Art history students at Nebraska are the latest curators of a Sheldon Museum of Art exhibition “From Lace to Chains: The Making of a Print,” on display through March 17.
The exhibit, created by students in a fall “History of Prints” course led by Alison Stewart, professor of art history, compares Rozeal’s contemporary “El Oso Me Pregunto” print with a series of 17th-century prints by Wenceslaus Hollar.
The modern print by Rozeal was one of two recent acquisitions for Sheldon, which the museum’s student advisory board helped select and purchase last year with funds from the Olga N. Sheldon Acquisitions Trust.
The cultural significance of dress and style — whether the prominence of lace in the 17th-century prints by Hollar or the gold chain that wraps around the figure in Rozeal’s contemporary print — is the main theme of the exhibit.
Emma Vinchur, a senior art history major from Omaha, appreciated the hands-on nature of the project.
“The most valuable experience is the collaborative effort that went into working with the museum and their collection and getting to actually view the prints,” Vinchur said. “You could get in with a magnifying glass and actually see the line work, and there’s no glass between you. The print curator came in and spoke to us about the acquisitions of prints and how they came to be in Sheldon’s collection. That’s invaluable information, especially if you’re someone like me who is an art history major and wants to go into that work.”
Learn more about the exhibition and others on display at Sheldon.
