Art News
Parthenon Exhibition Links
Talents of Two Williamson County Women
BY RICHEL ALBRIGHT
Beginning July 23rd the Parthenon's East Gallery will be home to a collection by Leiper’s Fork’s resident Rachael McCampbell. The solo exhibition titled Women in Mythology: The Power of the Feminine in Ancient Tales is a fitting subject, for it was the combined power of two Leiper's Fork women that brought this project to life.
While living in California, artist Rachael McCampbell fell in
love with the ancient sculpture of Leda and the Swan that is housed in the world famous Getty Villa Malibu. The statue inspired McCampbell to begin her first painting in the Women in Mythology series.
The artist's desire to accurately interpret the story led to researching the Greek classics and enlisting the help of her friend Anne Christeson, also a Leiper’s Fork resident. Christeson, who teaches French and Latin at Montgomery Bell Academy, majored in classics at Vanderbilt University, graduated first in her class, has an extensive background in Latin as well as ancient history and has traveled in Greece.
The two friends began working together in the summer of 2009,
discussing the many important myths that feature women. McCampbell wanted to focus on dramatic moments where women
and goddesses were weak and strong, vulnerable and vindictive,
loving and hateful, as it is these dichotomies and contradictions that make the stories timeless.
| Collaborators: McCampbell, left, and Christeson. |
 As choices were made, the artist enlisted friends and acquaintances to model while Christeson worked on summaries to correlate with the works of art. Additionally, the exhibition's catalog and an online educational packet were written by Christeson with extensive explanations of each painting and the myths that inspired them.
Keeping with the dramas depicted, the collection was almost complete when the May floods threatened. With only 15 minutes to move her artwork away from the floodwaters that all but destroyed her studio, McCampbell and two friends worked intensely to take them to safety. “It was pretty frightening to think all the work could’ve been ruined in a matter of minutes,” the artist recalls.
The Parthenon exhibition opens at 2600 West End Avenue in Nashvilleon July 23rd as SunTrust Bank of Nashville sponsors the opening reception— free and open to the public— from 6 to 8 p.m.Opening remarks by Anne Christeson begin around 7 p.m.
Women in Mythology: The Power of the Feminine in Ancient Tales runs through November 27th. McCampbell will be on site every Friday in August, from 1 to 3 p.m. as she completes her 12-foot triptych of Ariadne.
| Williamson County native Richel Albright is a junior at MTSU majoring in English and Journalism. |
| The painting of Athena featured here is by Rachael McCampbell. It can be found at the Parthenon Museum in Nashville, Tennessee through November 27, 2010. |
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