and looked to the future of the complex in an event that was a collaborative and educational experience for all involved.
By Danielle Davis
