An exhibition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Ackland Art Museum has been honored with a 2013 Award of Excellence by the Association of Art Museum Curators.
“More Love: Art, Politics, and Sharing since the 1990s” was awarded an honorable mention in the “Exhibitions by Museums with an Operating Budget under $4 Million” category.
Organized for the Ackland Art Museum by consulting curator Claire Schneider, “More Love” was the first major exhibition to investigate the many ways contemporary artists have addressed the subject of love: as a political force, as a philosophical model for equitable knowledge exchange and as social interaction within a rapidly changing landscape of technology and social media.
“We at the Ackland are delighted that our professional colleagues have recognized the outstanding quality and national importance of this major exhibition,” said Ackland Chief Curator Peter Nisbet. “The Ackland is committed to an ambitious contemporary art program that offers searching and stimulating encounters with the best art of our time. ‘More Love’ exemplified this in a powerful way.”
Visitors experienced “More Love” through works of art by 33 emerging and established contemporary artists for whom love is a central preoccupation. From Jim Hodges’ large-scale curtain of silk flower petals to Julianne Swartz’s site-specific sound installations, from sculptural pieces by Janine Antoni and Louise Bourgeois to video work by Mona Hatoum, Tad Hozumi, Frances Stark and others, the art in “More Love” invited, enacted and reflected on multiple modes of expression, among them gifts, touch, acts of service, and language.
Nearly 13,000 visitors came to see “More Love” or attended one of its related programs during its eight-week run at the Ackland last February and March. The Ackland has subsequently acquired two works from the exhibition: a selection of Gregory Sale’s “Love for Love” buttons given to the Museum by friends of the Ackland and a 2012 painting by Chris Johanson called “Untitled (Filling Up Time).”
“It’s wonderful to be recognized by my curatorial peers from around the country,” Schneider said. “I’m especially grateful that this award shines a national spotlight on the Ackland and our combined efforts to realize such an ambitious project. ‘More Love’ brought together so many wonderful people to create this profound and moving exhibition that actively engaged the public.”
May 14, 2014.