Miami, March 11, 2016 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Museum of Art + Design (MOA+D) will present A Patch of Blue: Illustrations of Oscar Wilde’s the Ballad of Reading Gaol, an exhibit curated by students in the Museum Curatorial Practices course, offered through MDC and the New World School of the Arts. The exhibition presents works on loan from The Wolfsonian-FIU, highlighting the Symbolist style of French artist Jean-Georges Cornelius, and examining various themes through original paintings and prints produced for a 1927 French publication of Oscar Wilde’s renowned Ballad of Reading Gaol. A Director’s Preview will be featured on Wednesday, March 23 from 1- 3 p.m. The preview, which is located within the College’s historic Freedom Tower, is free and open to the public.
The works on display are a loan from the Wolfsonian-FIU and never-before shown to the public. The exhibition highlights the Symbolist style of French artist Jean-Georges Cornelius, the political legacy of Oscar Wilde’s poem, and the process of early 20th century book-making. Originally published in 1897, the ballad details the execution of a fellow inmate at the HM Prison Reading and addresses the shame, dehumanization and brutality of incarceration and hard-labor sentences. For Wilde, who was convicted for “gross indecency” associated with his then-taboo homosexuality, the metaphysically wrought experience left him a broken man. A Patch of Blue explores the content and meaning of the text and images of this edition of The Ballad of Reading Gaol in relation to current sexual politics and issues relating to capital punishment.
Curated by students in the Museum Curatorial Practices course offered through the MDC Wolfson Campus and the New World School of the Arts, the exhibition will open to the public on March 23 from 6 – 8 p.m. A collaborative presentation with O, Miami, Reading Queer, and Miami Dade College Pride Week on April 12, will offer a forum for invited guest speakers to examine this exhibition through different perspectives. Additionally, a youth book-making workshop will be offered through GO GO MOAD! at the Museum on April 16 from 1 – 4 p.m.
WHAT: A Patch of Blue: Illustrations of Oscar Wilde’s the Ballad of Reading Gaol
WHEN: Director’s Preview: Wednesday, March 23
1 – 3 p.m.
(Free and open to the public)
Exhibition on view: March 24 – May 1
Wednesday – Sunday, noon – 5 p.m.
(Free admission and private tours are available)
WHERE: MDC Museum of Art + Design
The Freedom Tower at MDC, 2nd floor
600 Biscayne Blvd.
About MDC Museum of Art + Design
MDC Museum of Art + Design (MOA+D) is Miami Dade College’s flagship institution dedicated to the presentation and exhibition of visual art and design, housed at the National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College in Downtown Miami. The mission of the Museum is to promote the appreciation and understanding of art and its role in society through direct engagement with original works of art from within the College’s extensive permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. Furthermore, the Museum presents year-round lectures, symposiums and art related events to expose, educate and engage the greater public through related creative processes.
For more information about MDC’s Museum of Art + Design, please contact the museum at 305-237-7710 or museum@mdc.edu, or visit www.mdcmoad.org.
For more information about the Museum Studies Course, please contact Professor Melissa Diaz at 305-237-7857 or mdiaz12@mdc.edu