Fri 16 May 2008
From May 19 through August 20, the Fine Arts Center Gallery will be filled with recent work created by UA art students in a variety of media. The Gallery is not open regular hours during the summer months, but visitors may request access through the Art Department Office, located in Room 116, between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday. The hallway display cases in the Fine Arts Center will also feature work by students this summer
Tue 6 May 2008
… is the title given to the 2008 BA/BFA exhibition, currently featured in the UA Fine Arts Center Gallery. The 28 graduating senior art majors have demonstrated their creative talents with their featured artwork, as well as their administrative skills in coordinating this exhibition - from inception to installation. In conjunction with the culminating “Professional Practices” course, the seniors divided into teams to design the exhibition’s logo, postcard and poster; print and mail an announcement and distribute the posters; organize the installation of the exhibition and coordinate the reception, which will be held on Friday, May 9 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm in the gallery.
This annual exhibition always presents an exciting variety of media — painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, visual design and mixed media. Students studying computer animation created a dvd of their projects that is also playing in the gallery. “Black and White…” continues through Sunday, May 11, when the gallery is open from 1:00 - 4:00 pm.
Tue 22 Apr 2008
Oversized paintings and a multi-media installation are sharing space in the Fine Arts Center Gallery April 21 - May 1. “Foreshadows of Forefathers” by Jason C. Barnes and “television will save us all” by Shane Richey are the two MFA Thesis exhibitions, which - despite their different formats — share a sense of irony and wry political commentary.
Barnes’ intricate ink, watercolor and pencil works on paper feature icons from American History, such as George Washington crossing the Delaware and The Alamo, albeit in a rather irreverant context. The densely-packed backgrounds of the paintings are testimony to Jason Barnes’ drawing skills and the time dedicated to producing a unique body of work for his Thesis Exhibition.
Shane Richey has taken his visual design talents and mastery of electronic technology art to a new level with a multi-television/sound/computer-generated installation. Richey’s not-so-subtle play on the title of his exhibition is revealed to the viewer, who is mesmerized by the media forces that control so much of our society.
A reception for the artists will be held on Saturday, April 26 from 6 - 8 pm.
Wed 16 Apr 2008
Graduating senior art student, Lyla Morrision, is exhibiting her BFA Honors Thesis project in the hallway display cases of the Fine Arts Center April 16 - 23. “Seeing Red: An Artist’s Study of the Visuality of Emotions” is the title of Morrison’s exhibition, which examines the relationships between colors and the emotions associated with them. “Green Envy” and “Orange Lust” are two of the nine oversized posters representing the colors and emotions, which also demonstrate the artist’s proficiency in graphic design.
Lyla Morrison is the third BFA candidate whose Honors Thesis has been presented this spring, following Katherine Lamar (photography) and Mary E. Price (ceramics) who both exhibited their work in the Anne Kittrell Gallery in the Arkansas Union.
Tue 8 Apr 2008
Prints and paintings by Donald Harington, University of Arkansas Distinguished Professor of Art History, are currently on exhibit in the hallway cases of the Fine Arts Center. A selection of Harington’s novels are also included in the display, which honors Harington upon the announcement of his retirement at the end of the spring semester.
Donald Harington graduated from the University of Arkansas with a BA in Art in 1956 and completed his MFA at the University in 1959. The artwork on exhibit is from his years as a student in the Art Department. Harington went on to earn an MA in Art History and taught in New York, Vermont and Missouri before returning to his alma mater in 1986.
The artwork on exhibit is on loan from the artist and the corporate art collection of Tyson Foods, Inc. The exhibition will continue through April 11.
Mon 31 Mar 2008
Master of Fine Arts candidate Tanya Johnston will be the next featured artist in the UA Fine Arts Center Gallery with her thesis exhibition, “Meditative Spaces”, opening on April 7 and continuing through April 18, 2008. A reception will be held on Thursday, April 10 from 5 – 7 pm in the gallery.
Johnston’s work evokes the feeling expressed in the exhibition’s title. She describes her current body of work as “an investigation into memory, identity and personal mythology (in which) all of the work possesses still and meditative qualities and craft is a crucial element in each piece.” The exhibition features paintings, shadow boxes and several hand-made books. The paintings include landscapes, figures and still-lifes, or a combination of all three. The boxes consist of layers of printed transparencies or painted glass that give an illusion of space that is much greater than the depth of the actual box. The books represent many different permutations of the book form, such as pullouts, foldouts, traditional bound books and books that are folded map-style.
Johnston’s emphasis on craftsmanship is evident throughout and allows the viewer to connect with the work on a technical level, before they consider the symbolic elements in her art. “The use of images with archetypal qualities is employed as a way to evoke an emotional response, yet not all symbols are universal, many are personal, and my desire is that the private begins to relate to the universal.”
Tanya Johnston graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2002 with a BFA in painting.
Fri 14 Mar 2008
Master of Fine Arts candidate, Kelsey Felthousen, will be utilizing the Fine Arts Center Gallery as a “survelliance site” for her thesis exhibition, myspace, from March 24 - April 4. Felthousen will construct an inverted home in the Union Mall of the University of Arkansas campus, in which she will live during this time period. Gallery visitors will have the opportunity to sit and watch the artist in her “home” via an internet connection and large screen television, set up in the gallery for viewing. The irony of this situation is that the “viewer/voyeur” can also be watched, since the gallery is fronted with glass windows and doors.
Felthousen explains her thesis concept, as “(dealing) with the notions of an overexposed, vulnerable society that…feels unprotected. When creating this work I chose to broach the subject of sacred/private space and how that space is being given away freely, without thought of the consequences.”
