Two New Exhibitions to Open at Museum of Art at MSU

The Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University announces two new exhibitions, one by international artists and one by a local photographer from years past, which will run February 22-April 20, 2013. A free public opening reception will be from 6-8 p.m. Friday, February 22.

Le Temps de l'Eau (The Time of Water) by the Take Me to the River project includes works in painting, drawing, photography, video, sound, sculpture, installation and performance. The Take Me to the RiverProject was founded in 2001 by 12 artists from different countries to promote greater understanding and cooperation among people and nations during these unsettled times. Through art, TMTTR hopes to create a bridge across borders by reflecting both the diversities and similarities among people of different countries.

The river was chosen by the founding members of TMTTR as the metaphoric, unifying theme of the artwork because of the positive, life-affirming connotations associated with rivers and for the role in history that rivers have played as primary sources of commerce and interchange between nations and cultures, and, thus, a critical means of bridging distances between different religions, politics, and philosophies. Artist members of TMTTR all are well-established professionals with extensive national and international exhibition experience.

The second exhibit, Lester Jones Photography Collection: A Look at Wichita Falls, will appeal to those interested in Wichita Falls history. Jones watched Wichita Falls transition from a prairie town to the commercial center of North Texas. Always interested in history, Jones began collecting photographs, which were eventually passed on to his family. His son and daughter-in-law, Frank and Polly Jones, had the original prints and many negatives from all periods of the history of Wichita Falls. As a result of a long-standing interest in the Wichita Falls Museum of Art, Frank and Polly donated the photographs and negatives to the museum in the fall of 1980.

These photographs shed light on the growth and development of Wichita Falls. Some of the photographs convey important events in the city's history such as the construction of the skyscrapers, whereas others document more personal accomplishments.

This exhibit represents a small selection of the photographs from the Lester Jones Photography Collection contained within the Wichita Falls Museum of Art's Permanent Collection.

For more information, call the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU at (940) 397-8900 or visit www.msutexas.edu/wfma.