The University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum is a contemporary art museum at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. It opened at its current location adjacent to the USF College of the Arts in 1989.
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The USF Contemporary Art Museum is a small museum with two good sized rooms. I concluded that these artworks were chosen based upon the blather that the artists said about their work. Actual art objects were far below expectations. If any of these were left in one of my apartments, I would not hesitate to throw them out. However, the little commentary plaques were extremely entertaining, near hysterical. Some examples:
One display consisted of some ceramic chunks. They looked like the cutoffs from someone making extruded products. They were painted so that it looked like someone was checking the spray paint cans before painting something else. The plaque read, “.. his ongoing material exploration and expanding visual lexicon transcends ancient and modern forms of communication and invites decoding and interpretation from multiple perspectives.” Never, outside of political speech have I heard such a string of non-sequitur phrases. This museum is fascinating.
There was a waterfall looking display that appeared to be made of crocheted, red painted trash bags. It was kind of attractive. The plaque read, “.. the material exploration of crochet stitching as a transformative act which honors the strength and residency of abused women, materially interwoven with the trauma and power carried and contained within their bodies and psyche”. I suppose that these works become meaningful if enough cultural catch phrases are applied.
Another exhibit looked like damaged mattresses with trash thrown into the holes. The plaque read, “... work melds corporeal and geological ... gaping orifices that gesture a link between our own skin and the surface of the earth.... The rich velvet and utilitarian canvas comment on society’s preoccupation with superficial status as we face certain failure with the impending climate crisis”. That interpretation must be obvious to someone.
Apparently these works of art are created only for display in these museums. Who else would want them? These hidden works of art, inaccessible, sequestered, in an art community whispering secrets to each other, self congratulating society with no commercial or cultural impact, a nursing home for ineptitude.
I see that this exhibit was put together by the Curator of Public Art and Social Practice at the USF Institute for Research in Art. How could there be a paid position that is more removed from reality or even accountability? Keep those catch phrases going, you’ll keep getting funding. Indirectly, I...
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This is a contemporary art museum. If you do not enjoy contemporary art, you will not enjoy what is provided for you to view at this museum. That said.
This is one of my favorite museums in the Tampa Bay area. I have been visiting this place for many years. It is a small museum, you can spend as little as 20 minutes if you just want to walk through it and quickly look over the pieces. You will see a wide range of contemporary artworks and the shows change out frequently. There are no permanent pieces on display so each visit for me is always a new experience.
Hours of operation It takes me a little time to drive from home to this museum so I always check with a call to be sure they are open prior to driving over. *Obviously the pandemic has created even more issues regarding the "Open or closed" status.
Parking. You pay in the parking lot at a kiosk. I always check to see that it is open before I pay for parking. The museum is free and I don't recall the parking fees, it is minimum as I remember.
If your a contemporary art fan or at minimum open to viewing some art that does not fit into what many think of as art, find a few minutes and give it a try - the price is...
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My experience at this college as very poor. They offered me a degree, and nothing more. I sought internships and received no help. I sought research opportunities and received no help. I left the university with a 4.0 and a mindset that research universities are a terrible blight on humanity.
The professors are researchers, not teachers. They are punished for poorly-performing research. The punishment is teaching more classes. Even a psychology 101 student could tell you this is a poor way to...
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