[Scmusenet] Talking with the Turners: Southern Pottery Traditions

[Jill Koverman]

What:    "Talking With The Turners"exhibition reception and book
signing
When:   September 7, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Where:  2nd Floor Lobby, McKissick Museum on USC's historic Horseshoe
Contact:  McKissick Museum, 777-7251

The public is invited to an opening reception for McKissick Museum's
fall exhibition 
Talking with the Turners: Southern Pottery Traditions.
Booksigning for Dr. Charles R. Mack's recently published "Talking with
the Turners: Conversations with Southern Folk Potters"

Retired Art Department faculty member, Dr. Charles "Randy" Mack, has
had a long and illustrious association with McKissick Museum throughout
his tenure with the University.  In the Museum's early years, Dr. Mack
traveled the by-roads of South Carolina locating and interviewing
traditional potters as well as securing examples of pottery for
McKissick.  This research resulted in a valuable collection of oral
histories housed in the Museum's Folklife Resource Center and a noteable
collection of pottery that records of one the South's important material
culture traditions. 

Dr. Mack recently published a book through the University of South
Carolina Press, "Talking with the Turners: Conversations with Southern
Folk Potters" and worked with McKissick Museum's folklife curator
Saddler Taylor and collections curator Jill Koverman to produce this
exhibition.  Over 50 examples of clay works along with original voice
recordings of these master turners allow a very personal view into the
lives of these individuals for visitors going through the gallery. As a
very special occasion, the reception provides visitors the opportunity
to meet the researcher who captured these voices and collected the
majority of the works on view.

Also available for viewing are two major exhibitions:  Telling Our
Story: 30 Years at McKissick Museum and Making Our Mark: The Impact of
Student Life at the University of South Carolina.  Both of these
displays tell remarkable stories of life on campus using artifacts,
imagery and interpretive texts.  Although McKissick Museum is
celebrating its 30th anniversary, the collections date back to the
beginnings of the College.  Visitors will delight in the opportunity to
see items relating to the history of the University as well as
representative pieces from the numerous collections of the museum. 
Important to building a museum collection are the supporters, both on
campus and off-campus, who donate prized objects or fund the purchase of
an otherwise unattainable piece. Through the years, McKissick Museum has
been the recipient of many individual kindnesses as well as the support
of numerous faculty and administrations.  Please come help us celebrate
the University of South Carolina's award-winning, nationally recognized
McKissick Museum!

For information on these and other exhibitions and events, please
contact Peggy Nunn at 777-7251 or nunnp at gwm.sc.edu.

Jill Beute Koverman
Curator of Collections
McKissick Museum
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
(803) 777-3708
(803) 777-2829 fax
www.cas.sc.edu/MCKS
koverman at gwm.sc.edu