Diane Arbus’s Family Albums is on display at Georgia Museum of Art Diane Arbus: Family Albums, an exhibition focusing on the work of one of the most controversial and acclaimed American photographers, is on view at the Georgia Museum of Art through Aug. 14. The exhibition’s title refers to the late Diane Arbus’s desire to produce an extraordinary family album. Arbus was interested in compiling metaphorical images of the 1960s American family, and she spent the decade gathering pictures from different individuals with the ultimate goal of preserving a mixture of modern American lifestyles. The photo above is Blaze Starr at Home. Born in New York in 1923, Arbus began an early partnership in photography with her husband, Allan. The two trained in a makeshift darkroom in their own bathroom, with Allan bringing home the expertise he gained in the U.S. Army’s Signal Corps photography school in New Jersey. Following the conclusion of World War II, the two launched a joint career in fashion photography. Arbus also studied photography with Alexey Brodovitch in 1954 and with Lisette Model from 1955 to 1957. The latter encouraged Arbus to pursue her artistic talent, especially as a portrait photographer. The Arbuses separated in 1959, and Diane Arbus sought to explore new avenues in her work. She embraced a more documentary approach to photography and began to focus on those who were on the edge of societal acceptance, thus beginning her quest to develop an American photo album. She was twice a Guggenheim Fellow and, in 1967, exhibited her work at the controversial and influential New Documents show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. ——Johnathan McGinty

Art exhibitions.
Sacred Art, Secular Context: Objects of Art from the Byzantine Collection of Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., Accompanied by American Paintings from the Collection of Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss. Through Nov. 6. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1–5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

This exhibition features 71 objects from the Byzantine Collection of Dumbarton Oaks, representing the imperial, ecclesiastical and secular realms. The objects range from the fourth to the 15th century and include carved gems, jewels, golden and silver coins, steelyards with weights, silverware, and sculptural reliefs. More than one-half of the objects on display are miniature in scale and crafted in gold, cloisonné enamel, and precious or semi-precious stones.

Sacred Art, Secular Context is named for the extraordinary contrast that is apparent in the exhibition. All of the objects feature sacred images or inscriptions, even though they functioned in the secular context of personal adornment, dining and the marketplace.

Discoveries at Carthage: Works of Carved Bone and Ivory. Through Aug. 14. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1–5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

This exhibition of Roman and late antique objects discovered in recent years during archaeological excavations in Carthage, Tunisia, was organized by Naomi J. Norman, associate professor of classics at the University of Georgia. Norman, the associate department head, has directed excavation projects in Carthage since 1982.

Suburban Journals: The Sketchbooks, Drawings and Prints of Charles Ritchie. Through Aug. 14. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1–5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

Diane Arbus: Family Albums. Through Aug. 14. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1–5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662. See story above.

Photography from the Permanent Collection. Through Aug. 14. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1–5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

Exhibits.
Discovery Room Exhibition. Through June 30. Open 10 a.m.–4 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturdays. Natural History Building. Sponsored by Georgia Museum of Natural History. 542-1663.

Specimens from the mammal, bird, invertebrate, insect, herpetology, geology and zooarchaeology collections will be on display.

Feast Your Eyes: The Unexpected Beauty of Vegetable Gardens. Through Aug. 14. Conservatory. Open Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Sponsored by State Botanical Garden. 542-1244.

Feast Your Eyes: The Unexpected Beauty of Vegetable Gardens, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, traces the visual appeal of vegetable gardens across centuries, continents and cultures, from the floating gardens of the Aztecs and the highly manicured potager of Louis XIV’s Versailles to the emergence of World War II victory gardens in America.

Considered the Cinderella of the horticultural world, the vegetable garden has typically been outshone by the flashier gardens of her floral sisters. Centuries ago, vegetable gardens were the belles of the ball, designed to be both productive and pleasing to the eye. In the ensuing years, vegetable gardens were perceived as so unappealing that they had to be banished from the landscape. Today, vegetable gardens are making a comeback, seen as a source of not only food but also beauty. Some vegetables have even made the leap in becoming prized members of the flowerbed in their own right.

“Children and some presidents may hate them, but vegetables and the gardens in which they grow have a fascinating history,” says Susan J. Pennington, exhibition curator at the Smithsonian. “Through time, artists and gardeners have both scorned and admired the appearance of vegetables. All these ups and downs in popularity make for an entertaining story and a chance to examine some of the great gardens in history.”

Monday, June 27
VP Research Candidate Meeting with Faculty.
Lawrence Krauss, chair of the physics department and Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics at Case Western Reserve University, where he is also director of the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics and professor of astronomy. 3–4:30 p.m. 214 Student Learning Center. Sponsored by Provost’s Office. 583-0728.

Wednesday, June 29
Midnight Bowling.
Students free. Midnight. Showtime Bowling Alley. Sponsored by University Union. 542-6396.

Sunday, July 3
Independence Day Concert.
Classic City Band. 3 p.m. Conservatory. Sponsored by State Botanical Garden. 542-6014.

Monday, July 4
Independence Day.
No classes; UGA offices closed.

Wednesday, July 6
Last day of class.
Short session I.

Thursday, July 7
Final exams.
Short session I.

Friday, July 8
First day of class.
Short session II.

Braves Bus Trip.
vs. Milwaukee Brewers. $11 ($6 students). 5 p.m. Sponsored by University Union. 542-6396.

ISL Pool Social.
Families welcome. 8–10 p.m. Legion Pool. Sponsored by International Student Life. 542-5867.

Saturday, July 9
Tree Trail Ramble.
Scott Coleman. 9 a.m. Callaway parking lot. Sponsored by State Botanical Garden. 542-6156.

Coming up
Sunflower Concert on the Lawn.
Tim Easton. $15 (members $10). July 12, 7–9 p.m. State Botanical Garden. 542-6014.

Last day of law classes.
July 13.