"Sacred Spaces" Art Exhibit to be Displayed at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross presents a new exhibition titled, "Sacred Spaces: Building and Remembering Sites of Worship in the Nineteenth Century." It will be on display from Wednesday, Jan. 30, through Sunday, April 14.

There will be an exhibition opening reception on Wednesday, Jan. 30, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Gallery. A lecture reflecting the exhibition, titled "Collecting Prints," will be given by Julien Tavener, owner of Haley & Steele, on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rehm Library of Smith Hall, College of the Holy Cross. A complimentary exhibition will be on view at the Dinand Library, College of the Holy Cross, in the spring semester 2002. All events are free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) and Holy Cross, the exhibition includes 50 works on paper and 20 three-dimensional objects including vestments, liturgical vessels, books and church furniture. The following seven focus categories ask viewers to reflect on fundamental questions regarding sites of worship: choices of style; strategies of finance; influence of cultural precedent; manner of furnishing; relationships of houses of worship and their communities; destruction of sacred spaces; and evocation of the sacred in commemorative certificates.

The exhibition includes diagrams of pews, architect's plans, fund-raising prints, stained glass, an Episcopal Communion plate, a Congregational alms dish, a Jewish prayer book and Torah pointer, popular song covers, and grand commemorative prints of the cathedrals of Boston, New York and Cologne, France.

This is the first time that the AAS, a national research institution, will cooperate with a local college to mount an exhibition. The exhibition also sets a precedent for scholarly involvement by students, through classes and student education outreach experiences at the College. A fully illustrated exhibition catalogue, featuring student research as well as that of scholars in the field, will be available for purchase at the Gallery.

Curated by Holy Cross Professor Virginia Chieffo Raguin and Visiting Lecturer Mary Ann Powers, with the assistance of Georgia B. Barnhill and Brian C.R. Zugay, the exhibition will occur in conjunction with a national conference titled, "Sacred Spaces: Legacy and Responsibility," to be held Friday, April 5, through Sunday, April 7, at the College. Following the conference, the exhibition will be on display at the National Museum of Catholic Art and History in New York City, from June 13 through Sept. 14.

The hours for the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery are Monday through Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Gallery will be open special hours on Sunday, April 14, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed March 2 through March 10 and March 28 through April 1. The Gallery is located in O'Kane Hall at the College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Mass., 01610. Admission to the Gallery is free.