Volterra and Pasqua by Kevin Benham
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION:
The LSU Museum of Art (LSU MOA) is pleased to present Volterra and Pasqua by Kevin Benham, on view November 17, 2022–February 26, 2023. This exhibit is on view alongside the Mediterranea: American Art from the Graham D. Williford Collection.
Kevin Benham’s photographic series Volterra captures the ecology of mosses, lichens, and other vegetation growing on the calcareous rock formations of an ancient theater built in the Augustan Period during the first century BC. The micro-climate found in this part of Italy includes nutrients and minerals fed by a unique hydrology that allows certain types of fungi and plants to flourish on the structure, coating the Etruscan ruins with a tapestry of colors and textures.
On view alongside Benham’s photographs is a short film entitled Pasqua. Drawing inspiration from the early documentaries by the Italian imaginative realist film director Vittorio de Seta, Pasqua explores a contemporary view of the Transhumanza, an Italian term meaning transhumance, the traditional bi-yearly migration of sheep or cows from the highlands to the lowlands and back. Captured entirely during Holy Week in the Molise region of Italy, the film incorporates the tempo and rhythm of the day to record the relationship between the upland meadow and the herds of sheep, creating an intimate view of the remote agrarian landscape.
Benham is the recipient of the 2020-21 Prince Charitable Trusts/Kate Lancaster Brewster Rome Prize and the Jon Emerson/Wayne Womack Design Professorship at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University. He received a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and a Master of Architecture at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at The University of Michigan. Benham has taught interdisciplinary studios at several academic institutions, including The University of Michigan, Louisiana State University, and Wentworth Institute of Technology. His research and work focus on landscape phenomena and the temporal qualities inherent in the discipline. To that end, Benham produces transient and ephemeral installations that reveal phenomena that require careful observation through space and time.
Kevin Benham, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University.
Gallery Talk with Kevin Benham
Friday, January 27 at 6 PM
Learn more about Volterra during a conversation between Ludovico Geymonat, LSU Assistant Professor of Art History, and featured artist Kevin Benham, Assistant LSU Professor of Landscape Architecture on Friday, January 27 at 6 PM. Free to attend.
Volterra by Kevin Benham will be on view November 17, 2022–February 26, 2023 at the LSU Museum of Art.
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Support for this exhibition and all LSU MOA exhibitions is provided by the generous donors to the Annual Exhibition Fund: Louisiana CAT; The Imo N. Brown Memorial Fund in memory of Heidel Brown and Mary Ann Brown; John G. Turner and Jerry G. Fischer; The Alma Lee, H. N., and Cary Saurage Fund; Charles “Chuck” Edward Schwing; Robert and Linda Bowsher; Becky and Warren Gottsegen; LSU College of Art + Design; Mr. and Mrs. Sanford A. Arst; and The Newton B. Thomas Family/Newtron Group Fund.
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The LSU Museum of Art says farewell to its first curatorial fellow, Clarke Brown. Learn about Brown’s contributions to the museum during her two year fellowship, made possible by the Winifred and Kevin P. Reilly Initiative for Underrepresented Artists in this article.