VISUAL ARTS

Given its power both to conceal and display its contents, a box is an object that entices curiosity. Utilitarian or decorative, small or large, a box may serve many purposes. Outside the [Box] is the culminating, collaborative project by students in the 2012 Smith College Summer Institute in Art Museum Studies (SIAMS). Drawn from the permanent collection of SCMA, the 33 works on view include contemporary sculpture, traditional decorative art objects, and works on paper. Grouped thematically rather than chronologically or according to nationality, everyday or mundane objects are juxtaposed with boxes created for ceremonial, aesthetic, or symbolic purposes. Viewers are invited to carefully consider and ask questions about the objects on display and to think about them in new ways—outside the box. This exhibition is made possible by support from The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston, through the initiative of Louisa Stude Sarofim, Smith class of 1958.