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Spectacular Spectacles
August 9, 2007
LITTLE ROCK--
200 East Third Street • Little Rock, AR • 72201
www.HistoricArkansas.org
NEWS
For Immediate Release For more information, contact:
Ellen Korenblat, Communications Director
(501) 324-9351 Main
(501) 324-9304 Direct
Spectacular Spectacles
New exhibit features 200 years of spectacles and other eyewear from around the world
LITTLE ROCK (July 11, 2007) – Historic Arkansas Museum’s Gallery II is proud to present Spectacular Spectacles, created by the Museum of Vision, an educational program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, on exhibit July 26 through December 30, 2007. The public is invited to a free opening reception 5 – 8 p.m., Friday, August 10. The opening is in conjunction with downtown Little Rock’s 2nd Friday Art Night and will offer refreshments as well as live music by Brian Nahlen and Nick Devlin
Spectacles bring the world into focus. Their invention over seven hundred years ago was prompted by the need to correct the failings of the aging eye. Over the years, eyeglasses have been continuously improved through technical innovation in materials and manufacture. Spectacles are spectacular examples of their times and cultures. By exploring the many types of eyeglasses that have existed, we can observe an evolution of both technology and craftsmanship.
Yet from the beginning, vision aids were more than optical devices to improve eyesight. Even in the earliest of designs, spectacles were not limited by practical considerations and artisans worked to create spectacles that communicated both social status and fashion.
Spectacular Spectacles is an exhibit featuring over three hundred spectacles and other vision aids from around the world. The exhibit chronicles the history of spectacles, highlighting changes in design and fashion from 1800 to the present. Exhibited with Spectacular Spectacles are some of the finest and most unusual pieces from the Museum of Vision’s collection including jeweled and enameled creations. The exhibit features spectacles from Europe and China, monoculars, binoculars/opera glasses, pince-nez, lorgnettes, contact lenses, Eskimo sun shades, goggles, novelties and toys.
The Museum of Vision is an educational program of The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The museum is dedicated to preserving the history of ophthalmology and celebrating its unique contributions to science and health. The Museum of Vision traces the history of ophthalmology through its collection of over 10,000 artifacts, rare books and archives. Vision aids represent a large portion of the collection, including over 2,000 artifacts.
The showing at Historic Arkansas Museum is part of a national tour over a two and a half year period containing approximately three hundred and seventeen spectacles and vision aids, advertising, photographs and other ephemera. The exhibition is curated into twenty sections with photo/text panels. The tour was developed and managed by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, an exhibition tour development company in Kansas City, Missouri.
Historic Arkansas Museum is open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 - 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to the galleries and parking are free; tours of historic grounds are $2.50 for adults, $1 for children under 18, $1.50 for senior citizens. The Historic Arkansas Museum Store is open 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 - 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Historic Arkansas Museum is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, which was created in 1975 to preserve and enhance the heritage of the state of Arkansas. Other agencies of the department are Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and Old State House Museum.
Editors:
Digital images are available to accompany coverage of this exhibit. Please call Ellen Korenblat at
(501) 324-9304.
Credit line:
Courtesy of The Museum of Vision and the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
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