March 26th - June 13th 2004
Museum London

Curated by the Museum Studies class in Visual Arts at the University of Western Ontario with Professor Madeline Lennon.
Excerpt from Catalogue Forward by Professor Madeline Lennon :

COLLECTING ART WORKS has been a human passion since classical antiquity. Paintings, sculptures and precious objects have been displayed in private homes and public spaces for enjoyment, inspiration, and education. The museum as we know it developed in nineteenth-century Europe. In our day it functions more than ever as an important focus for the cultural life of cities around the globe.

This year the Museum Studies class in Visual Arts at the University of Western Ontario was invited to explore the riches of the Moore Collection at Museum London and to share the experiences of the collector Woody Moore. With her warmth and humour, Woody recalled the early days of her marriage, when she and her husband Jake would have a late afternoon date at a Toronto gallery to look at contemporary art. Her memories of interactions with artists reveal an acute eye for artistic process and especially for sensitive drawing. Her discussion of specific works reverberates with a deep appreciation for those that she loves, as she points out how they communicate interesting messages through surprising compositions, and marvels at the sheer pleasure of looking. Hearing about her experiences brought to life the texts we had studied in class on the history of collecting and of museums, and provided an important context for the students as they studied the collection.

Each of the eighteen students in the Museum Studies class chose several artists to research from among the hundreds represented in the Moore Collection. They visited the storage vaults at the museum to study specific artworks and conducted extensive research to enrich their understanding of these works. Along with this opportunity to work with actual art objects, students also learned how a museum functions by participating in every aspect of developing and mounting an exhibition. This valuable experience allowed them to put the theory learned in the classroom into practice in the real world.