Only a few weeks into the job, the new curator of the Indiana State University Permanent Art Collection prepared one of its most valuable pieces for a bon voyage.<\/p>\n
Jason Krueger, a 2013 Master of Fine Arts graduate, departed for Marseille, France, in May with Smoke Stacks, an oil painting on canvas made by Joseph Stella in 1935. It is part of the \u201cFUTURS: De la Ville aux \u00c9toiles\u201d exhibit, running May through October, that explores ways science, industry and technology inspired modern artists.<\/p>\n
Packaged in a special waterproof crate, the Stella piece \u2014 valued as much as $1.5 million \u2014 was accompanied by Krueger through the back doors of customs areas. \u201cAt first, it sounded like I was going to have to sleep in the warehouse with the painting, but they have security and staff for it (at night),\u201d he said. \u201cI still have to get up early and stay late to make sure it\u2019s handled and hung properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sorting out what should be in the Permanent Art Collection, which includes two-dimensional art, as well as ceramics and sculptures, is another challenge for Krueger, as the collection has a \u201clong and varied history\u201d of how pieces were introduced.
\n\u201cWhat I\u2019m going to enjoy the most is seeing the collection grow and develop into something that reflects the strengths on campus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Krueger grew up in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and worked with foil imaging while pursuing his undergraduate degree at the University of Iowa. Because of the expense of the material, he switched to a walnut-ink medium that he makes by himself. Today, he enjoys using ink and paper because of its fluidity, which can also become a metaphor for his content.<\/p>\n
Krueger\u2019s work often focuses on the interaction between two people, and his thesis project focused on images of one person saving another from drowning \u2014 a reflection on the human condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe rely on one another, even if we don\u2019t know it, and our actions can seem to be harmful or harmless, depending on our perspective, and we must sometimes put ourselves in danger in order to help others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Debt is another subject of interest for Krueger, who once wrote a check for each country\u2019s debt and mailed it to them to become the most indebted person in world. His Idebtity series started about 10 years ago to explore the different aspects of how debt can shape one\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
In his current curator role, Krueger will tap his training as an artist and scholar at Indiana State, which taught him about different types of media, best practices for moving and handling artwork and inventory management.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurators have to know how to maintain a collection, the workflow of forms and data so you know where everything is,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to know about a lot of different art media. It helps if you have a history in art and, in our case, a history of the art on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"