The faculty members of the Department of Visual Arts showed exactly what talent they were capable of at their annual faculty art exhibit display hosted at the Contemporary Art Gallery.
Even though the faculty art exhibit is an annual event, it consistently produces something fresh.
“I’ve been operating faculty shows here for ten years, and they always seem to have a different personality even though a lot of the people here are the same,” commented Dale Newkirk, the gallery director. “Every year, we do have some new faculty members, either new hires or instructors, so that changes things up a little bit. The faculty may show work in the exhibit that is a little more experimental.”
The exhibit consists of varying artwork created by the professors of the Department of Visual Arts. In some cases, the professors ventured out of their normal medium, and chose to experiment with other methods they were familiar with.
“The faculty in this show teach all the major areas of studio art, so there is a broad range of almost everything including paints, oils, acrylic, wood, video, constructions, photography and drawings,” said Newkirk, noting the many varieties of artwork present in the gallery.
Newkirk points out that the main goal of the exhibit was to give the students a chance to see their teachers’ work.
“All art departments in universities do it [art exhibits] either annually or semiannually. We do it annually because we feel it’s very important that the students see the people teaching their classes are active artists that are exhibiting their work and are engaged in their field and are leaders in their field,” said Newkirk. “The students usually don’t have the chance to see our work otherwise.”
Both students and faculty alike were able to come and appreciate the art in a gallery setting.
“I came to see what the instructors and teachers do. I’m always taught what I’m supposed to do in school, I wanted to see their work, what they’ve done, whether it’s the past or what they’re doing in the present,” said senior visual arts major, Benjamin Stroble. “It gives you an idea of what they like to do.”
Even the faculty members who attended the event were impressed with the work.
“I think it’s interesting to see people really going in different directions,” said art history professor, Timothy Silva. “There’s that mandala that’s layered by Michael Aldana. It’s just so Indian in the shapes in there and the colors. Ernest’s (Milsted) prints, and Bethany’s (Souza) photos are wonderful studies of light that seem so personal, and yet you’re not quite sure what they mean. I think people really put a lot of themselves into it.”
The exhibit is open until Feb. 27, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the exception of Wednesday when it is open until 9:00 p.m. and Friday when it is open until noon.