The visual power of words has captivated the human imagination since the invention of writing. In the hands of artists and poets, this raw material is stretched and transformed into a limitless array of expressive and conceptual forms—handwriting, graffiti, graphics, moveable type, and video imaging to name just a few. Drawn from Lehigh’s extensive collection, the artists in this exhibition explore diverse approaches including word-as-image, captioning, collage, spoken word, braille, and found text. Photography, printmaking, and video works by Guido Llinás, Stephen Althouse, Aaron Siskind, Robert Indiana, Marcia Resnick, Abelardo Morell, Miguel Loredo, Alexander Apóstol, Adál Maldonado, Ed Ruscha, Howard Finster, Arturo Cuenca, Gary Graves, and Pablo Gimenez-Zapiola are presented.… Read More Visual Poetry

In 1955, Swiss-born photographer Robert Frank traveled across the United states, shooting a quintessentially American social landscape from an outsider’s perspective. Made possible by a Guggenheim foundation fellowship, this now-iconic road trip yielded over 28,000 negatives from which Frank chose eighty-three images for his pivotal book, The Americans. First published in France, The Americans countered the image of 1950s optimism, revealing the hidden face of poverty, racism, and consumerism. Frank’s signature style—improvisational and probing—has had a lasting impact on photography. Drawn from a limited edition portfolio, the works in this exhibition present images of Frank’s unedited contact sheets, complete with his notations. They provide a glimpse of the artist’s mind at work during the realization of this monumental project. Presented as part of Lehigh Valley Photography Month, November 2016.… Read More ROBERT FRANK / The Americans: 81 Contact Sheets

When 13 trees fell at Bartram’s Garden during a huge storm in 2010, the Center for Art in Wood put out a call to artists, inviting them to propose and create new works using the fallen wood and other materials in the spirit of the garden’s founder, John Bartram. The response was overwhelming. Over 100 proposals were submitted from around the world. From these, works were selected, including collaborations by artists from three continents. John Bartram, a friend to Benjamin Franklin and royal botanist to King George III, was known for the innovative boxes he designed to ship seeds and plants to colleagues. His 18th century garden, now a historical landmark, remains a hub for sharing international plant knowledge. This exhibition celebrates Bartram’s legacy of invention and discovery by providing the opportunity for artists to remix his inspirational vision of botany, gardening, and design.… Read More Bartram’s Boxes REMIX