art

SEEING RED

By PAM HARBAUGH

See how a color an unite cultures in THE RED THAT COLORED THE WORLD, an exhibition on view through April 15 at Florida Tech’s Foosaner Art Museum.

Orlando Dugi, evening gown (from the Red Collection), Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2014. Hand-dyed silk duchesse satin, silk organza, and silk thread; cut glass and sterling silver beads, French coil, Swarovski crystals, vintage beads and crystals; lining of duchesse satin and tulle, 63 x 52 in. Collection of the artist. Photograph by Blair Clark.

Orlando Dugi, evening gown (from the Red Collection), Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2014. Hand-dyed silk duchesse satin, silk organza, and silk thread; cut glass and sterling silver beads, French coil, Swarovski crystals, vintage beads and crystals; lining of duchesse satin and tulle, 63 x 52 in. Collection of the artist. Photograph by Blair Clark.

Not only is this a beautiful exhibition, it is also a scholarly one. That’s right. It will get you thinking: Viewers will learn how an insect-based dye (made from the scale insect called cochineal) began in pre-Columbian Americas and journeyed north and across the Atlantic to Europe.

More than 60 objects form this exhibit. Included are textiles, sculpture, paintings, decorative arts and clothing. The exhibition comes from the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, NM and from collections of both museum and private collectors.

Visitors will learn how this tiny bug created a range of reds that was an artist’s only source of this powerful color. The little bug that could helped grow a global economy. Some of the artists who used the cochineal include pre-Columbian weavers, Navajo weavers, El Greco, Tintoretto, Rembrandt and Van Gogh.

The exhibition was organized by the Museum of International Folk Art and is touring through GuestCurator Traveling Exhibitions. It has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Foosaner Art Museum is at 1463 Highland Ave. in the Eau Gallie Arts District of Melbourne. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Free admission. Visit FoosanerMuseum.org, call 321-674-8916 or click on their ad.