photo credit: soy alex reyes

photo credit: alternatePhotography

Lakeland has a great art museum, the Polk Museum of Art located on East Palmetto Avenue (near Lake Morton) and admission for students is FREE. I spent the month of July interning at PMOA, helping with their public relations and I developed a great appreciation for what they do and the importance of arts in the community. I also was able to get a preview of some of the really cool exhibitions that will be on display at the Museum this year.

Starting November 14th, the Museum will have photography by Jerry Uelsmann on display in the Dorothy Jenkins Gallery. I looked up some of his photography and it is reallycool! Jerry Uelsmann does surreal photography, where he takes a photo of something ordinary and then assembles several negatives in the darkroom to create a surreal effect on the photo. I remember there was a photo of a house that looked like it was growing out of the ground, with roots and stuff, it was very interesting. The exhibition at PMOA will encompass, Uelmann’s 50 year career. The Museum will host a reception for this exhibition on November 13th from 6:00-8:30pm. Mr. Uelsmann himself will be there to talk about his work. The reception is free to members of the Museum and $10 for non-members. This exhibition will be at PMOA until January 17th.

The Museum currently has six exhibitions in their various galleries to check out. One is called “Beautiful Things” and is simply a collection of beautiful pieces of art. This exhibit is only on display until this Sunday so if you are interested, better catch it before then! The Museum also has an exhibition up right now called “The 1970’s”. This exhibition is a collection of pieces from the Museum’s permanent collection that represent different aspects and high points of the 1970s. The 1970’s seemed like a crazy time, so I’m sure the artwork reflects that. “The 1970’s” will be on display in the Perkins Gallery until November 15th.

Polk Museum of Art really emphasizes the importance of art in the community and is a valuable part of Lakeland. If you haven’t been to see this beautiful museum yet, these exhibitions, and the upcoming Jerry Uelsmann photography are definitely worth checking out! Plus, it’s FREE to students and there are not many things to do in life that are free, so why not take advantage of one that is?

**NOTE: The first photo is not a Jerry Uelsmann but is very similar to the style he uses; the second photo is Jerry Uelsmann’s work on display at the Harn Museum