Contemporary art from around the world showcased in Carnegie International

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The Carnegie International, a quadrennial exhibit, has been happening since 1896. [Courtesy of the Carnegie Museum of Art]

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The Carnegie International will be at the Carnegie Museum of Art through Jan. 3. [Courtesy of the Carnegie Museum of Art]

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Some of the works in the Carnegie International feature found objects. [Brad Hundt]

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Eric Crosby, right, director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, is joined by curators, from left, Liz Park, Ryan Inouye and Danielle Jackson, at the opening of the Carnegie International in May. [Brad Hundt]

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A video installation in the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Hall of Sculpture is part of the Carnegie International. [Brad Hundt]

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The Carnegie International features many different kinds of works, including paintings. [Brad Hundt]

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PITTSBURGH-What do Auguste Rodin and Vincent Price have in common?

It seems likely that the two never crossed paths, since the French sculptor died when the latter-day king of low-budget horror movies was in a St. Louis elementary school . But Rodin and Price both have been part of the Carnegie Museum of Art’s long-running Carnegie International, the quadrennial exhibit of cutting-edge artists from around the world.

The first Carnegie International was in 1896, and Rodin’s work was part of an early exhibit. And when he wasn’t scaring the wits out of drive-in audiences with what one commentator called his “silken menace,” Price was a knowledgeable art enthusiast and a judge of the 1958 Carnegie International.

The latest Carnegie International – the 59th – opened at the museum in May and will be there through Jan. 3. This Carnegie International goes by the title “if the word we,” and explores themes of community and connection. In an introduction to the exhibit, Eric Crosby, the museum’s director, explained that “the International has long served as a space where artists, ideas and publics meet – where the museum tests new ways of thinking about its role in the world as it’s being made.”

Crosby continued, “Across more than a century, each edition has registered its moment, reflecting changing artistic practices as well as shifting social, political and cultural conditions.”

In the works for three years, this edition of the Carnegie International features 61 artists and collectives from 26 countries and territories. The artists hail from locales as close as Cleveland and Philadelphia and as far away as Benin, Lebanon, and Trinidad and Tobago. Danielle Jackson, Liz Park and Ryan Inouye were named curators shortly after the last Carnegie International wrapped up, and they said in a statement that they “sought connections – energetic and in spirit – across a wide range of communities” for the exhibit.

They continued, “In our research trips throughout continents, countries and regions…we have faced inspiration and understanding of the geographies we traverse as vast, complex and dynamic.”

For more information on the Carnegie International and the Carnegie Museum of Art, go online to cmoa.org.