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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>THIRTIETH
ANNUAL JURIED SOUTH CAROLINA ARTIST’S EXHIBITION<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<h3><b><i><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
Arial;font-style:italic'>Exhibition celebrating some of the state’s
finest artisans to open April 18 at the Pickens County Museum <o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></h3>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> The Pickens County
Cultural Commission is pleased to announce that the “Pickens County
Museum’s Thirtieth Annual Juried Artist’s Exhibition” will
open to the public with reception and awards ceremony on Saturday April 18,
from 5 until 8 p.m., and will continue through June 11, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Jay Williams, the Gary
R. Libby Curator of Art at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, FL
will serve as juror for this year’s competition. He received his B.A. in
Art Education and Printmaking in 1971 and his M.A. in Art Education in 1974
from the University of South Florida in Tampa. In 1994 he received an
additional M.A. in Art History from Vermont’s Norwich University.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h2 style='text-align:justify'><b><i><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></b></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Born 1949 in Richmond,
Kentucky and now living in Palm Coast, Florida, Williams has held numerous
prestigious positions including Curator at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta,
Georgia; Chief Curator of Exhibitions and Public Programs at the McKissick
Museum at the University of South Carolina; Curator for Edison College’s
Gallery of Fine Art in Fort Myers, Florida and Head of Education and State
Services at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h2 style='text-align:justify'><b><i><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></b></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> During his career
Williams has curated a plethora of fine exhibitions including <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>“The Songs of Maybelle Stamper,”
“Myth, Memory and Imagination, Universal Themes in the Life and Culture
of the South,” “Realist Paintings by Bryan Leboeuf”</span></i>
and <i><span style='font-style:italic'>“Tom Nakashima: Two
Decades.”</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h2 style='text-align:justify'><b><i><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></b></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Williams spent the day
of April 6 looking at, and contemplating 421 works of art representing 223
South Carolina artisans. The vast array of paintings, drawings, photographs,
prints, ceramics, fiber and other mediums made for the difficult task of
selecting works for, and eliminating works from, the final show. The impressive
final selection of 130 works of art represents 124 individuals currently
creating visual art in this state. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> About the jury, Mr.
Williams said, “This Thirtieth Annual Juried South Carolina Artists
Exhibition represents an important aspect of Pickens County Museum of Art and
History’s objective, to ‘tell the stories of Pickens County and the
Carolina Upcountry.’ Like our earliest ancestors who expressed themselves
in the visual arts, South Carolina’s artists still express their most
important values through their chosen media. Our artists think deeply about the
world and their place in it.” He continued, “…the artist in
society has not changed much during the thousands of years of human history,
since the earliest known artists represented the relationship between human
culture and the natural world in their depictions found on the surfaces of
caves and rock outcroppings. Their works of craft also quickly transcended the
realm of pure functionality and became expressive.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> To summarize his role
in this endeavor, Williams said, “To see and appreciate the Thirtieth
Annual Juried SC Artists Exhibition is not just a matter of enjoying its
entertainment value. It may be enjoyable, but it is much more than that. These
artists have poured their hearts and souls into their works of art. As I juried
the exhibition, I was overwhelmed by their collective curiosity and creativity,
their psychological, philosophical, and in some cases, religious understanding,
and their ability to synthesize a complex variety of thoughts and feelings into
a painting, photograph, drawing, print, basket, or piece of furniture.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=red
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Thanks to the kind
sponsorships of Pickens County & the Pickens County Cultural Commission
along with the museum’s 2008–2009 exhibition season sponsors, Blue
Ridge Electric Cooperative, Pickens Savings & Loan and Upstate Oral &
Maxillofacial Surgery & Dental Implant Center, Cornerstone Bank, First
Citizens Bank, ING Financial Partners–Sam Head, Liberty Family Pharmacy,
Richard & Laura Powers, Pumpkintown Community Club, Mr. & Mrs. Alfred
Robinson & Family and the Rozelle Stone Company and the additional
sponsorships from Mr. & Mrs. J. Connie Bowers, Mr. & Mrs. Philip
Hendricks and Mrs. Shirley Sarlin, cash and purchase awards will be presented
at the April 18 Opening Reception. The Pickens County Museum of Art &
History is funded in part by Pickens County, friends and members of
the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives
support from the National Endowment for the Arts.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText2><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText2><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> No matter where your individual taste in art
may lead, you will find satisfaction in this exhibition. The variety of work
represented is a generous reflection of the community of artists presently at
work in South Carolina.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText2><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText2><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> Located at the corner of Hwy. 178 at 307
Johnson Street in Pickens SC, the museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30
p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission is free but
donations are welcomed. For more information call the museum at (864) 898-5963.<font
color=red><span style='color:red'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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