Are there any perks of school not being closed for Labor Day? Lucky for me, it allowed me to be at the Halsey to see the Herb Parker and Joseph Burwell exhibitions. Just to clarify, this is not a group show, but rather two separate exhibitions titled Herb Parker: Studio Practice and Joseph Burwell: School of the Viking Spaniard Revisited. The curator of these exhibitions, Mark Sloan, was on the mission to recreate these artists studios within the gallery space at the Halsey. If you want to get a taste of Herb and Josephs’ creative process, you should watch this video and see the exhibitions. 

I entered the Halsey and immediately connected to the work of Herb Parker, so I spent the majority of my time viewing his work. Part of this show includes an arrangements of innumerable objects from Herb’s studio, which he brought into the gallery space. Mark Sloan was a guest speaker in one of my classes and he said that Herb was thrilled to have the opportunity to recreate his studio space in the Halsey because it gave him a reason to clean up his studio and go through all of the untouched boxes. The photo below is a panoramic view of the shelf space, organized by Herb himself.

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These objects include body parts in jars, piles of appendages (hands and fingers), dead animals, photographs of babies, trophies, plaques, birds nests, and it is presented in a way that symbolizes the cycle of life, or that is how I perceived it. Viewing these objects was uncomfortable, but in a refreshing way. That type of discomfort that brings you outside of yourself for a brief moment. I did pick a favorite collection of objects, which you can see in the picture below.

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This image to me screams desperation, the objects are beautifully arranged. This wall was my favorite part of the exhibit but there is an abundance of work by Herb and Joseph, so you should go check out both shows before they close on October 5. The Halsey is unique and nationally recognized. We are all privileged to be learning within walking distance of this gallery space so get there! It is FREE. I believe this assignment in itself reflects the topics we have been studying on the environments that effect non-profits. If it goes as planned, my blog post will stimulate readers to attend this show. My attendance was persuaded by my educators, so exposure and education undoubtedly determines likeliness of attendance!