Consider the Source

Following Weather or Not and Tall Tales, this is the third exhibition in a series based on the Boise Art Museum’s Art Cards. These exhibitions are the result of a unique collaboration between the Museum’s curators and educators and have been thoughtfully designed to foster art appreciation and learning. Many of the works in this exhibition were included in the set of BAM Art Cards called In Your Element and were chosen for their connection to the elements of earth, air, fire, or water.

Expanding on this concept, the exhibition looks at the physical elements used to create works of art, whether man-made or naturally occurring. Exploring the idea of materiality, Consider the Source presents an original arrangement of works from the Museum’s Permanent Collection. Artists have created the works using substances as diverse as clay, gelatin silver, glass, graphite, ink, metal, paper, pigment, silk, stone, and wood. Materiality is an essential component of the creative process and determines how artists execute their works. Viewers are invited to spend time looking closely at the artworks to decipher how and why the artists have employed particular materials.

Organized by the Boise Art Museum

This project is supported in part by a grant award from the National Endowment for the Arts

IMAGE: Robert Sperry, Untitled #788, 1987, stoneware with slip decoration, 26 x 26 x 4 inches, Museum Purchase,  Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection. © M. Patricia Warashina, Trustee for Robert Sperry Trust