{"id":6,"date":"2025-01-30T20:18:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T20:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/?page_id=6"},"modified":"2025-02-11T16:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T16:10:11","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimentalist: The Art of Robert Fichter"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"823\" src=\"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Coll132-P030-1024x823.jpg\" alt=\"Winged Flying Dog (1979)\" class=\"wp-image-70\" srcset=\"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Coll132-P030-1024x823.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Coll132-P030-300x241.jpg 300w, https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Coll132-P030-768x617.jpg 768w, https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Coll132-P030.jpg 1114w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Winged Flying Dog (1979)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>In the late 1970s, Robert Whitten Fichter (American, b. 1939) wrote in his notebook, \u201cSometimes I am in a mo zay ic mood, and sometimes I\u2019m in a single frame mood[\u2026] Artists don\u2019t have to stay in one singular mood all the time. I am consistent about nothing.\u201d For Fichter, these creative \u201cmood swings\u201d have compelled him to explore his ideas across a variety of mediums including painting, photography, and printmaking. Applying experimental techniques to figurative imagery, his art expresses both formal considerations and a deep concern for the state of the world and humankind\u2019s place in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This online exhibit accompanies an exhibition presented at UMBC\u2019s Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery from August 28\u2013December 18, 2019. The exhibition represents&nbsp;the first retrospective of the artist\u2019s career in over thirty years. Created between 1962 and 2006, the works reproduced here are drawn entirely from the Robert W. Fichter Archive at UMBC. The selection highlights the artist\u2019s experimental approach to examining the human condition. Employing shifting moods and mediums as well as wit, humor, and satire, Fichter delivers trenchant critiques of war, nuclear proliferation, and environmental disaster. Firmly rooting his expressive compositions in a strong sense of place\u2014the surreal landscapes of his native Florida\u2014he presents a singular vision of humanity on the brink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exhibition&nbsp;<em>Experimentalist: The Art of Robert Fichter<\/em>&nbsp;was curated by Tom Beck, Curator Emeritus. The presentation at the Library Gallery was organized by Beth Saunders, Curator and Head of Special Collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Online exhibit by Grace Ferguson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Texts by Tom Beck and Beth Saunders with Grace Ferguson. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the late 1970s, Robert Whitten Fichter (American, b. 1939) wrote in his notebook, \u201cSometimes I am in a mo zay ic mood, and sometimes I\u2019m in a single frame mood[\u2026] Artists don\u2019t have to stay in one singular mood all the time. I am consistent about nothing.\u201d For Fichter, these creative \u201cmood swings\u201d have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions\/150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/fichter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}