Curating Warhol: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Columbia Museum of Art — Story by Kara Gunter, Photos by Jesse Cody

How often do we really consider the work it takes to put together a huge art exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art, like Marilyn to Mao: Andy Warhol’s Famous Faces?  Chances are, not often.  And that’s how the curatorial staff at the Columbia Museum of Art wants it. Everyone on staff works hard to ensure that visitors to the museum only see the art, and are not distracted by wall color, a misplaced light, or a crooked art piece.  It sounds... Read More

In Memoriam: Leslie Pierce

Photo by Molly Harrell   This past Sunday, June 28th, 2015, The Columbia arts community lost one of its best. For nearly two decades, Leslie Pierce, a visual artist herself, worked as a volunteer and staff member at the Columbia Museum of Arts, eventually becoming the director of adult programs and partnerships, and became well-known for her passion and dedication to the arts, inspiring  those around her and enriched her community in innumerable... Read More

On Andy Warhol’s Jimmy Carter 1, by Ed Madden

  His hand is a fist but it is not a fist.  His watch is on the inside of his wrist.  Doctors do that, and nurses.  But so do farmers.  It’s so you don’t scratch the crystal when you’re doing manual labor, doing something difficult.  Is this a signal?  He is about to do something difficult.   Warhol’s image of Jimmy Carter takes me back to my childhood, but not in some kind of nostalgic way.  When I look at this image, it... Read More

Design and Process with Clark Ellefson

By Kristine Hartvigsen Clark Ellefson has an idea − but instead of the figurative light bulb hovering over his head, imagine one of the artist’s glowing tin perforated Incredible Hulk lunchboxes instead. Or how about a charming postmodern “Mini Mojo” lamp with and artisanal paper shade. Ellefson is full of ideas, in fact, and you can bet there’s a unique fixture shedding light on every one of them. It’s not unusual to spot Ellefson making... Read More

Wearable Art

By Kristine Hartvigsen With this article, Jasper introduces an occasional series on wearable art by Columbia-area artisans. This first in the series focuses on two local women who create hand-crafted art jewelry. The stunning, straight-talking redhead who manages the Museum Shop at the Columbia Museum of Art, Bohumila Augustinova is perhaps best known around local art circles as the talented designer who won the Columbia Design League’s annual... Read More

Lindsay Wiggins

The artist Lindsay Wiggins could just as easily be found on Jasper’s Day Jobs page since, in addition to being an artist, she also works full time as a histologist – someone who studies the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues in plants and animals. And that intimate knowledge of the infinitesimal is clearly evident when Wiggins, who is also a photographer, takes paintbrush in hand. “Some of the patterns and symbols in my work come from... Read More

Service is the New Muse

By Michaela Pilar Brown There is a singular kind of magic that occurs when you witness someone being transformed by an experience with your art. It is a singular moment when you understand that you as an artist have the power to invoke meaningful change in the life of another. For most artists, choosing art as a career is a different kind of singularity. It is often a choice to live inside one’s own head, to spend endless hours alone with your materials... Read More

Editorial- Issue 5

Dear Friends, Spring is always a busy time, particularly for the arts in Columbia. There’s Indie Grits, Open Studios, Artista Vista, Color the Arts, and Runaway Runway. The South Carolina Arts Commission, the Contemporaries of the Columbia Museum of Art, and the Museum of Art itself all have their annual galas. Various exhibitions are opening and closing, the local theatres all have runs of plays, many that they’ve been saving especially for this... Read More