Barnes Foundation - Order of Things - 6abc Loves the Arts

June 12, 2015 -- When Albert Barnes began displaying his collection of artwork to the viewing public, he did so using unconventional methods. And a new exhibition at the Barnes Foundation, entitled The Order of Things, explores just that.

"Unlike most museums where you get 19th century painting in one room and 17th century painting in another area, he mixes everything up," says Guest Curator Martha Lucy, an assistant professor of Art History at Drexel University who challenged 3 artists to each give their own interpretation of Barnes' collection.

"I asked them to basically sort of think about the collection and the way it's installed and make an honest response to it, and I encouraged them to be provocative and critical."

The result is three completely different renditions, from Judy Pfaff's explosion of color that mirrors a garden, "she does these big installations that kind of twist and turn through space and that you move through as a viewer, and they're very fluid and almost kind of chaotic looking," to Mark Dion's precise and symmetrical approach, "his aesthetic is one where he likes to sort of organize things and almost in a kind of taxonomic way," says Lucy.

Artist Fred Wilson's installation uses some of Barnes's original furniture to create scenes from everyday life. "Then you can go back into the collection after being in here and maybe see the collection a little bit differently," says Lucy.

The Order of Things is on view now through August 3rd. For tickets go to www.TheArtsinPhilly.org.