Central European exhibit becomes a reality for IUP professor

Three years ago, Dr. James Nestor visited Croatia as a guest of the International 33rd Zagreb Salon and returned with an idea for an art exhibit.

Nestor's idea - to exhibit artworks by faculty from the art academies in Zagreb, Croatia; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovinia - was large in scope and optimistic in its nature.

     "It was a good idea," said Nestor, a sculpture professor at IUP, "it just hadn't been led or developed before."

     Now, as artwork is being shipped from the three countries and the catalogue prepared, Nestor's idea is becoming a reality: New Works/New Europe opened to the public Sept. 10 at the University Museum. 

Curator's Statement

     This exhibition is a journey through time, language, and place.  The artists cut across gender and age.  There are different generations of artists.  I sought out individuals whose art expressed a special turn of the mind.  The great complexity of much of this work comes from the integration of advanced technology, a profound belief in the primacy of art and a probing respect/fear of history.

     It is impossible for the current generation of Americans to come to a ready understanding of the divergent points of view in this radical exhibition.  I regard this exhibition as an educational mission to point out our similar concerns and humanness.  The other side of this mission is to underscore the fact that the role and viability of art to be a living part of culture has never been understood or experienced in the United States to the same extent as in some other places.