Unique art exhibition, 'Tagged and Collected' at Nebraska Hall

The Systematic Research Collections of the University of Nebraska State Museum and the University of Nebraska Department of Art and Art History present an art exhibit inspired by the collections in the museum's Division of Zoology. The student-produced exhibit titled "Tagged and Collected" will be on display now through April 2 along the 5th floor elevator lobby at the west end of Nebraska

Building hours for Nebraska Hall are 7 a.m.-10 p.m. The public is invited to a First Friday reception for the exhibit April 2 in Nebraska Hall from 5 to 7 p.m.

"Tagged and Collected" evolved through a collaboration in the fall semester between Patricia W. Freeman, professor and curator of the University of Nebraska State Museum Division of Zoology, and Aaron Holz, assistant professor of art and art history. The exhibit was organized by art and art history graduate assistant Victoria Hoyt.

In the fall semester, Holz's beginning painting class was given a tour of the Division of Zoology of the University of Nebraska State Museum located in Nebraska Hall. The students were given the opportunity to view the collections that are normally kept behind closed doors. The collections include more than 400,000 specimens, consisting of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and mollusks. The students could decide which specimens to portray on canvas, that could be anything from a pattern on a feather, how a skull casts a shadow, or the lab environment in which the specimens are housed. The students drew inspiration from what biologists see, such as species, geography, history -- as well as more artistic elements such as textures, colors and organization. Using these influences, the students created paintings that showcased their individual take on the biological science of zoology.

A similar collaboration between the Zoology Division and the Art Department is in the works for the 2010 fall semester.

For more information about the museum's zoology division, visit www.museum.unl.edu.