J. Wayne Stark, Class of 1939 designed a gallery available to students, providing them the opportunity to view and share museum quality art on campus. Today, The Stark Galleries, located in the MSC, display various forms of art from around the world.
Amanda Cagle, the collections manager, spends a lot of time with the art. Having hands-on experience every day, she collects and organizes the pieces that make up each display.
Cagle said she strives to promote the importance of the artwork in the gallery.
“You don’t get a proper education without exposure to art,” Cagle said. “All of this culture we provide here to students is part of a greater work.”
A current exhibit, Surrealist Visions, includes pieces from Andre Masson, Joan Miro, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali and many others. The collection focuses on the cultural movement in the 1920s with work expressing artists new attitude on life.
Surrealism is not entirely founded in reality, said Ryan Anderson, sophomore petroleum engineering major and staff member at Stark Galleries. Its morphed reality, more of a waking dream.
Anderson said that of the Surrealist Visions exhibit, he favors Salvador Dalis Alices Adventurs in Wonderland woodcuts.
Also included in the Surrealist Visions exhibit is a rare collection of 21 surrealist postcards produced in Paris in 1937 by artists like Marcel Duchamp.
The Surrealist Visions exhibition will be on display until Oct. 14.
The ‘Painting Borges: Art Interpreting Literature’ exhibition, organized by The University of Buffalo, New York, targets the prominent literary figure Jorge Borges. . The collection concerns human existence and conceptual literature and will be on display until Oct. 30.
Still-life subject art by the contemporary painter Ron A. Clark is also on display. His pieces are inspired by religion and psychology and will be at the Stark Galleries until Oct. 21.
Stephanie White, director of ARTISTS on campus, said she is thrilled to have such prolific art at A&M because it provides inspiration to young adults.
The Stark Gallery, along with other programs, helps people feel like they are in the right place,” White said. “It can be hard to pursue art when the culture around you does not. Texas A&M and College Station has never been known for their love of the arts.
Stark Galleries hosts student workshops and activities throughout the year. For a full calendar of events, visit uart.tamu.edu.