It was an event fit for a king as the Morris Museum of Art celebrated its newly acquired Howard Finster “Concrete Elvis” sculpture.
On Sunday Jan. 15, the museum held its monthly Artrageous! Family Sunday program that focused on the sculpture with children making their own capes like Elvis once wore.
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“We love coming to the Morris Museum,” said Leslie Bullington. “They put on a lot of nice programs for the kids all year.”
Many families have said there are standout things that make this event incredible for all ages, leading to the recommendation for other families to come and experience the fun.
“The activities are a lot of fun,” Bullington said. “It also creates creativity for the kids.”
The “Concrete Elvis” by Howard Finster means a little bit more to the museum, due to the recent death of Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis and actress Priscilla Presley.
“We planned this event when we acquired the Elvis sculpture, but when Lisa Marie Presley died, it made the sculpture all the more relevant,” said Tori Bell, Education Programs Manager, “This piece honors the family and thinking about how iconic they are to not only music culture, but visual and American culture.”
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Finster was a Baptist minister and self-taught artist who created more than 10,000 paintings in his lifetime. He also created thousands of sculptures. Many of his pieces were related to his faith, but he was a big fan of Elvis and created many works related to the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll.
The Artrageous! Family Sunday is one of the many events that the Morris Museum has planned this year.
February’s Artrageous! program focuses on the work of David Drake, an enslaved potter from South Carolina. The Morris Museum of Art recently acquired a pottery vessel he created. Children will make and inscribe their own air-dry vase and listen to a story about Dave the Potter.
“On Sunday March 12, we are having our social canvas block party,” Bell said. “You can enjoy food trucks, DJs, dancers, painting things and see the Richmond K-12 art show.”
Sunday programs are free.
Maxwell Shaffer is an Augusta University student and features correspondent for Augusta Good News. To subscribe to the Augusta Good News newsletter, click here.
