Work of faculty was displayed around the Contemporary Art Gallery for the faculty exhibition.
Attendees view Jim Graham’s “Empty Islands” on oil.
The Lion's Roar / Wiliam Schmidt
Though the Contemporary Art Gallery has been filled with the artwork of faculty, the official art gallery opening featuring variations of styles of work took place last week.
On Thursday, January 21 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., CAG held a reception with light snacks as students, faculty and visitors viewed the work of the university’s faculty and staff for the Department of Fine and Performing Arts.
Though some students came for class credit, they were excited by the experience gained from the night and having the chance to see the work of artists they knew.
“I came here tonight, honestly, for class credit but now that I’m actually here, I’m really happy cause I got to see a lot of awesome art work,” said sophomore graphic design major Lauren Giambelluca. “I was just telling my friend that I go to art exhibits all the time in New Orleans, but I forgot how awesome it is to come to more personal things like this cause art just means so much more when you know the artist personally over other [artists].”
The art gallery hosts a number of shows each semester, and one of the attractions was how some of the art pieces seemed to be of a larger scale than those of the past.
“Everything seems a lot bigger,” said junior graphic design major Kathryn Shoultz. “Usually, it will be a lot smaller pieces. [painting instructor] Jim Graham’s painting is huge on the wall. His stuff, I’ve always seen 30 to 40 inches long, but that one is ginormous. Everything is bigger scale this time.”
Along with some of the students realizing that various displays of the art work was at a larger scale than in the past, other students recognized the time and effort that some of their favorite art professors put into the work as well as remembering how that teacher’s particular talent is helping mature and improve their personal artwork.
“[drawing lecturer] I am totally bias to Michael Aldana’s ‘The Elation of Bondage,’” said Shoultz. “I love his work, but I personally struggle with abstraction. Everything I draw is very realistic so right now he is actually teaching me to abstract my work. That [‘The Elation of Bondage’] is something that I can kind of base myself off of and work towards that goal and getting to that level Michael is at.”
Some faculty for the opening were eager to explain their art work as well as what the meaning behind their wood cut pieces.
“These are really the residue of the process of making images,” said instructor/drawing coordinator of Fine & Performing Arts Benjamin Diller. “Working through ideas and they are presented in such a way that they are sort of random on the wall and also embedded with other books. I work within them and flanking them are wood cut pieces that are more iconic graphic and symbolic of social, political systems from the past and can connect with some contemporary issues.”
Shoultz admitted that she has seen the show before, but plans to walk through numerous times. If you were unable to make the opening are have not yet visited the gallery, make sure to do as the faculty encourages students to take the time and think about the deeper meaning of the exhibit.
“I hope they can look at something and have a new-found respect for tactile objects, storytelling, image making and to revisit symbols that they may be aware of,” said Diller.
The current exhibition will continue to be open until February 19 and is located at 100 East Strawberry Stadium. Hours of operation are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday with additional hours on Wednesday until 8:00 p.m. The gallery is open from 8:00 a.m. on Friday and closes at noon.