Exhibition in Collaboration with AAM Offers Unique Perspective

 

Beginning this weekend, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston presents an exhibition from the permanent collection of the Museum of Broken Relationships. In collaboration with the 2011 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo™ in Houston, the exhibition will feature detritus from failed relationships — be it a wedding dress, an “I Love You” teddy bear, or a set of fluffy handcuffs — donated to the museum by people from around the world. Objects from the permanent collection will be on view alongside ephemera offered by Houstonians and AAM attendees looking to exhibit their own love legacy; as a reminder, AAM attendees will be able to drop off their object on Sunday, May 22 between 9 am and 5 pm at the AAM 2011 Annual Meeting Volunteer Office in the George R. Brown Convention Center (Room 340AB).For those of you in Houston TONIGHT, Blaffer Art Museum invites the public to an opening reception in celebration of the exhibition. It will take place today, Friday, May 20, from 6 until 9 pm. Admission is free and complimentary cocktails will be provided.  If you plan on attending the opening reception, let Blaffer know on Facebook! But if you’re not in town until after AAM begins, be sure to catch a ride on a free bus tour that departs to Blaffer from Exhibit Hall E in front of the Convention Center at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, May 24.Conceptualized in Zagreb, Croatia, by Olinka Vistica and Drazen Grubisic, after the couple ended their own romantic relationship in 2006, the Museum of Broken Relationships was established by the two to create a space of protected remembrance where the material and nonmaterial heritage of broken relationships can be witnessed, and where these experiences can move beyond the individual into a universal understanding.

–Jeff Bowen, Blaffer Art Museum; member of the AAM 2011 Public Relations & Marketing Subcommittee