"Paradise" Postcard Show @ Poptart

Please join Ugly Art Room for its first Pacific Northwest show!

Paradise Postcard Show
Ugly Art Room @ Poptart (Nov. 19 - Dec. 16, 2015)
(Corvallis, OR)

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Opening Reception: 4-8pm, Thursday, November 19, 2015
Exhibit Hours: Fridays 3-5pm (Nov.19-Dec.16)
Location: Poptart (460 Madison Ave, Suite #7, Corvallis, Oregon)

In participation with Corvallis Arts Walk (CAW), Ugly Art Room presents Paradise:

Ugly Art Room, the roving curatorial art project has moved from Brooklyn, NY to Corvallis, OR. For its inaugural Pacific Northwest exhibition, a postcard show will explore the theme of travel, place and presentation. It is UAR's mission to present artwork in consideration of its relationship to its environment - physically, conceptually or historically, so attention will be paid to the history of the Wellsher Building - where the art show will take place.

Jacob H. Wellsher, born in New York, was a wagon and carriage maker by trade and in 1852 he travelled from Iowa to Oregon to begin a new life with his wife Christena A. Wellsher. Their son, Theodore H. Wellsher, after whom the building is named, was a blacksmith, a carriage maker and ran a florist shop at the location.

Moving out west for a better life continues to be a theme in modern day American culture. Though travel is less dangerous timely and grueling, it still has many ups and downs. But it's worth the risks and inconveniences because the promise of paradise awaits.

Postcards originated with military communication so as not to have anything hidden inside. The messages could be read by anyone along the way, so while the messages were personal, details may have been omitted. As travel became more accessible, postcards emphasized the beauty, landmarks and attractions of a destination even if those images were never experienced by the traveller.

A perfect place brings the traveler away from home, but there is a desire to personally connect with loved ones, even if the scenes on the postcard and the messages are not accurate. What remains of these journeys, even a hundred years later, is a postcard - a physical object that contains images and words of paradise sought.

What is your paradise?

Special thanks to our sponsor Corvallis Brewing Supply.