by David Chapman
Staff Writer
The St. Johns River is many things to many people — a livelihood, a source of entertainment, a wastewater facility or Jacksonville’s defining characteristic. But 150 area students see the river with a new view and an artistic eye.
Together, the 150 Douglas Anderson School of the Arts students created part of The Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens latest exhibit, “New View: The Many Faces of The St. Johns River,” running now until July 13.
The exhibit combines the students’ works with The Cummer’s master collection of river-related pieces.
The centerpiece of the collection, a 30-foot mixed media mural, required the Douglas Anderson students to utilize several artistic outlets including painting, sculpture, photography and printmaking. The finished piece centered on the economic, ecological, historical and aesthetic features of the St. Johns River.
The thick, misshapen paper includes several different river-inspired drawings. The mural is accentuated with hanging paper-filled plastic water bottles and a large frayed rope situated at its base with tree-like appendages protruding in the air.
“I think it is a beautiful piece,” said Jacksonville visual artist Sarah Crooks Flaire, who worked with the students on the collaboration. “It is intended to make the viewer stop and think about their relationship with the river and provide a backdrop for dialogue.”
Crooks Flaire, who specializes in environmental artwork, was asked to work on the project by the school and worked closely with students. She couldn’t recall how many hours were spent on the project from its September start date until its finish in March, but she considered it a success.
“It’s a wonderful mixture of student and (the Cummer Museum’s) master collection,” she said.
Other pieces of artwork in the exhibit include river-themed watercolors and prints by Winslow Henry, Frederick Frieseke and Theodore de Bry.
The “New View” series is in its third year, with this year’s exhibit being the largest yet.
The Douglas Anderson students decided on the theme and through school curriculum and related public programs, they explored the role of the river in the lives of locals.
The project, said Cummer Museum Public Programming Manager Christina Hunady, was specifically created to be portable, expandable, 3-D and engaging to viewers.
“The students’ work evokes a sense of emotion,” said Hunady, “The river is such an everyday part of our lives and they have really captured its purposes and beauty.”
It’s the students’ effort in the subject matter and potential discussion it creates that has one Cummer Museum official excited about the exhibit’s potential.
“It is inspiring to see students now become the teachers and help lead our community deeper into a dialogue about our relationship with the river,” said Deputy Director of Programming Hope McMath.
For more information on the exhibit, contact Christina Hunady at 356-6857, ext. 6003.