VSU Offers Teaser of East Asian Art Collection Opening in 2012

VALDOSTA -- On the second floor of Valdosta State University’s Odum Library, in the Hub Gallery Area, hang four pieces of East Asian art. In addition to two photos, there is a framed tapestry from the Lampong region of Sumatra that is over 100 years old and a woven silk shoulder cloth from Thailand, also over 100 years old.

Deborah S. Davis, certified archivist, director of VSU Archives and Special Collections, and chairwoman of the Library Art Committee, said this is just a teaser of what is to come in January 2012.

Jeannette and Charles Kessler recently donated over 50 items collected during their extensive travels in East Asia to VSU Archives and Special Collections, Davis said. This includes three pieces of Ban Chiang pottery, one that is over 1,650 years old, one that is over 2,000 years old, and one that is over 3,000 years old; a trunk filled with at least 35 woven antique textiles from Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, and other countries; and roughly two dozen photographs taken of the people of Tibet, collectively referred to as the “Faces of Tibet.”

“Jeannette was a teacher and Charles was an accountant who worked and then traveled in East Asia in the 1980s to 2000s,” according to information provided by Davis. “Their valuable and large collection represents an exciting gift to VSU Archives.”

In addition to the Kessler Collection teasers, the Odum Library currently has two full collections on display. The Lamar Dodd Collection is housed on the north side’s first floor and features 20 paintings and prints from a variety of significant 20th century and a few 19th century artists. The Ross Rosenberg Collection is housed on the north side’s second floor and features 15 very big paintings and drawings, 15 very tiny drawings, and two sculptures.

Also hanging inside the library, in the Hub Gallery Area on the north side’s second floor, is Amalia Amaki’s “For the Love of Books,” which was created in memory of William H. Mobley IV, who supported Odum Library through book donations over the years. The four pieces from the Kessler Collection are in the same vicinity.

Odum Library “has by far the largest art collection in the university,” Davis said, and on Friday, Oct. 28, the VSU and South Georgia communities are invited to check out Art in Odum, an initiative that resulted in the library becoming more than just a run-of-the-mill library but a destination promoting education through the unexpected. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., visitors can view the various exhibits, talk to some of the artists, and learn more about the future of this ongoing project. Refreshments will be served.

For more information about the Art in Odum initiative, contact Deborah S. Davis, certified archivist, director of VSU Archives and Special Collections, and chairwoman of the Library Art Committee, at (229) 259-7756 or dsdavis@valdosta.edu, or visit www.valdosta.edu/news/releases/odumart.101011.

NOTE: The Office of Communications plans to release additional information about the Art in Odum initiative in the coming days. For more information on the Lamar Dodd Collection, visit www.valdosta.edu/news/releases/doddart.101411. For more information about the Ross Rosenberg Collection, visit www.valdosta.edu/news/releases/rosenberg.102111.