Portraiture from DePauw’s permanent art collection goes on display

Muhammad Ali, late 20th-century photograph. Gift of Bonnie Schiffman with the Museum Project.

Courtesy photo

The DePauw University Permanent Art Collection houses more than 200 “portraits,” the majority of which have never been on display during their time with the university.

“Controlled Identity,” a new exhibit that opened this week at DePauw’s Richard E. Peeler Art Center, offers a space and a time for such objects to not only be seen, but to be showcased.

The exhibit features more than 50 works from the DePauw collection alongside works from students in Putnam County schools.

Portraiture from the DePauw Permanent Art Collection will remain on view through July 15.

The portraits span across media, across cultures and across time to showcase the best of the best, as well as to point out the vast use of the “portrait” as a visual means to communicate objectification, identification, and subjectification.

In current visual culture, images pass by us at an unprecedented rate. One of the most common images popping up in newsfeeds is that of the self, or as popular culture labels, the “selfie.” We like to think this “selfie” is something new, exciting, and only of our time; however, in looking at the history of portraiture as a visual, artistic means of communication, we see the “selfie” is nothing new.

This exhibition was curated not only to highlight the best portraits from DePauw’s collection but also to contribute to an ongoing dialogue grounded in perceptions of identity.

The galleries at the Richard E. Peeler Art Center are open Monday-through-Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sunday 1-5 p.m., and are closed during university breaks and holidays.