Director's Message

Fall 2023

August 21, 2023 12:52PM

Visiting an art museum may seem like only an exercise in seeing with one’s eyes.  We observe materials and subject matter, and artists challenge us to consider how we make meaning about the visual world.  But deep engagement with art often requires that we use our whole body.  We might react to a sculpture by mirroring its form through our own movements.  Artworks evoke emotions that go beyond what we see, perhaps conjuring distant memories.  Social experiences in the museum invite us to hear and respond to others’ perspectives, which may even challenge our own.  Art engages our eyes, minds, and bodies, and teaches us that there are many ways of knowing.

Artist and Lehigh Professor Lucy Gans shares decades of her investigations of the body, social relationships, and connections between image and text in Lucy Gans: Reading Between the Lines.  A broad array of sculptures, prints, and drawings give voice to narratives and complex social issues.  Join us for our free public opening reception on Friday, September 8, 6-8pm in our Main Gallery and celebrate the career of this artist who has taught at Lehigh for over 40 years.

The multi-site exhibition Bodies of Knowledge permeates our network of campus galleries and the South Bethlehem Greenway, where it includes artworks made by twenty artists from the Lehigh Valley. Explore themes related to body knowledge:  movement and sensation, decoration and ritual, and the social body, among others.

Just off our Main Gallery, visit the LUAG LAB–an interdisciplinary student project space.  On view is Open Doors to the Arts, featuring a team of students who use technology to make art more accessible to all, particularly learners with developmental disabilities.

Don’t miss our free public programs this fall, such as our drop-in Community Days. In October, exercise mind and body through Yoga for Every Body, which takes place on Lehigh’s beautiful campus amidst the Outdoor Sculpture Collection. Mark your calendar to attend Access Culture: An Arts Accessibility Conference on Saturday, November 4 to learn strategies to make arts and culture accessible to all.

Want to get even more involved?  Our Membership Program provides an array of special events, tours, speakers and receptions.  Always free for Lehigh students, faculty and staff, membership starts at just $20 per year for artists and educators.

Art nourishes the mind, body, and spirit.  Come visit LUAG this fall and experience it for yourself.

Till soon,

 


William B. Crow, Ph.D.
Director and Professor of Practice
Lehigh University Art Galleries