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The Maroon Page 7 January J997 AUC Museums by heather thompson | j He Atlanta University Center is / teeming with history that is sig A nificant not only to the devel opment of this University Center but also to black culture at large. Clark At lanta University and Spelman College both boast museums that house cel ebrated collections of art by premiere African-American artists of the 20th cen tury. Clark Atlanta University's museum is located on the second floor of the Trevor Arnett building. The atrium of the mu seum if filled with six separate frescoes. The murals depict abstract images of Africans and African-Americans and their cultural and religious icons over the ages. The frescoes are named (in numerical order) Native Forms, Inter change, Dissipation, Parallel's, Influ ences and Muses. In addition to their aesthetic value these frescoes are trea sured because the artist responsible for them is Hale Woodruff. Hale Woodruff is credited for the pro liferation of the arts in the AUC. In 1942 FROM REARGUARD TO VANGUARD: Selections front the Clark Atlanta University Collection of African American Art he founded the fine arts department at Atlanta University. Until that point only arts and crafts had been taught in the AUC. Soon after the Atlanta University department was established, Woodruff began to lay the foundation for the de partments at both Morehouse and Spelman College. It is because of this seminal work that Woodruff's name is synonymous with the arts in the AUC. Woodruff is also responsible for con ceptualizing and bringing to fruition the "Atlanta University Annuals" which were held annually in the spring from 1942-1970. Artists were encouraged by the college to participate in this juried show and the artists work that received the highest rating was purchased by the college. Over the twenty-eight year course of the "Annuals" Atlanta Uni versity acquired 291 pieces of artwork. This body of work forms the nucleus of CAU's current permanent collection. The Annuals also served as a critical rite of passage for many African -American artists. It afforded them national expo sure that they often could not get in white museums and shows. Participa tion in the AU Annuals signaled to the artistic community that an artist had "arrived." CAU 's current exhibit is entitled "From Reargaurd to Vanguard." Selec- museums that house cel ebrated collections of art by premiere African-American artists of the 20th century. tions in the exhibit have been taken from the CAU collection of American-Ameri can Art, and features work by artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett and Henry Ossawa Tanner. Spelman College opened the doors to their museum in February of 1996. The museum is located on the first floor of the Cosby Center. Currently the "Bear- Courtesy of Spelman College Museum Valerie Maynard's Get Me Another Heart This One's Been Broken Many Times currently on display at the Spelamn College Musuem. ing Witness" exhibit is showing in the museum. "Bearing Witness" features the work of over thirty current African American women artists. The exhibit opened at Spelman and from there will travel to museums all over the nation. The show features work by notable art ists like Spelman alumnae Varnette Honeywood and Charnelle Holloway. Other recognized artists include Betye Saar and Lois Mailou Jones. The show features collages, paintings, photo graphs and sculpture. In October, Spelman hosted a three day symposium that gathered all of the artists and pro vided an opportunity for them to dia logue openly about their work and the role of black women artists as we ap proach the new millennium. The show will be at Spelman until the end of De cember. Museum hours for CAU are Tues-Fri 11:00-4:00 and Sat 12:00-4:00. Spelmans hours are Tues-Fri 11:00-5:00.