Yue Minjun. Chinese, born 1962.
The Grassland Series Woodcut 1 (Diving Figure), 2008
Woodcut on medium weight lightly textured cream wove paper.
Gift of Pace Editions Incorporated and Ethan Cohen Fine Arts courtesy of Ann and Richard Solomon (Ann Weinbaum, class of 1959)
Photo by Ethan Cohen Photograph by Petegorsky/Gipe.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the first gifts of Asian art from the preeminent collector Charles Lang Freer, Collecting Art of Asia will highlight transformative moments, people, and gifts in the history of collecting and displaying Asian art at Smith College Museum of Art. The exhibition, spanning three floors of the Museum, will include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South and Southeast Asian art from the permanent collection of SCMA, as well as promised gifts. The galleries will feature: traditional art; prints from 1950 to the present; contemporary painting, sculpture, and installation; and video art. Freer’s close association with painter and Smith professor Dwight Tryon will be examined in the exhibition and in the accompanying illustrated publication with highlights of SCMA’s Asian holdings.

John Thompson. American, born 1945.
Flower Child, 1967.
Screenprint printed in color on paper. Published by Astro Posters, Berkeley, California.
Purchased.
Photo by Photo by Petegorsky/Gipe

Featuring 70+ original art posters by some of the major California poster artists of the 1960s–including Rick Griffin, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso, and Wes Wilson–The Summer of Love strives to understand the emergences of the 1960s counterculture and the psychedelic aesthetic through the burgeoning realm of posters as both an advertising agent and an art form. Promoting concerts, cultural gatherings, and drug use, the posters targeted members of the budding counterculture. These youth shared a full-fledged opposition to the established society left over from the suburban conformity of the 1950s. The posters on view advertise important music venues such as the Fillmore Auditorium and Avalon Ballroom and evoke iconic images associated with the psychedelic ’60s, such as the “Flower Child.” Augmenting the visual experience, American classic rock music recordings from the 1960s and 1970s will be played in the gallery. This exhibition is supported by the Judith Plesser Targan, class of 1953, Art Museum Fund.

John Thompson. American, born 1945.
Flower Child, 1967.
Screenprint printed in color on paper. Published by Astro Posters, Berkeley, California.
Purchased.
Photo by Photo by Petegorsky/Gipe

Put on your favorite tie-dyed attire for

Peace, Love, and Rock ‘n Roll

A community art happening in celebration of SUMMER OF LOVE: Psychedelic Posters from SCMA

4–6 PM Hands-on! an art activity based on Summer of Love (for ages 4+ w/adult)

6 PM  Open Eyes, an informal guided gallery conversation about an art object in Summer of Love (all ages)

Dance to tunes from the psychedelic 60s and enjoy awesome light refreshments catered by Tryon Common Café