Press Room --

Artists "Of a Certain Age" Discussed at the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery

LOCKPORT—The Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery’s Sunday series of free public programs continues with an informal media presentation entitled “Of a Certain Age:  Monet, Grandma Moses and More.”  One of the programs which accompanies the current exhibition Luminous Ground: Artists with Histories, this event will be on Sunday, February 5, 2012, from 2:00 – 3:00 PM and is free and open to the public.  Reservations are not required. 

The eleven Illinois artists in the exhibition Luminous Ground were chosen as exemplars of older individuals—these artists range from 78 to over 90 years old—who have remained vital and productive into advanced age, suggesting that creativity is a way of partaking of a “fountain of youth.”  In their presentation “Of a Certain Age,” ISM Lockport Gallery Director Jim L. Zimmer and Curator Jennifer Jaskowiak consider the work of other artists from the 16^th century to present day who also have had significant histories and who have contributed greatly to western art history.  Like the artists of Luminous Ground, those to be discussed by Zimmer and Jaskowiak remained vital, working artists into their later years.  Some completed their most important works later in life; others explored new territory.   Among the artists to be discussed are those that are well known—such as Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Grandma Moses, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Michelangelo—and those who are not so well known, such as Louise Nevelson, Anni Albers, Asher B. Durand, and Mary Delany.

The final program planned for the exhibition is an opportunity for area senior citizens to participate in a community collage and “Make Our Garden Grow” (Tuesday, March 20, 1:30-3:00 PM).  All programs are free and open to the public.  Additional information is available by calling the ISM Lockport Gallery at 815.838.7400 or by visiting our website (www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/lockport)