A Sheldon Museum of Art exhibition exploring misinformation, disinformation and declining trust in experts and institutions was highlighted in an April 25 New York Times article.
Sheldon is part of a coalition of 10 university museums — including seven others in the Big Ten — that have planned nonpartisan shows focused on democracy, with the goal of getting students more engaged.
The Sheldon exhibition “(In)credible: Exploring Trust and Misperceptions,” on view through July 6 in the first-floor Cline Engagement Lab, demonstrates how people need to look beneath the surface when presented with information.
The exhibition includes “The County Agricultural Agent,” a 1978 painting by Norman Rockwell, which “appears to be an idyllic scene painted on the spot,” the Times reported. However, it is actually a composition made from photographs, which Rockwell altered, evident in that the figures in the painting don’t cast shadows.
“We see one thing, then when we look again and more deeply, we find things are perhaps not as we perceived them to be initially,” Ann Gradwohl, Sheldon’s marketing manager, told the Times.
“(In)credible: Exploring Trust and Misperceptions” was organized by Erin Hanas, curator of academic engagement. Support was provided by Kristen and Geoff Cline, the Hixson-Lied Endowment, and Patricia and Joel Meier.
Sheldon Museum of Art is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
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