On Nov. 19, The Warehouse Gallery will open “Lynette Stephenson: this Confederacy of Dunces,” on view until Feb. 20, 2010. For the Window Projects at The Warehouse Gallery, Stephenson created an installation about New Orleans consisting of 60 hand-felted wool dunce caps. The dunce cap, once used in schools to ostracize and discipline its wearer through shame and humiliation, now appears archaic and even humorous in this window exhibition by Central New York artist Stephenson.
A public reception for the exhibition will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Nov. 19, followed by a reception in the main gallery. The exhibition is intended for audiences of all ages.
On Feb. 18, at 6 p.m., the artist will give a talk about her installation at The Warehouse Gallery. All events at The Warehouse Gallery are free and open to the public.
This exhibition is inspired by John Kennedy Toole’s novel “A Confederacy of Dunces” (1980), set in New Orleans, where Stephenson’s family home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and based on her previous body of paintings, The Red Cross Series, which led to the idea for this site-specific project. In this work, Stephenson engages in a dialogue about present-day social issues referring to New Orleans, the tragedy of the hurricane and the universal symbol of the Red Cross.
Historically seen as an iconic symbol of safety and comfort, the Red Cross emblem has morphed into ambiguous uncertainty after the corruption and inadequate care provided by the organization in regard to events following Hurricane Katrina. It now teeters between positive connotations of its distant past, and negative emotions entwined in the organization’s more recent actions. The placement of such a universal symbol on numerous dunce caps could be construed as an attempt to criticize the recent exploits of the Red Cross through this slightly satirical display.
Born in Seymour, Ind., painter and sculptor Stephenson lives and works in Hamilton, N.Y., where she is an associate professor of painting at Colgate University. Stephenson has exhibited numerous times in Central New York at institutions such as the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn and Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute in Utica. Stephenson’s work is included in such collections as the Smith Robertson Museum in Jackson, Miss., and the Southwestern Bell Corporate Collection in San Antonio, Texas. Stephenson holds a M.F.A. from Georgia State University.
Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness (IE) presented awards to faculty and staff members, students, offices and programs and hosted a poster presentation during the One University Assessment Celebration on April 25 in the School of Education’s Education Commons. In her…
As the Syracuse campus transitions into the Maymester and Summer Sessions, Campus Dining reminds students, faculty and staff remaining on campus that some of their locations remain open throughout the summer months for all of their breakfast, lunch and snacking…
Over 30 bins of items were donated by students to ’Cuse Collections, an event hosted by Sustainability Management that provides the items to local community groups. Containers were placed on North Campus and South Campus to provide Syracuse University and…
“I think the Rolls-Royce of Falk College, undoubtedly, is the analytics program,” said David Falk, benefactor of the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, to a room of senior sport analytics students and their families during their capstone poster…
Auxiliary Services has announced a new service approach for campus vending services. In the initial phase of the transition, which began May 12, Servomation, a Central New York-based vending services company, assumed operation of all existing campus vending equipment. Snacks…
If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.
