Art in embassies
Art in United States Embassy Yaoundé
Introduction by Ambassador Janet E. Garvey
From its beginnings, my native state of Massachusetts has symbolized the fight for liberty and the struggle to attain higher political goals. Four centuries after its critical role as one of the original thirteen colonies to rebel against British rule in North America, Massachusetts today boasts a plethora of centers of intellectual thought, such as world-renowned Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The most populous state in New England, Massachusetts is a center for arts, medicine, education,and business. The artists chosen for this ART in Embassies exhibition hail from and/or focus on Massachusetts themes: its landscape, historical memorials, the steel-blue of the northern Atlantic Ocean, and the role of technology in modern life.
Patterns abound in the varied media of the exhibition.The organized geometry of technology becomes the re-articulated image of clouds in Zach Vitale’s Things Are Looking Up. In his Please Listen to Me, the visual rendition of a musical composition beckons the viewer to “see” the notes of the melody. So, too, in the playful pair of works by Catherine Carter, the artist’s lines follow infinite permutations within a finite space.
My affinity for abstract art is a development that has resulted from a lifetime devoted to supporting the arts. As a long time supporter of cultural institutions in my home state, I have followed art’s trajectory from its literal manifestations to contemporary abstract art. In Cameroon, artists remain faithful to tradition by applying figurative art abstractly to everyday objects. The New England artists in this exhibition seek to explore new frontiers, gently mocking our environmental comfort with known objects by representing them in unexpected transmutations. In both cultures, the familiar takes on unfamiliar forms and carries a symbolic message.
My native Massachusetts is known for its crisp weather and scenes of dramatic natural beauty, much like Cameroon’s West and North West provinces. The cool blue that predominates throughout the works is reminiscent of chilly northern waters. So, too, the theme of falling leaves speaks of the region’s weather cycle. Every year hoards of visitors come to New England to witness the change in foliage. The trees of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island shed their radiantly-colored leaves and give way to the cold stretch of winter ahead. This cycle of nature, repeated year after year, is celebrated in Eric Rhein’s bitter-sweet pair, Fly Leaves and Medicine Simplified, both of which allude to the abrupt passing of all living things in time.
The history of Massachusetts lives on in many landmarks still visible today. From the first ship Mayflower’s arrival at Plymouth Rock after an arduous journey, to the Minute Man National Historic Park, where the first battle of the American Revolution was fought, Massachusetts is rich in monuments to the past. And I am proud that this exhibition includes a tribute to Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner (1811-1874), an erudite orator and an impassioned advocate for the abolishment of slavery.
I invite guests to the Residence to imagine themselves riding the historical trajectory of New England, then propelled forward as the region draws North America into the Industrial Revolution, and then catapulted into the future as it leads the way in today’s technological advances. Like the settlers reaching the rugged New England shore, explore the new and seek the familiar. Enjoy with me these windows into New England sensibilities.
It is thanks to the ART in Embassies Program that friends and guests of U.S. Ambassador’s Residences around the world become familiar with the multifaceted artistic talent of the United States. I thank the ART in Embassies Program for making this possible, and thank the lenders for their generosity in making American art available to a worldwide public through these venues.
Ambassador Janet E. Garvey
Yaounde
January 2008
- The ART in Embassies Program (PDF-537KB)
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