Staunton Augusta Art Center exhibit inspired by final words of artist's father
Patrick Hite, Staunton News Leader 9/25/24
STAUNTON — Barbara Bernstein was with her father when he died. He was a man of science, an atomic engineer, but Bernstein suspects he was a secret romantic. She was her father's caretaker when he was dying, administering the morphine to him at the time. He told her, "Barbara, it's all patterns." She thought it was the drugs making him talk nonsense.
"Then he said, 'And the patterns are love and beauty. Never forget that Barbara,'" Bernstein said. "Within a few moments he was gone."
An artist, Bernstein has been doing an ongoing series dedicated to her father, "Patterns of Love and Beauty." It's drawings of immersive plants, none of it planned. Instead she takes her marker and the magic just happens. As a fan of nature, Bernstein just creates the plants from her mind, all "fantasy plants," as she calls them. She knows it sounds a little odd, but she said the work guides her. She starts with a leaf or flower and just follows what they tell her.
"I always hold those words in my heart," she said of her father's final words. "When I have an opportunity to do an installation it's another way of honoring him."
Currently she has two works on display. One is at the Staunton Augusta Art Center in the R.R. Smith Center for History and Art, on the second floor of the building at 20 S. New Street. The other is at Mary Baldwin University in the Pearce Science Center.
Staunton Augusta Art Center display
Bernstein created her original drawings for the installation at the Smith Center, then enlarged them to 3x4 feet. She also drew on objects, including a window, a wedding dress, shoes and a cabinet. When she was finished, Bernstein stood back and admired it. She felt relief that she was done, but also joy in the work she created.
"It really worked," she said. "For all my sweating bullets and swearing, it worked. I think it's a very engaging environment. I welcome people to come in and sit and look at the light as it changes through the windows."
Angus Carter, the executive director of the Staunton Augusta Art Center, said there was an empty room that he has plans to renovate into an art library. Carter was familiar with Bernstein's work and thought maybe she could fill it with her work until he eventually renovated it.
"We're here to support art and make art experiences happen," Carter said. "It's rare to get something like this, especially in a town like Staunton. I thought it was something special that we could bring to the community. It's a side of art that you don't get to see very much. I love bringing that to the public."
Carter called the exhibit magical. He said the garden behind the Smith Center is being turned into a fairy garden for Queen City Mischief and Magic and when he saw Bernstein's work, he thought it had that same feel. It made Carter think about C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
"You're in something but it might take you to another realm," Carter said.
The installation will be on display at least through the end of October. It could be longer.
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