Tuning Up: Jasper Johns at CMA + more

Good morning! 

“Tuning Up” is a morning post series where The Hub delivers curated, quick-hit arts stories of interest to readers. Sometimes there will be one story, sometimes there will be several. Get in tune now, and have a masterpiece of a day. And now, in no particular order…


Jasper Johns gifts on display: The Columbia Museum of Art announced the  exhibition Midcentury Masters: Jasper Johns’ Gifts to the CMA, a varied collection of 35 prints gifted to the CMA by Jasper Johns himself and shown in its entirety for the first time, on view beginning Friday, Nov. 16 through Feb. 24, 2019. With several prints by Johns as well as the work of such postwar heavyweights as Robert Rauschenberg, Josef Albers, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelly, and Andy Warhol, plus archival materials documenting Johns’ time living and establishing his artistic identity in Columbia, this unique exhibition provides insight into the mind of South Carolina’s most famous artistic son.

“Artists, critics, and collectors the world over know the name Jasper Johns, but few know that his career began in Columbia where he studied at USC,” says Chief Curator Will South, who organized the exhibition. “And though he became an international art star, he did not forget South Carolina. This is a show documenting the importance of contemporary art to the collection and celebrating the importance of the museum’s patrons like Jasper Johns.” Read more from CMA here. A sculpture of Johns’ is included in the State Art Collection, which is maintained and managed by the SCAC Visual Arts Department.

“Curious Case” Q&A with Hammes: The SCAC’s current prose fellow recently published his first novel, and F. Rutledge Hammes chatted about it with the Post & Courier.  And speaking of fellows…

Evergreen (for now): Time is running out!

  • Applications for $5,000 individual artist fellowships are due Thursday, Nov. 8. Unrestricted awards will honor achievement in visual arts, craft, music composition, and music performance. Don’t miss out!
  • Nominations for the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts (right) are also due Thursday, Nov. 8. All it takes to start the process of awarding an artist, arts organization, business or foundation, government entity, individual, or arts educator/institution one of these prestigious awards for significant contributions to the arts in South Carolina is one letter. Don’t wait. Find out more now! (Noms for the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards are due at the same time. Here’s info on those.)

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