2008 Woodie Awards
'Girl of My Dreams' photo exhibit now on display at URI's Fine Arts Center
Erin Shea
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: Entertainment
2/5/08 - For the first time ever a photographic display that delves into the life of Sylvia DeWolf Ostrander, of the prestigious DeWolf family of Bristol, RI is being shown publicly - and the University of Rhode Island's Fine Arts Center Gallery no less.
The display, entitled "Girl of My Dreams," was created by artist Stacy Renee Morrison.
Morrison will be giving a talk about the display at the Galleries on Wednesday at 2 p.m. There is also a reception for the artist on Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.
"Girl of My Dreams" shows photographs of objects that belonged to Ostrander, as well as complementary images that show how Morrison has interpreted her life. Those images often involve Morrison dressing up in Ostrander's clothing in order to represent different aspects of her life, as it was envisioned by Morrison.
The display evolved after Morrison discovered an old leather trunk sitting among a pile of garbage in New York City. According to a recent article in The Westerly Sun, Morrison began researching who the trunk could have belonged to about two years after she found it and discovered that Ostrander was likely the original owner of the trunk.
Feeling drawn to the woman, Morrison decided to research her life further - a task which brought her to Rhode Island.
She found out that Ostrander's younger sister, Elizabeth, had married into the Colt family, (also of Bristol) and that their family papers were at the URI Library Special Collections Unit.
This led her to learn more about Ostrander and ultimately to find Ostrander's great-granddaughter, from whom she gathered more of Ostrander's personal items- among them letters and clothing, which shed light on Ostrander's tumultuous life. Ostrander, who lived during the Civil War, led a life set by social custom, and defined by heartbreak.
According to The Westerly Sun, Ostrander had even kept scraps of wallpaper from the bedroom her younger sister, Annie, died in, purely because that wallpaper was the last thing she saw.
It was those sorts of things about Ostrander that intrigued Morrison, an adjunct associate professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She received her bachelor's degree in women's studies from Rutgers University and her master's degree in photography from New York University.
Morrison's unique display will be shown at the Gallery through March 16.
The display, entitled "Girl of My Dreams," was created by artist Stacy Renee Morrison.
Morrison will be giving a talk about the display at the Galleries on Wednesday at 2 p.m. There is also a reception for the artist on Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.
"Girl of My Dreams" shows photographs of objects that belonged to Ostrander, as well as complementary images that show how Morrison has interpreted her life. Those images often involve Morrison dressing up in Ostrander's clothing in order to represent different aspects of her life, as it was envisioned by Morrison.
The display evolved after Morrison discovered an old leather trunk sitting among a pile of garbage in New York City. According to a recent article in The Westerly Sun, Morrison began researching who the trunk could have belonged to about two years after she found it and discovered that Ostrander was likely the original owner of the trunk.
Feeling drawn to the woman, Morrison decided to research her life further - a task which brought her to Rhode Island.
She found out that Ostrander's younger sister, Elizabeth, had married into the Colt family, (also of Bristol) and that their family papers were at the URI Library Special Collections Unit.
This led her to learn more about Ostrander and ultimately to find Ostrander's great-granddaughter, from whom she gathered more of Ostrander's personal items- among them letters and clothing, which shed light on Ostrander's tumultuous life. Ostrander, who lived during the Civil War, led a life set by social custom, and defined by heartbreak.
According to The Westerly Sun, Ostrander had even kept scraps of wallpaper from the bedroom her younger sister, Annie, died in, purely because that wallpaper was the last thing she saw.
It was those sorts of things about Ostrander that intrigued Morrison, an adjunct associate professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She received her bachelor's degree in women's studies from Rutgers University and her master's degree in photography from New York University.
Morrison's unique display will be shown at the Gallery through March 16.