Elvis Presley shines at the Jule Collins Smith Museum

AUBURN, AL- Elvis & Friends: Glitter Mosaics by Joni Mabe will be on display at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University from October 10, 2009–January 9, 2010 in Gallery C. This exhibition brings together a selection of Joni Mabe’s mixed media assemblages, described by the artist as glitter mosaics. Mabe has been fascinated with all things Elvis since listening to his voice on the radio as a teenager, and she made her first work of art dealing with “The King” on the day Presley died in 1977. Her obsession with Elvis Presley, along with her remarkable art depicting him and other significant icons of popular culture, has led to dozens of solo exhibitions in venues as far afield as Honolulu, New York and London, and television appearances on Late Night with Jay Leno, the Montel Williams Show, MTV, MSNBC and the Russian TV Network.

“Mabe’s art celebrates kitsch, celebrity worship and mainstream culture, without a hint of cynicism or Post-Modern detachment” as noted by JCSM’s Curator, Dennis Haper. In addition to depictions of Elvis at various points in his life, Mabe’s other subjects in the exhibition include circus showman P. T. Barnum, bluesman Robert Johnson, and country singers Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn.

Open since 2003, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University is Alabama’s only university art museum. Serving as the gateway into Auburn University, the museum has a wide-ranging permanent collection, which includes more than 100 Audubon prints, Tibetan bronzes dating from as early as the 15th century and works by important American modern artists, such as Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe and Lyonel Feininger. The museum rotunda features a three-tiered, hand-blown glass chandelier created especially for the space by internationally renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. The museum experience continues onto the grounds with fifteen acres of gardens, walking paths and water features complete with outdoor sculpture including Spinoff, created by Auburn alumna Jean Woodham.

Related exhibitions and programming:
Elvis at 21, New York to Memphis: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer on display October 10, 2009–January 9, 2010 in the Bill L. Harbert Gallery, organized in conjunction with Govinda Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Elvis’s America: 1956 eight part lecture series begins at 4pm Tuesday, September 22, 2009 and will continue every Tuesday until November 10, 2009 in the museum auditorium.

JCSM’s Sixth Birthday will be celebrated on October 11, 2009 from 1 – 4pm.

Contacts:
Dennis Harper, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections (334) 844-1419 dharper@auburn.edu

Andy Tennant, Assistant Director (334) 844 – 3081 tennawa@auburn.edu