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Detailed murals at Norris Dam and others left mark on TVA culture
The late Robert Birdwell, a staff artist for TVA, would have turned 100 this year and a retrospective exhibit of his work is opening Saturday, July 6, at the Oak Ridge Art Center – where he taught classes for more than 40 years.
A reception will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. and a gallery talk at 2:30 p.m.
Birdwell’s detailed murals at TVA power generation sites: Norris Dam, Boone Dam, Cherokee Dam, Fort Patrick Henry Dam and other locations left a mark on TVA culture. He died in 2016.
The exhibit will showcase Birdwell’s personal artwork, as well as pieces he completed as a TVA staff artist from 1953 to 1983.
“This is an incredible opportunity for the community to see the work of an artist who played an outsized role in shaping not just the Valley region’s art community, but also visual arts during a pivotal era at TVA,” said Pat Ezzell, TVA historian in a story on the TVA website. “His murals are nothing short of iconic in capturing TVA’s history, story and culture.”
“These pieces of art reflect the history of the Tennessee Valley region and TVA’s role in that history,” Ezzell said. “It is another way to tell our story, visually.”
Birdwell grew up in Knoxville, one of 10 children, and was one of the first students to graduate from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. He went on to earn a master’s in fine arts from the University of Iowa.
Born on July 12, 1924, he joined TVA in 1954 and retired in 1983, according to his obituary published in The Oak Ridger. He was also an adjunct instructor of art at Maryville College for 10 years.
He was the only member of the “Knoxville 7” originally from East Tennessee. They were a group of artists who produced some of the first abstract works in East Tennessee, and, according to Birdwell’s obituary, they were “responsible for reinvigorating the area’s contemporary art scene during the mid-20th century.
“Downtown Knoxville was a favorite painting location for Birdwell, and his canvases and watercolors capture the intricate interplay of geometric forms, varying textures, and contrasting colors along Gay Street and other local avenues. He was also a talented figure painter who often rendered street vendors, panhandlers, and other urban dwellers with great sensitivity and dignity.”
Some of the artists exhibited works together in the late 1950s, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, and one of those shows was held in Oak Ridge.
The Oak Ridge Art Center is located at 201 Badger Ave.
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