Website of the Week: The Gibbes

Loaded with dynamic imagery and interactive features, Charleston's Gibbes Museum of Art website is worth exploring. So much thought and creativity has gone into it, and I think the design really engages the visitor. If you do click over, one artist you can learn more about is William Halsey.

Born in Charleston in 1915, Halsey ventured far from the traditional, representational style of art favored in his native city and became part of the mid-20th-century Abstract Expressionist movement. But he and his artist wife, Corrie McCallum, did opt to settle permanently in Charleston after an extended period in Mexico. According to the Gibbes, the vibrant colors, textiles and ceramics they encountered south of the border had a lifelong influence on his work. (Last week McCallum died at age 94; Halsey died in 1999.)

Other areas worth pouring-over at the Gibbes include the Contemporary Tour, the Charleston Renaissance of the 1920s, and the Museum's outstanding collection of Japanese prints. Interestingly, many Charleston Renaissance artists were very inspired by the Japanese aesthetic.

It's great when museums are able to expand their public outreach with added features like this.

All images courtesy the Gibbes
Shown at top,
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William Halsey, circa 1971
Collage, paint, glue, canvas and sand on Masonite

Shown second,
Yellow Earthscape-Skyscape
William Halsey, 1975
Collage