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Show h& Foreword The beehive is, among many other things, the symbol of the State of Utah. It is perhaps the most widely used of all state symbols, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral. In Utah there are representations of beehives everywhere, a fact of which I was only subconsciously aware before Hal Cannon and David Pendell visited me to propose an exhibition devoted to exploring the use of the beehive image. What first seemed a delightful but ridiculous idea began to appear more and more worth pursuing. There are beehives everywhere in Utah. The realization has led to what I hope is a short-term obsession and a long-term awareness for the artists, craftsmen, and all who have helped to produce the beehive exhibition. This book is an extension and to a degree a record of the Grand Beehive Exhibition, presented at the Salt Lake Art Center from September 12 through October 19, 1980, and in another version at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., from April 24 until December 6, 1981. The exhibition contained many more objects than does the book. Some things were created especially for the show, other items were "found," and they range from the beautiful to the bizarre. The correspondence art component of the Grand Beehive Exhibition, which has only a small representation here, included over a hundred diverse and often witty postcard interpretations of the beehive theme from artists aU over the world. Besides the works made for the show, we found beehives in quilts, neon signs, gravestones, buildings, lapel pins and shoulder patches, fire hydrants, newel-posts, pop bottles and sidewalks. The myriad, wonderful Beehives of Utah may or may not outnumber other states' Keystones, Poppies, Potatoes, and Lone Stars, but they certainly are a joy to see. Beehives are everywhere. ALLEN DODWORTH DIRECTOR, SALT LAKE ART CENTER |