Circa 1958
Wednesday, November 19 2008
by Frank Stasio and Olympia Stone
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http://www.ackland.org
The 1950s were a decade of contrasts: the decade that gave us the launch of Sputnik and McDonald's also spawned “Peyton Place” and “On the Road." In the visual arts, Americans were introduced to “Paint by Numbers” and to Robert Rauschenberg. In the midst of all of these cultural extremes, a milestone occurred in downtown Chapel Hill: on September 20, 1958, the Ackland Museum opened its doors to the public. Now, fifty years later, the museum celebrates its golden anniversary with an exhibit called “Circa 1958: Breaking Ground in American Art.” Host Frank Stasio is joined by Emily Kass, the Director of the Ackland Museum, Roni Feinstein, the guest curator of the exhibit and a writer for "Art in America," and Nancy and Bill Young, authors of "The 1950s” (Greenwood Press/2004).
