Art for the New Century

The Dacotah Prairie Museum presented its newest exhibit; “art for the Century” that was open through February 23, 2009.  The exhibit, located in the Dacotah Gallery, displayed new art added to the permanent collection of the Museum between 2000 and 2008.   Both 2- dimensional works and 3-dimensional works were included from local as well as out-of-state artists.

The criteria for a piece of art to be added to the Dacotah Prairie collection are:  The piece must reflect high standards and quality of medium and craftsmanship.  The piece must represent the greater prairie or have some connection with South Dakota, its residents or its history.  The piece must contribute to the variety of the collection, allowing that body of work to encompass many styles, media, and time frames.

Pieces in this display and their artists include hand colored photography (Laurel Mehrer-Claremont, SD), watercolor painting (Vic Runnels- Aberdeen, SD), stained glass vessels (Mary Hunt-Platte, SD) oil painting (Rebecca Mulvaney –Aberdeen, SD), ledger art (Duane Wilcox-Rapid City, SD), expressionistic watercolor (Peter Lutgen-Denver, CO), acrylic painting (Rocky Hartberg-Langford, SD), photo-collage (Pat Hilpert-Cleveland, MS), colored pencil (James Wicker-New Town, ND), photography (Paula Guhin-Aberdeen, SD), natural fiber collage (Eli Condon-St. Paul, MN), and wood sculpture (Jerry Hauck-Sioux Falls, SD).

The art collection in a museum reflects more than any other single group of objects what is beautiful, what is important, what is thoughtful about a particular group of people in a certain area.  A museum’s art collection reminds us what it is to be human in a constantly changing world. 

For information on past exhibits in the Dacotah Gallery, please click here.