Fragile Home Exhibit

New Exhibit, “Our Fragile Home,” Now in Housatonic Museum of Art

By Brenna McIntyre

Staff Writer

A new art exhibit that examines humanity’s relationship with the environment, entitled “Our Fragile Home”, is currently in the Housatonic Museum of Art. The show opened on September 5th and will remain here until October 20th. The Community Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM and closed Sundays.

“Our Fragile Home” was created by Pat Musick and Jerry Carr, a husband and wife duo. Carr did the engineer work while Musick worked on the artistic aspect of the show. Carr is a retired astronaut, most notable for his position as commander of Skylab 4, which was the longest manned flight in history.  In 1990, Carr and Musick were invited to an Earth Day assembly in which six astronauts from different countries were brought on stage to talk. The audience had translations of what was being said, but the astronauts had no idea what the other ones were saying. To the great surprise of everyone there, they all used the same nine words to describe the earth: sustain, protect, balance, harmony, nurture, fragile, steward, and beauty.

As the press release desribes it, “This exhibit, which exhorts us to take care of, nurture and respect our fragile planet, contains a message that has universal appeal. Based on inspiration from the words space travelers use to describe their first glimpse of the earth from outer space, it is a testament to a shared worldview and understanding of how vulnerable we all are. Amazingly, the sight of our earth from space inspires the same words no matter the differences in nationality, language, social, religious or political values of the viewer.”

In regards to what students and the general public should take away from the exhibit, Musick says  “My hope is that they ‘will get it.’ ‘It’ being the salvation of our planet-home. Each person brings their own interpretation to artwork, so there is no guarantee that they will feel what the artist feels. So I tried to make my feelings as clear as I could without compromising the work. We all have an obligation to care for our world...each in his or her own way.”

Lydia Viscardi, the collections manager and media coordinator of the Housatonic Museum of Art, says, “... It is pretty cool to have real artworks displayed everywhere on our college campus - this is most unusual for a college.  I hope that more students will exhibit the Burt Chernow Galleries to see ‘Our Fragile Home,’  and it would be great if they would ‘like us’ on Facebook. The show provides us with an opportunity to think about the world from the point of view of an astronaut who has witnessed the planet earth in its entirety from outer space.”

Housatonic student Teresa Wirtemburg says, “I thought it was really interesting how they tied the words together through the whole gallery. I think everyone should see the museum every time it changes because you never know what you are going to see.”

Housatonic puts an emphasis on art, as put in the mission statement of the museum, “Reflection of HCC Philosophy is that art is a daily part of life for every student and staff member. Paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs, and artifacts are on display throughout the campus. The belief that the environment filled with visual art enhances learning, develops critical thinking, and sparks debate, remains the guiding principle of the museum”.

Musick has a similar feeling: “I think art is important in education, but also in our daily lives wherever we are. It was humankind's first form of communication and has not lost it's power for connection, one to another, throughout time.”

Musick says, that she has a long relationship with the College. “Our friend Dale Ward, who was a former professor at the College  gave a work that I created to the collection...we brought the piece to the college and that first visit was inspiring to us. In addition you are enriched by Bert Chernow's collection and the wonderful gallery space. Over the years we have told many about these riches. It is an honor to be asked to exhibit here,” she said.