What’s New at MoFA?
In this post, the MoFA Team shares what’s new at MoFA and what we are excited about this semester.
KicksOff Installation.
Meredith’s Pick
I’m excited about KicksOff, the small sneaker exhibition we have in the case this semester. We got to work with our former co-worker Elton Burgest on this project, and it’s always a blast to spend time with him. He selected shoes that highlight the relationships between artists, designers, and sneaker brands. There are eleven pairs that range from pretty traditional looking tennis shoes to some sneakers that look like they’re ready for moon exploration.
Preston’s Pick
Among the many joys of working at a university art museum is the opportunity to collaborate with academic departments and research centers from across campus. In recent years, MoFA has partnered with the Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies on exhibitions focusing on the art of Edouard Duval-Carrié, Eric Leleu’s photography of the immigrant camps of Calais, and protest posters used in the streets of Paris during the May ’68 student uprising and labor strike. MoFA is delighted to be working again with faculty affiliated the Winthrop-King Institute on a small companion show to complement the Fall 2020 conference Global Africas: Congolese Literature, Music, and Art in the 21st Century.
Pat Masioni, original ink drawing for UFFO-Somali (Sweet Smelling Wind Before the Rain, The UFFO Struggle for Justice), act 5, page 2 (London: PositiveNegatives, 2020) (image courtesy of Pat Masioni & PositiveNegatives).
Included in the museum’s Fall exhibition schedule is an installation of comic book drawings by the Paris-based Congolese artist Pat Masioni. We are delighted to have thirteen art boards featuring original illustrations for Vertigo Comic’s Unknown Soldier, Living Level 3, a graphic novel published by the World Food Programme, and UFFO Somali a project of the London-based nonprofit PositiveNegatives, together with examples of the artist’s published works. Pat Masioni was born in Mikuzi, in the region Bas-Congo in 1961. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa. He began his career as a professional illustrator in Democratic Republic of Congo, where his books sold more than 250,000 copies. Since moving to France in 2002, in addition to illustrating for popular titles by Dark Horse and DC Comics, he has published graphic novels on the war in Rwanda, contributed art work to humanitarian educational initiatives by the International Red Cross and UNICEF, and drawn for “Samba Diallo,” a comic published in the magazine Planète jeunes.
MoFA will be working with the Winthrop-King Institute on related programs and learning opportunities, so stay tuned!
Work by Camden Goddard and Caroline Ennis
Annie’s Pick
I am excited about the New Alumni show currently installed at MoFA. Each spring and fall, MoFA showcases FSU’s graduating BFA and MFA art students in our galleries. In the spring, we had to pivot our plan to keep our students and staff safe and healthy. Recognizing the time, work, and care the students put into their work, we invited students to install upstairs this fall in an exhibition called New Alumni. You can read more about the show on our website and explore the works of FSU’s finest.
Refurbished elevator facade.
Kelly’s Pick
We did a ton of work sprucing up the museum while we were closed. There’s new drywall, cleaner bricks, and fresh ceiling tiles. The museum is looking better than I’ve ever seen it. That said, It’s very exciting to put up and see art on the walls again! We got so used to seeing the empty space, installing the new shows feels really special.