E Pluribus Unum: Artists Picture Society September 17, 2011

E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. This Latin phrase--the motto on the Great Seal of the United States--declares that the country's diverse citizenry is bound together in a greater whole for the good of all. The phrase states, in three simple words, the fundamental premise of American society. 'E Pluribus Unum: Artists Picture Society' offers the perspectives of modern and contemporary American artists whose works ponder ethnicity, gender, race, class, and political belief. The various understandings of these artists bear witness to who we are as a society and demonstrate the hopefulness and complexities inherent in regarding the United States as a great "melting pot." Artists represented in the exhibition include, among others, Diane Arbus, Christo, John Steuart Curry, Nancy Mladenoff, and Andy Warhol; all works of art on view are drawn from the museum's permanent collection.