Art On Purpose Explores Poe’s Haunting Themes With Exhibition and Workshops

BALTIMORE, MD (September 11, 2009)—The BMA has partnered with Art on Purpose to present Baltimore Inspired by Poe, an exhibition of drawings, collages, and paintings by Baltimore residents creatively inspired to interpret the themes of Poe’s stories and poems. The Art on Purpose exhibition is presented October 4, 2009 – January 17, 2010, concurrent with Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon, the BMA’s artistic tribute to the master of the macabre. Both exhibitions explore the enduring relevance of signature themes in Poe’s writing: love and loss, fear and terror, and madness and obsession.

Guided by artist/instructors Andy Cook, Tonya Gregg, Valeska Populoh, and Marty Weishaar, workshop participants at the Light Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Southeast Anchor, and Waverly branches of the Enoch Pratt Free Library created more than 100 vivid works earlier this year. The community artists come from a range of personal and artistic backgrounds, but are united by their ability to find resonance with Poe’s legacy and to express their responses in ways that inspire us to find our own connections to the writer. A selection of their works is presented in the BMA’s McCall Gallery. The exhibition is guest curated by Art on Purpose Director Peter Bruun.

Baltimore Inspired by Poe is made possible by the generous support of Robbye and Kevin Apperson, with additional support from Rosenberg |  Martin | Greenberg, LLP. In-kind support for framing is provided by Fleckenstein Gallery & Archival Framing.

Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon features 35 prints, five drawings, and more than 40 illustrated books by renowned French artists such as Paul Gauguin, Édouard Manet, and Odilon Redon, as well as surrealist René Magritte and abstract expressionist Robert Motherwell. The exhibition highlights three artistic and literary themes: love and loss, fear and terror, and madness and obsession.

Art on Purpose is a community arts organization dedicated to the notion that art has an intrinsic value that is best revealed when it connects and engages with real life concerns.  Since its founding in 2005, Art on Purpose has provided free theme-based art workshops to over 1,000 Baltimore residents and presented dozens of exhibitions. Art on Purpose views artists’ expressions and community interests as equally important, and believes each can enhance the other.

In addition to the exhibition, Art on Purpose has organized two community programs that address important social issues.

Art on Purpose program: Fear & Terror in the City
Sunday, October 11, 3-4 p.m.
FREE

What do we fear, why do we fear it, and when are our fears based on reality or not? WEAA host Marc Steiner leads a discussion on fear in the city with guest speakers Dr. Christopher Leighton, Executive Director of Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies, and Ralph E. Moore, Jr., Director of the Community Center at St. Frances Academy. Joining the are Baltimore residents Wallace Farmer of Harlem Park, Kathie McCleskey of Federal Hill, and Ede Taylor of Belair-Edison. A reception in honor of communities participating in the Baltimore Inspired by Poe exhibition follows in the McCall Gallery. For more information, call Art on Purpose at 410-243-4750.

Art on Purpose program: Addiction & Art: Flip-sides of Madness and Obsession
Sunday, November 1, 3-4 p.m.
FREE

Artists, performers, and medical experts explore the connection between art and addiction, and how art has the power to shed light on addiction and recovery. Featuring guest speaker Dr. Jack E. Henningfield, Director, Innovators Combating Substance Abuse Awards program. A reception follows at 4 pm in the McCall Gallery.  For more information, call Art on Purpose at 410-243-4750.

About the Baltimore Museum of Art

Founded in 1914, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) inspires people of all ages and backgrounds through exhibitions, programs, and collections that tell an expansive story of art—challenging long-held narratives and embracing new voices. Our outstanding collection of more than 97,000 objects spans many eras and cultures and includes the world’s largest public holding of works by Henri Matisse; one of the nation’s finest collections of prints, drawings, and photographs; and a rapidly growing number of works by contemporary artists of diverse backgrounds. The museum is also distinguished by a neoclassical building designed by American architect John Russell Pope and two beautifully landscaped gardens featuring an array of modern and contemporary sculpture. The BMA is located three miles north of the Inner Harbor, adjacent to the main campus of Johns Hopkins University, and has a community branch at Lexington Market. General admission is free so that everyone can enjoy the power of art.