Courtesy Penn Art Collection.
As the fall semester got under way in early September, flyers went up around campus alerting students to an unusual opportunity. “Borrow an original artwork for your dorm!” they proclaimed. Images of prints by Madeline Adams C’00, Lee Arnold GFA’00, and Kazuhiro Koshio GFA’00 accompanied a QR code inviting undergraduates to view more—and enter a lottery for a chance to hang one on their own wall for the year. The word also went out in weekly email newsletters distributed by Penn Residential Services: a collection of 37 artworks would be displayed in the Annenberg Center’s Arts Lounge for a week under the aegis of the Penn Art Collection, which would then match interested parties with the pieces they favored.
According to Penn Art Collection director Lynn Smith Dolby, the “First Annual Art Match” melded a longtime aspiration with a fortuitous fluke. The University Archives and Records Center—with whom she shares a suite—had come across a portfolio of original art created for an MFA exhibition in 1999. “They brought it over to me and said, ‘This doesn’t really fit into our collecting scope. Do you want it?’” she recalls. It didn’t really fit into the Penn Art Collection’s mission, either—but Dolby felt like there must be some way to find a home for it. Or homes. The University of Chicago and Oberlin College have student-oriented art-lending programs. Maybe this unexpected collection could provide a low-risk way to try it out at Penn.
For a $20 rental fee used to offset framing and installation costs, students could select a preferred work (or a “surprise me” option) to hang in campus housing. Bathrooms and kitchens were out-of-bounds, and borrowers were instructed to find a spot shielded from direct sunlight. Although all 37 works in the portfolio attracted interest, the Penn Art Collection ultimately arranged 23 loans. (Not every pair of roommates turned out to have compatible aesthetic sensibilities.) “It was a nice way to kind of put this artwork back into the arts ecosystem here at Penn by connecting current students with alumni—some of whom have gone on to have successful careers as working artists,” Dolby said.
Courtesy Penn Art Collection
George Chang, a sophomore double-majoring in Philosophy, Politics & Economics and Art History, chose Prodigal Son by Matthew Gebhardt GFA’00.
“I was struck by its vivid colors and impressionistic portraiture—as well as its titular allegorical theme—and how they all work together to create a sense of dimensionality to the piece,” he reflected in November. “Living with the artwork is a totally different experience than gazing at it in a gallery setting, and it has made my room a more cozy and intimate space. I am excited to participate in Art Match again next year, and the program has inspired me to start collecting other prints and pieces.”—TP
