The Frist Hosts New Exhibits

By Mariah Mims

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - The Frist Center for the Visual Arts was crowded with students and tourists alike on Nov. 21 for the latest popular art exhibits on display.

The Frist is a popular place for people who are interested in a fine mixture of culture and education. Students often come for field trips to check out some of the more traditional exhibits. On this Saturday, they explored the Islamic Art from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The sculpted ceramics, colorful religious rugs, and vividly vibrant textiles date all of the way back to the eighth century.

The Hume-Fogg Magnet High School World History class visited to learn about international religions and global art. Students planned to compare the cultural world and spectacular objects that were chosen to represent great Islamic art at the Frist with what they learn about day-to-day in the classroom.

MTSU Middle Stew reporter Mariah Mims was on assignment at The Frist exploring every exhibit from the Islamic Art to the colorful exhibit of “Wonder and Rainbows” that integrated fashion, graffiti, music and childhood wonder. The artist Shinique Smith found old, seemingly unimportant objects from her childhood to give a sense of nostalgia that visitors can see on hanging portraits and outlandish boxes of ripped clothing arranged artfully in the floor.

"It looks like the stuff I would have on the floor of my bedroom,” Emily Thomas, from the Hume-Fogg High School said.

The last exhibit on display was “Phantom Bodies: The Human Aura in Art” exhibit. It is a strange exhibit with pictures and moving contraptions and concepts of human bodies that beckon one to look around. The exhibit includes pieces that really make the viewer think about the human experience and life itself. Some of the pieces are odd and spooky, contrived of shadows and almost uncomfortable lighting.

"People often feel the presence of someone when no one is there or someone in the car looking over at you when they're not,” said Mark Scala in an interview for The Frist’s informative pamphlet, the chief curator who brought the exhibit to the Frist. “The fear of the unknown. That's what this exhibit is."

Jennifer Dalton, a security guard for the Frist, stood with her arms crossed, watching all the high school kids observe a winding machine manned by a foot-peddle to make sure no one broke anything.

"Yeah, this exhibit is pretty controversial,” said Dalton. “We often don't willingly offer it to our school kids. We leave it up to the teachers to decide if they want to bring them or not.”

These exhibits will be at the Frist until Jan. 10, 2016. Admission is $9 for individuals with student IDs and $12 for the general public. For more information, go to www.fristcenter.org.

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