Student-curated exhibits on view in the Ripon College Museum in West Hall

Two exhibits curated by Ripon College art students are on view through the end of September at the Ripon College Museum in West Hall. The exhibits can be viewed any time the building is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The exhibit “Let’s ‘van Gogh’ to New York! Prints by Greg Constantine, Vincent van Gogh Visits New York” consists of prints by the celebrated artist Greg Constantine which were donated to the College by Christopher A. Graf in 1986. They are newly framed by the students, who also write interpretations of them.

Each print contains parodies of celebrated art in New York, and reproductions of the works that Constantine is parodying are in the signage. The art is fun and humorous. You can learn more about Constantine here.

The second exhibit, “Remembering: A Blast from the Past at Ripon College,” consists of artifacts from the College archives that the students selected and interpreted. Some of the themes are the history of sports, Greek life, architecture and environmentalism at the College.

The students also rotated the display of archaeological artifacts on display in the museum. These were surface-collected from the Linley Lane Site on campus in 2018, and they provide insight into the lifestyle of people living in Ripon during the 19th and 20th centuries. Linley Lane is registered with the Wisconsin State Archaeology and Maritime Preservation Program, and it is located near the sidewalk running from upper to lower campus, between the residence halls and Hillside Cemetery.

Associate Professor Travis Nygard, said, “I love to curate the collections of the College with students, and it is fascinating to see what items that they choose to place on public view. There is something special about the direct access to our history and culture that these objects provide. I also always learn something new about the art and history of the college when I explore the contents of our permanent art collection and the archives with students.’”

The students involved in curating these displays are Alexciana Betancourt ’24 of Chicago Heights, Illinois; Cade Gray ’25 of Spring Hill, Tennessee; Hailey Makuski ’23 of Stevens Point, Wisconsin; Keon McNair ’24 of Las Vegas, Nevada; Deonte Perry ’22 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Aftyn Reinwand ’23 of Chili, Wisconsin; Aaliyah Robinson ’24 of Chicago, Illinois; Dinah Schmidt ’24 of Wautoma, Wisconsin; and Nathalia Zamora ’23 of Beloit, Wisconsin.