Art Museum: Up Close with Art

 

The Gerald and Joyce Lang Print Study Room allows students to study the museum’s print collection in a whole new way. 

 

By Michelle Sunset, Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Alex Ziegler, Curator of Academic Engagement

 

The University of Wyoming Art Museum is thrilled to announce the opening of the new Gerald and Joyce Lang Print Study Room — a dynamic space for experiential learning that combines the concepts of open-storage, study room, exhibition space and educational laboratory. The former studio classroom has been transformed into the museum’s first dedicated collections study space open to classes, researchers and the public.

State-of-the-art flat file cabinets line the walls, providing much-needed secure storage for a portion of the museum’s print collection of over 5,000 works. The room exists thanks to the generosity and enthusiasm of Gerald and Joyce Lang, whose personal collection of Japanese and Japanese-inspired woodblock prints have found a home at Gerald’s alma mater. 

Gerald came to UW in 1966 to pursue graduate studies in botany under esteemed Professor Dennis Knight. Gerald loved his time in Laramie and the human connections made here. He credits his research on the tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island in Panama with launching a successful career in science and academia that enabled him to foster an art collection that he and his wife, Joyce, are graciously donating to the UW Art Museum along with funding for the print study room. 

The Gerald and Joyce Lang Print Study Room offers transformative possibilities for UW curricula. The print study room is a classroom and exhibition space where educators can facilitate direct engagement with original artworks. Unlike gallery spaces where students observe from a distance and behind glass, facilitated visits in the print study room allow for more detailed examination of artistic techniques and materials. Students can develop essential skills in evidence-based interpretation through close looking, while the space also enables faculty to model how researchers approach primary sources with both analytical rigor and appropriate care.

This environment encourages deeper critical thinking about the materiality, authenticity and historical context of prints from the UW Art Museum collection. The space also provides a basis for specialized lessons on topics including curation, collections management and art historical methodology. In this intimate setting, small groups can handle research materials directly and learn to formulate questions, test hypotheses and draw conclusions based on direct observation rather than assumed interpretation. This process of discovery mirrors the investigative methods central to professional-level research across disciplines, making the Gerald and Joyce Lang Print Study Room a valuable resource for students regardless of their academic focus.

The UW Art Museum is pleased to offer these exciting new opportunities and extends the sincerest gratitude to the room’s champions — Gerald and Joyce Lang.