Monthly Archives: May 2012

Student Spotlight: Erika Herrera

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Erika Herrera SP'12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m from Los Angeles and I am a studio art major with a focus in photography. I would have to say my favorite artist is Man Ray. I fell in love with his work after an artist presentation for digital photography and took interest in a lot of his work.

This year I worked as assistant to the preparator in The Phillips Museum of Art and have been involved in hanging the various exhibitions shown this year. One of my favorite exhibitions has been Colors of Greece – The Art and Archaeology of Georg von Peschke. Peschke is an artist I had never heard of and I found his work truly amazing.

The most challenging aspect of this job has been the amount of work that goes into getting a show ready. I really enjoy working with the museum staff because of everyone’s energy. It has been very hard balancing the museum and school work, and I am very fortunate to have worked with wonderful people.

After graduation I will be returning to The Phillips Museum to work as next year’s Mellon Post Baccalaureate Fellow. I am very excited to spend another year around the museum doing something I enjoy. Once the year is over I am considering pursuing an MFA in photography, but things can always change.

Uncovering Museum Mysteries: World War II Souvenir Flag

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Today’s Guest Blogger is Rob Hasller an F&M American Studies and Art History major ’12 who is part of the Museum Mysteries Seminar Course:

World Wart II souvenir flag or "hinomaru yosegaki", Japan, 1941-45, ink on silk

On November 1, 1945, an American soldier named Earl (last name unknown) sent two letters from his post in Manila Bay, the Philippines, to family members in Florida. Earl, stationed at Manila Bay in the Philippines and hoping to return to America to vote in his first election, enclosed this Japanese flag as a souvenir of the American enemy. The flag, known as a hinomaru yosegaki (“to write sideways around the red sun”), was a talisman given to a Japanese soldier bearing signatures and the wishes of good fortune of family and friends. The characters, written on the silk flag with brush and ink, usually flowed outward in a rayed pattern. In this example, crowded with well-wishes, the messages overlap the sun.

As American soldiers carried photographs of their family and loved ones, Japanese soldiers carried their hinomaru yosegaki as reminders to return home safely from the battlefield. Nothing further is known of the fallen Japanese soldier who carried this flag.

-Rob Hassler ’12-

Student researchers are exploring some of the mysteries behind museum objects to reveal hidden histories. Objects from the Museum Mysteries seminar course will be on view in The Nissley Gallery at The Phillips Museum through May 11, 2012.