ALTOONA, Pa. — In July, America will mark its semiquincentennial — in other words, its 250th birthday.
In celebration of this, Penn State’s Palmer Museum of Art is holding an exhibition titled “Dreaming American Futures: Invitational 250,” which features a painting by Heidi Manfred, assistant teaching professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Altoona.
Artists were invited to submit works that address the forward-looking themes of “Activating Change,” “Bridging the Divide,” “Pursuit of Happiness,” and “A More Perfect Union.”
A team of jurors reviewed nearly 300 entries, and Manfred was one of 50 ultimately selected for the exhibit. Artists include Penn State students, faculty and staff; alumni who reside in Pennsylvania; and local artists living within a 50-mile radius of State College.
Their works, ranging stylistically from naturalistic realism to abstraction, include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, mixed-media assemblages, photographs and works on paper. Common threads are family memories, historical legacies, the American Dream, freedom of speech, the fragility and beauty of democracy, and cultural identities enriched by a long history of immigration.
Manfred said when she saw the call for entries for “Dreaming American Futures,” she immediately felt called to enter her piece “Secure and Moving Forward.”
She explains that the initial idea for the painting came two summers ago while she was sitting in a Zoom meeting, doodling on the margins of her notepad and thinking about how so many people feel the weight of being at odds with each other and institutions at large.
Further inspiration came from learning how to become secure in herself following recent disabling life challenges and her resolve to move forward in a body that doesn’t physically function the way it once did.
“As I painted this piece, I thought about how all of us in our own way must continually adjust to changing circumstances, accept hardships, and find a way to connect to others even when the landscape around us is in constant flux.”
Manfred’s artist statement reads that the interlocking shapes in the painting are representative of how society must be willing to unite and work together toward common goals. “When goals require change, whether a change in mindset or a change in how we operate business, we need to see each other as humans capable of compassion, vulnerability, and the innate desire to help others,” she said.
Manfred acknowledges that while black can be harsh, she intentionally painted circles in the color to represent key issues of our modern time. “They are large and direct, just as the issues in life often cannot be overlooked,” Manfred said. “The ray of colors that come out at various points from these circles is my way of saying that there is always a positive outcome if we are willing to bridge divides and our different starting points.”
Manfred was notified in March that she had been accepted into the exhibition and was thrilled to later learn her piece would hang on the main wall. “I could not have been happier walking into Palmer on opening day and seeing my artwork at the starting point of an exhibition celebrating our country’s independence and movement toward a positive future,” she said.