Hite gallery director takes expanded space in stride
January 23rd, 2007
By John Chamberlain
John Begley
Outside Schneider Hall, home of the Hite Fine Arts Institute at the University of Louisville, is a horse of many colors.
Its yellow face, red and blue legs, and mane of butterflies and trees are as diverse a palette as that of John Begley who oversees the gallery exhibits for the fine arts department.
First to hold the post of gallery director at UofL, Begley displays the works of students, faculty and guest artists in expanding venues on campus and downtown. An artist himself, Begley keeps the boundaries of his life from blurring by becoming “J.P.” Begley when exhibiting his work, and “John” as gallery director and instructor in curatorial studies. These are not full-blown alter egos, just a way of keeping order in his life — a life increasingly hectic with the recent addition of off-campus gallery space.
With an artist’s vision, experience gained from his days with the Louisville Visual Arts Association and a calm demeanor perhaps gained at the historic, utopian community at New Harmony, Ind., where he was founding director of the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art, Begley oversees not only the three galleries in Schneider Hall, but also the new galleries at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts in downtown Louisville.
Contributions: an Arts & Sciences Centennial Retrospective
Jan. 24–Feb. 24
Cressman Center for Visual Arts, at 1st and Main streets
Hours: Wednesday–Friday 11 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m. First Friday Trolley Hop, Feb. 2, 6–9 p.m.
“We’ve kept our eyes peeled for opportunities to bring art to the public,” Begley said. “The Schneider galleries are a little off the beaten track and difficult to find for first-time visitors to campus.”
Acquisition of the Cressman Center space was announced Feb. 15, 2006. Although it officially opens Feb. 9, it already is set to host its second exhibit, beginning Jan. 24.
Most people would be a little out of sorts if asked to increase their regular responsibilities one- or two-fold. But Begley sees the addition of gallery space as a step toward fruition of goals set on his first arrival to Belknap Campus in 2001.
The Cressman Center gallery adds a new “window” for UofL arts in the heart of the downtown cultural area, he said. It also provides a community venue for artist talks and other visual art-related events. The university’s rapidly growing glass studio program also has space there and, in fact, was the catalyst for the new facilities.
Exhibition is a crucial part of the artistic process.
“Art is not solely an individual effort, ending in self-expression,” Begley said. “Our goal is to help students understand that audience is crucial, and that preparing yourself to find that audience is an essential part of preparation to be an artist. The work is not done until it is on display, exhibited in a coherent fashion for outside reaction.
“Our galleries are not museums but laboratories for our studio, art history and curatorial studies programs,” he said. “Besides their internal curricular reasons for being, they give us venues that help the public understand the richness of various art forms and the role of the university as a creative force.”
Related Links
A&S Centennial Exhibition at the Cressman Center
Cressman Center for Visual Arts
College of Arts & Sciences Centennial
