Trending
The Butler Institute of American Art will celebrate Presidents Day with a pair of exhibitions focusing on first President George Washington.
"Washington: The Myths and the Man," the more traditional of the two, is a traveling exhibition from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture that includes 13 paintings by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris with 17 panels featuring historical documents and information about Washington's life and presidency.
For the other exhibition, visitors will hear something seldom uttered in an art museum -- "Please touch."
"Founding Father: George Washington" features framed prints as well as 10 tactile images of Washington that have been embedded with touch points. When visitors touch those points, they will hear information about that element. The texture and the touch points make the art accessible to the visually impaired, and instructions in braille are on each piece.
Except for one huge piece depicting Emanuel Luetze's painting "Washington Crosses the Delaware," all of the works are displayed flat at table-top height, making them accessible to patrons in wheelchairs.
The Butler is the first museum in Ohio to feature the Washington exhibition, which was created by Tactile Images.
"The two exhibitions will basically meld together," Executive Director Louis A. Zona said. "We were excited when we found out about this."
Joyce Mistovich, the Butler's education director, and her daughter Joy, education assistant and accessibility specialist at the Butler, first saw the work of Tactile Images at the National Federation for the Blind's annual convention.
"We have this aging population and so many people, even young people, have some visual scenarios," Joyce Mistovich said. "The more we can make our museum a place where we can reach out to all different populations -- accessibility issues, diversity -- the better we are as a museum.
"The fact that we have these two exhibitions in this huge beautiful space, it's a feather in the cap for the Butler."
"Washington: The Myths and the Man" came first. Executive administrative assistant Susan Carfano said the Butler was looking to do an exhibition around Washington when it discovered the traveling show available from the Virginia museum.
"Then when Joyce and Joy told us about this, it was perfect," Carfano said. "It goes to a same, but different, audience."
The pairing is expected to be popular with all ages, but it should have added appeal to the groups of school children who tour the Butler for field trips every spring.
"Every child knows the first president," Joyce Mistovich said. "Everybody knows George Washington. We already have scheduled close to 1,000 people, from young children to adults. We have a Diamond tour coming, another bus tour from Pennsylvania. So many people are already scheduled to come in, and it hasn't hit the media yet. Once it hits the media, we expect it's going to snowball."
As part of the exhibitions, the Butler is creating a space where visitors can share their impressions about the work and the subject, either by recording videos or writing. While Washington is revered by many, his history as a slave owner makes him a controversial subject to others.
"I think it will be fun to hear and see what people are saying about the exhibit and our first president," Zona said.
Joyce Mistovich added, "There are a lot of controversial scenarios in exhibitions, especially as we move into contemporary art. This is an exhibition of the first president, but there were controversies in his life as a leader. What museums are trying to do, from the American Alliance of Museums down, is have this conversation about what you see culturally, what's in the piece and share that and get your feelings expressed."
If you go ...
WHAT: "Washington: The Myths and the Man" and "Founding Father: George Washington Tactile Images"
WHEN: Both Sunday through May 12 with reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE: Butler Institute of American Art, 524 Wick Ave., Youngstown
HOW MUCH: Admission is free. For more information, go to butlerart.com or call 330-743-1107.