“Sacred Space, as defined in this exhibition, is the preciousness of close relationships and the privacy within our lives and homes. One need not search far for evidence of this exposure. It can be seen in all aspects of our society, from television programming to technology.”
Construction on the outdoor installation piece will begin on March 14 with a house-warming to be held on Friday, March 21 from 6-9 pm. A reception for the artist will be held on Friday, March 28 from 5 - 7 pm in the gallery.
Fri 15 Feb 2008
Video footage of the opening reception of the Private Property exhibition featuring Tom Hapgood and Bethany Springer, in the Fine Arts Gallery at the University of Arkansas on February 28, 2008.
A two-person exhibition featuring the work of University of Arkansas art faculty members Tom Hapgood and Bethany Springer will open on February 20 in the Fine Arts Center Gallery. A reception will be held on Thursday, February 28 from 5-7 pm and the exhibition continues through Friday, March 14.
Private Property examines ambiguous interpretations of privacy and ownership in modern life. Video, digital media and sculpture are used to create a unique exhibition which will impact the viewer on many levels. Hapgood’s work includes a piece titled “Raw Sewage” in which projection of video footage taken a sewage treatment plant is set to a “porn movie-style” soundtrack, as a statement on the effects of unrestricted access by today’s youth to debasing pornographic imagery. Hapgood’s other works include “Stop Sign Preacher” — an interactive installation that will allow gallery visitors to create their own messages to be projected onto a real STOP sign — and “Stick it to Father,” a commentary on the portrayal of the father (and men in general) on television and in advertising.
“Flyover Territory” by Bethany Springer also utilizes computer-generated images, this time taken from Google Earth, and interviews with Memphis residents of nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. When asked the question: “If you could fly anywhere in Memphis, where would you go and why?” most interviewees chose not be in Memphis. The testimony of one resident, James Mitchell, has been paired with aerial imagery in Springer’s work. “Showcase Showdown” is an installation created from demolition site materials with an overlay of carpet and vinyl animal hides as a commentary on the unseen losses related to urban development.
Tom Hapgood teaches Web Design, Animation and Typography. Prior to coming to the University of Arkansas in 2005. he was Design and Project Manager at the Treistman Center for New Media at the University of Arizona. Bethany Springer teaches Sculpture and 3d Design and joined the UA faculty in 2006. She received an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Georgia and a BA from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.
Both artists wish to acknowledge the support and contributions of the following individuals and businesses who made this exhibition possible: George Tatge of the University of Arkansas Electrical Engineering, Carpet One, Wenoah Goodson, Dr. Craig Thompson, Barett Miller, James Smith, Mary Jo Jirik Wong, Troy and Linda Connor, Harold Hull, the University of Arkansas RFID Research Lab and the UA Multimedia Resource Center.
Gallery hours are 9:00 am - 5:30 pm, Mon - Fri & 1 - 4 pm on Sundays.
Mon 28 Jan 2008
Thursday, January 31st
9:30-11:00am
Gallery talk with John Perreault, Art Critic and founder of Artopia
Juried Exhibition: Ceramic Objects/Conceptual Material
Anne Kittrell Gallery, U of A Union 4th Floor
12:30-2:00pm
Lunch Break
2:00-4:30pm
Panel Discussion, University of Arkansas Center for Continuing Education,
Located at 2 East Center Street, on the Downtown Fayetteville Square
John Perrault, Art Critic and founder of Artopia
Benjamin Schulman, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History, Drury University
David East, Professor of Ceramics, Maryland Institute-College of Art
Nicholas Kripal, Professor of Ceramics, Tyler School of Art of Temple University
Jeanne Quinn, Associate Professor of Ceramics, University of Colorado-Boulder
Jeannie Hulen, Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas
Tanya Batura, Studio Artist, Los Angeles, CA
5:00-6:30pm
Opening Reception Juried Exhibition: Ceramic Objects/ Conceptual Material
Anne Kittrell Gallery, UofA Union 4th Floor
Reception at DDP Gallery, 7 East Mountain Street
Friday, February 1st
9:30-12:30pm
Demonstrations, Material Research: The Process of Thinking and Making
• David East, Professor of Ceramics, Maryland Institute-College of Art
• Jeanne Quinn, Associate Professor of Ceramics, University of Colorado-Boulder
• Tanya Batura, Studio Artist, Los Angeles, CA
All simultaneously, Ceramics Building 326 Eastern Ave
12:30-2:00pm
Lunch Break
2:30-3:30pm
Gallery talk with Benjamin Schulman, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History,
Drury University. Invitational Exhibition: Material Transcendence: Clay as Commentary.
Fine Arts Gallery, Fine Arts Center
3:30-5:30pm
Opening Reception Invitational Exhibition: Material Transcendence: Clay as
Commentary. Fine Arts Gallery, Fine Arts Center
Saturday, February 2nd
9:30-12:30pm
Demonstrations, Material Research: The Process of Thinking and Making
• David East, Professor of Ceramics, Maryland Institute-College of Arti
• Jeanne Quinn, Associate Professor of Ceramics, University of Colorado-Boulder
• Tanya Batura, Studio Artist, Los Angeles, CA
All simultaneously, Ceramics Building 326 Eastern Ave.
End of Symposium
Mon 7 Jan 2008
A Ceramic Symposium, Crafting Content, will be held January 31 - February 2 at the University of Arkansas and other local venues. For more information about the symposium or to register: http://art.uark.edu/ceramics/info/