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Art gallery displays political campaign memorabilia
September 9, 2004 | |||||
KOKOMO, Ind.—Genuine Florida ballot chad—the curious substance on which the United States’ 2000 presidential election hung—will be there. So will an umbrella promising “Protection” under William McKinley, and pince-nez glasses decorated with a picture of a “bully” Theodore Roosevelt.
The title Buttons, Banners, and Balloons: America Goes to the Polls barely begins to describe the varied content of the IU Kokomo Art Gallery’s October 1–November 7 exhibition. With recorded campaign songs playing in the background, visitors can view wooden canes topped with metal busts of candidates, election-related photos and political cartoons, badges and clothing. Items date from the mid-nineteenth through the twentieth century. The political campaign memorabilia is on loan from the collection of IU Kokomo Lecturer in Folklore Sue Ridlen, Ph.D., and her husband, Cass County Judge Julian Ridlen. A collector of political items for more than 50 years, Sue Ridlen declined to name a favorite piece. “I like them all. I can collect and enjoy history at the same time,” she said. An “I Vote Dry” button echoes the days of Prohibition. A pair of sewing scissors, scaled for smaller hands and engraved with images of Theodore Roosevelt and his wife, Edith, was distributed in a turn-of-the-century campaign, long before women could vote. Ridlen said the scissors demonstrate that campaign organizers recognized females’ influence on male voters. Some political buttons don’t resemble buttons at all. One small button in the collection is made of cloth and looks like a folded pinstripe shirt, complete with collar and cuffs. It bears the slogan, “I’d Give My Shirt for Roosevelt.” Another consists of miniscule linked gold frames, holding portraits of Ulysses Grant and his running mate, Schuyler Colfax of Indiana. A blue ribbon promoting Grover Cleveland and another Hoosier vice president, Thomas Hendricks, hangs from a metal rooster pin. A symbol of the Democratic Party preceding today’s donkey, the rooster allegedly had its start as a political emblem in Greenfield, Ind., in 1840. One of the more unusual items the Ridlens will exhibit is a small oil torch from the 1880s. In the days before electric streetlights, campaign supporters carried these metal pots suspended from sticks to illuminate night time parades or rallies. The Ridlens’ torch is much smaller than most, so it may have been fashioned for a woman or a child. Because the items in Buttons, Banners, and Balloons were created for specific functions, they are considered more “artifacts” than art,” said IU Kokomo Art Gallery Director Minda Douglas. More importantly, Douglas added, the exhibition presents “a great opportunity to tie a Gallery show into current events and classes held at IU Kokomo. I hope it inspires our students and other visitors to participate in the upcoming election.” The gallery will host three lectures tied to the political memorabilia exhibition, on consecutive Wednesdays evenings in Kresge Auditorium. Judge Julian Ridlen will speak on “Presidential Politics and the Hoosier State” at 7 p.m. on October 6. Recent IU Kokomo graduate Michael Sandy will draw on his experiences as a field organizer in the Indiana gubernatorial campaign in his talk, “Political Activism,” at 7 p.m. on October 13. Kokomo Mayor Matt McKillip will address “The Importance of Voting” at 6 p.m. on October 20. Receptions for the speakers will be held in the Gallery at 6:30 p.m. on October 6 and 20. Gallery hours are Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Wednesdays, until 8 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays, noon-4 p.m. Admission to all Gallery exhibitions and events is free and open to the public. For more information, call (765) 455-9523 or visit www.iuk.edu/artgallery.
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