The Columbia Museum of Art is currently showcasing an exhibit that touches upon one of the most misconstrued time periods in history: the 1970s.
Titled "That '70s Show," the exhibit has pieces of art from some of the best known artists of the decade like Andy Warhol, Colleen Browning and Phyllis Sloane.
"That '70s Show" curator Catherine Walworth sat down with The Daily Gamecock in the middle of the exhibit floor on some puffy bean bag chairs to discuss her inspiration behind coming up with such a niche concept for an exhibit and the importance of what was said then, and how it can be used to enlighten us 40 years later.
The art on display comes from the museum’s own collection, and all the interior design work was hand done to fit the era.
“There are things that have been waiting decades in the basement for this show because they’re fabulous, but they just scream the '70s and that’s not to everybody’s taste,” Walworth said.
Walworth wanted to get people to remember how much of a valuable time the 1970s was in getting the ball rolling towards how we view ourselves.
“The '70s gets overlooked so much ... It’s the decade when really everything goes, there’s not one particular movement that seems to dominate. If anything, individual voices were creeping in,” Walworth said.
“Art is uniquely qualified to reflect a time period back, but there’s also work to be done on the visitor’s side to go back and look into what that historical context was,” she added.
To go along with all of the artwork, the exhibit is designed with different colored wallpapers, far out info plaques, a timeline of the decade and a huge wall with the exhibit’s title emboldened with yellow against a crimson backdrop. The bean bag chairs are perfect to lounge in.
Walworth was set on the idea of not going too over the top with how to design the exhibit. She knew the art had to take center stage.
“I wanted to let the work itself be the experience, but it’s reacting off of these great design elements,” Walworth said.
“The '70s to me were the last time we were some sort of weird, primitive people that were not tied to technology and we did everything the hard way and the slow way and I wanted people to slow down in here and just sit and spend some time,” she added.
That lack of readily available technology then will only heighten the experience of taking the museum’s “Multimedia Tap Tour” available on their website. This feature lets you explore the background of some of the art pieces in the exhibit with short video or audio clips.
The exhibit opened on June 23 and will be on display through September 17.