The SMOA is the exhibition’s first stop of a national tour, which is a point of pride for executive director Jessimi Jones and Elizabeth Wetterstroem, exhibitions and collections manager.
“This is quite a coup for us to get this. It’s been a number of years since a whole collection of her work has been out of the south,” said Jones.
Born in Georgia in 1900, Rowe grew up poor and didn’t have much time for art as a child, although making her own dolls out of family clothing was a start. As an adult, she put in long work hours to support her family and was in her 60s Rowe pursued her artistic ambitions, going back to her younger days as inspiration and to make up for being deprived of a normal childhood.
“A lot of her work is centered in imagination, taken from a child’s perspective,” Wetterstroem said. “She said ‘Now I get to go back to my childhood.’”
“Really Free” contains several examples of her art including 2-D drawings, cloth art dolls, photos and sculptures depicting animals and other fantasy-like images. Rowe eventually turned her home into something of a playhouse with toys, Christmas ornaments and other objects inspired by her artistic expression.
The radical comes from her act of radical self-expression instead of anything political or directly confrontational. Rowe died at age 82 at what was considered the peak of her career; quite unusual for an artist.
A documentary film about her life is forthcoming and the exhibition will feature clips from it.
The SMOA will have other outlets related to the exhibition, which will run through July 10. Rowe was quoted as saying she could start with a straight mark and found what she wanted to draw from there. A drawing station will be available in the exhibit to see where visitors’ can take their art starting with a line.
Related events will include having a playhouse similar to Rowe’s on the grounds of the Gammon House for the annual Juneteenth FatherFest Celebration on June 18, and at the return of KidsFest at the SMOA on June 26 as part of the Summer Arts Festival.
“These are great ways to connect over this very important exhibit,” said Jones.
The SMOA is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays. For more information, go to www.springfieldart.net/.
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