Fraternities and high culture meet at Fe Gallery

Picturing a partnership between an art gallery and a fraternity likely conjures images of… Picturing a partnership between an art gallery and a fraternity likely conjures images of framed Playboy-style pinups or an intricately stacked pyramid of beer cans.

Here to break the stereotype, however, is Fe Gallery and its latest exhibition, ‘Boys Will Be Boys.’ The Lawrenceville gallery, which celebrates its fifth anniversary next month, collaborated with Pitt’s Interfraternity Council for the show.

‘We like to partner with non-art organizations to broaden their horizons and our audience,’ said executive director and curator Jill Larson. Larson approached IFC in January about the possibility of joining forces.

The IFC was also a natural choice to tie in with the theme of the exhibit. Larson said she puts together shows that are motivated by her personal experience.

‘I kept hearing that saying, ‘Boys will be boys,’ and I liked it. It can mean a lot of different things,’ she said.

The exhibit showcases a variety of media, ranging from a video installation composed of clips from Western movies, to photography, painting and collages. Fourteen different artists are featured, three from the region as well as 11 national artists.

Each piece approaches the theme in a unique way.

‘We have some very powerful images of crying boys in their 20s, and then other photographs of boys showing how big their muscles are,’ said Larson. ‘We also have political work. There are collages of different politicians. There are paintings addressing small children and the curiosity boys have when they’re young.’

The exhibition opened on March 20 with a reception sponsored and promoted by Pitt’s fraternities.

‘Our goal was not only to support this monetarily but to be the numbers. We had 650 people come out to the event,’ said Charlie Shull, IFC president.

The group hung up posters in chapter houses and passed out fliers to promote the event.

‘We wanted to show that this was something not only worthwhile to the gallery but to the Greeks as well. We care about what our community is doing to enhance itself, and the community recognizes that the Greeks provide that kind of service and that we are interested equally,’ said Shull.

The unlikely nature of the gallery-fraternity pairing didn’t go unnoticed, and Shull admitted he had initial nerves about presenting the idea.

‘We are very charity-focused, so when we do things with the community, it’s not unusual from a Greek standpoint. I will say that pairing up with the art gallery was something that was even outside that scope,’ he said.

Luckily for him, his fellow Greeks enthusiastically supported the project.

‘It was a complete leap of faith. We’ve never done a partnership like this before, but the IFC embraced it wholeheartedly and without question,’ said Shull. ‘They were really interested in the idea and what kind of art would be displayed. I never heard one person say, ‘I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Events like this help publicize the fraternities’ values and temperament, and work to alter the common’ conception of fraternities.

‘A lot of times the things that we do go unnoticed because people think they have a certain stereotype of what fraternities do,’ said Shull.

‘The overall catharsis of this is that the Greeks are continually willing to adapt and try new things to show that we are more than what you think we are. We are more than the stereotype.’ Shull continued, ‘We are willing to incorporate ourselves within the community and the University. Even when you don’t think we’re doing things, we’re getting involved with charities, and I think it’s great that people like Jill Larson recognize that.’

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