Are you hoping to explore a specific topic, theme, or kind of art in the GVSU Art Collection? Do your students need to use visuals related to a specific theme for their studies? Browse by Theme provides new pathways to explore the second-largest public art collection in Michigan!

This page is new and we will continue to add themes to explore over time.

Want to suggest a theme for us to include? Let us know what you think we need to include here!

Landscape art is generally defined as art that depicts a natural scene. For many artists, landscapes are among the first subjects of study. Landscapes can be used as a historical reference for how the world around us changes, both due to natural occurrences and human-driven interventions. Every culture views landscapes differently – to idealize, to propagandize, to historicize, to admire – and each work must be treated individually to understand the context that lies behind its creation. 

Learn More About Landscapes

Black artists explore art from varying perspectives, ranging from landscapes, portraiture, artwork that reflects the Black American experience, and artwork that reflects only their thoughts and ideas. Explore some of the contemporary Black Michigan artists who are enriching the art scene of our state.

Learn More About Contemporary Black Michigan Artists

Latinx culture is so extensive and has become such an integral part of American culture that what it means to “be Latinx” in the United States is indistinct and ever-changing. Like all artists, Latinx artists create artwork that reflects their personal beliefs, experiences, concerns, cultures, ideals, and dreams.

Learn More About LatinX Artists

Artists have been creating art that reflects the world around them for centuries. Some artists chose to idealize the world around them, while others chose to portray an imaginary world. Increasingly,  contemporary artists are creating artwork focusing not only on how our environment looks, but also how humankind affects the environment – both positively and negatively. Through art, powerful messages about the future of humankind can be relayed. 

Learn more about Earth Sciences in Art

The GVSU Art Collection includes artwork by Jewish artists exploring their relation to the Holocaust, non-Jewish artists who lived under Nazi rule, and contemporary artists who still seek to process this time of our recent history. In this theme, you will find examples of artwork which relates to the Holocaust and other genocides. Please take care when exploring this section.

Learn more about artwork related to the Holocaust

In visual art, both the creation of and viewing of artwork is beneficial for mental health and wellness. Through this theme, you can explore artwork related to themes of resilience, depression, anxiety, body image, art therapy, and more. There are also suggestions on how art-making can help alleviate stress for students.

Learn more about Mental Health in art

With several majors related to health sciences, the GVSU art collection holds works in all media related to physical health and well-being.

Learn more about Physical Health in art

The first digital computer was completed in 1945, and it didn’t take long for people to begin experimenting with this new technology in an artistic way. The first moving image was created in 1954, and by the 1960s artists were experimenting with creative coding. Even Salvador Dali, a famous Surrealist artist, utilized digital programs to create his work. In only 75 years, digital art has wildly expanded in definition, ranging from digital photography, artwork created through digital programs, and now images generated through computer programs.

Learn more about Art and Digital Technology.

There are stories everywhere. Humans have been creating stories since the dawn of our existence, even if those stories are now lost to us. We know this and can see visual representations of these stories through cave paintings, rock carvings, sculptures, temple decorations, weavings, and more. Storytelling is a natural human function – to make meaning, to share warnings, to express joy. Artists have been a fundamental part of the storyteller’s circle – portraying characters, painting scenes, showing action. Explore examples of storytelling and illustration in the GVSU Art Museum collection. 

Learn more about illustration and storytelling.

In the broadest sense, mythology means a collection of stories, and every culture around the world has their own mythology. Ancient mythologies provided explanations to how the world was created, cautionary tales, when to harvest, and who to turn to in times of need. These important cultural stories still resonate with the contemporary world, through worship, literary and film references, and even cosplay. Artists continue to be inspired by these stories and interpret them in new ways to this day.              

Learn more about art in mythology.

Header Images:

Left
Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch, We Are Here to Protect: Water is Life, print on fabric, 2024.1.18.
Jasmine Bruce, Self Portrait, digital painting, 2018, 2018.55.3.
Jonathan Eloi Lantiegne, Siren, photograph, 2023, 2023.24.3.

Center
Josh McPhee, Celebrate People’s History: Amilcar Cabral, 2-color offset printed poster, 2015, 2020.23.86.
José Narezo, Untitled (Angel), mixed media, ca 1996, 2019.75.1. 
Shepard Fairy and Ridwan Adhami, We The People: Greater Than Fear, print, 2017, 2022.49.1b. 

Right
José Guadalupe Posada, Calavera de Doña Tomasa y Simon el Agradar, restrike print, 2004, 2005.00154.1. 
Don Jungerai, Spider, acrylic on canvas, 2016.74.1. 
Ryan Harbin, More is Better, digital print, 2011, 2011.22.4.