The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The University of Iowa Museum of Arts presents Bac to the future

An assistant curator at the UI Museum of Art discusses her latest project, which features work by Ferdinand Bac.
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Paxton Corey
The Iowa Memorial Union glows in the evening Monday, Oct. 9 2017.

Edging art history between the 19th and 20th century, artist Ferdinand Bac’s avant-garde style has made its way to the University of Iowa Museum of Art through a loan from Sylviane Jullian.

Looking Bac: Ferdinand Bac 1859-1952 officially opened on Feb. 17, displaying a vast collection of Bac’s work in combination with pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. The gallery has three distinct sections, comprising biography and nostalgia, women, and World War II, fully examining Bac’s artistic career.

The collection was curated by Assistant Curator of Special Projects Kimberly Datchuk, who organized the ideas behind it, did the research on Bac, and came up with the angle with his role in nostalgia.

Datchuk said the installation took about a week to put together, although planning for the exhibition has been going on for about a year and a half.

“It was up to me to figure out how we would use it and share it with the public,” she said. “It seemed to make the most sense based on his life and the work that he made to think about it in terms of nostalgia, because he was related to Napoleon, but he was the illegitimate great nephew, so he was kind of an outsider.”

Datchuk said Bac’s work remains relevant today, in light of recent tragedies.

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About the Contributor
Sarah Stortz, Arts Editor
Twitter: @sstortz_
Sarah Stortz is an Arts Editor at The Daily Iowan. She has been on staff since her freshman year, previously as a news reporter, digital producer, and arts reporter. She is a senior at the University of Iowa, studying journalism & mass communication with a certificate in nonprofit management and a minor in theatre arts.