Events

Marcus Journey’s video installation is one part documentary and one part self-portrait. When Journey, a practicing Mormon, moved to Shreveport, Louisiana from the West, he felt out of place. During this time he met young Mormon missionaries who were also acclimating to the South. Sensing they were kindred spirits he became friends with many of the missionaries during their time in Louisiana. A friendship quickly turned into collaboration with Journey documenting these young men as they completed an important rite of passage in the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Then, as a critical foil, he spent time with a disillusioned non-practicing Mormon for whom the mission and Mormon lifestyle was not rewarding. Journey’s Mormon identity lies somewhere in between these two parts of himself. His faith is an important part of his life and he questions it to renew his convictions and evaluate his relationships with others.

The Butler’s Gallery features a small selection of art from our permanent collection. In April the Masur Museum’s permanent collection sustained major smoke damage as a result of a fire in our permanent collection storage facility. Some of the work on view was involved in the fire and was conserved by staff. Other works on view were in the process of being acquired by the museum when the fire occurred. Read the labels to learn more about individual works of art. If you would like to learn more about fire and art conservation, please be sure to visit on a Tuesday or Thursday to see our art conservation exhibition titled The Lab.

Stinson’s fine oil paintings explore the many ways in which individuals create their own worlds, and often cut themselves off from others. His anthropomorphic landscapes are particularly interesting when thinking about how people perceive the world because they are incomplete. The in-progress nature of this work is fitting when thinking about this idea because perceptions are always changing. Ultimately Stinson’s are inherently positive because their intrinsic beauty mirrors humans’ indomitable optimism in the face of hardship and struggle.