Hosted in Porter Hall’s Harry Krug Gallery on Feb. 18 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. was the opening reception for Intersections: Faculty Works Across Media. When asked about the event, Chair of the Department of Art James Oliver said, “We exhibit about 10 artists per year, this particular exhibition with the reception this evening is for faculty biannual, happens every other year, and we highlight the faculty in the department and the work that they make so all the work that you see here is work that faculty are actively making.”
Oliver has his own piece on display called “Box Store Parking Lot: Sunset.” When asked about it, he said, “My work is really observational, but with a twist. The piece looks like it would be just an everyday scene, maybe in a parking lot, but in the construction of it, the truck is a toy truck made to be the scale that it needs to be to sit into a parking lot. The parking lot itself is in an existing parking lot in Pittsburg, and the sunset is from knowledge of, you know, light and sunsets, so I was after trying to sort out how the glow of the light would happen during sunset.”
When asked about why she came to the event, sophomore art and english major Lorna Rae Pierce said, “I really like seeing just the work that all the professors do. I think it’s interesting to see them through an academic respect but also respect to their profession.” A few pieces stood out to Pierce, with her saying, “One of the ones by Professor Allison, I really liked that one, because something about it feels so warm and almost nostalgic;” that one being “Composition and Lighting Comprehensive: Where the Old Things Are.”
When asked about what inspired her, Professor Kim Allison said, “For me, I really enjoy being a parent, and when I was in school, my bent was kind of toward greeting cards and children’s books anyway, so that’s kind of where my work comes from. It’s just that realm of caring, family, children, soft little things.”
When discussing why he showed up to the event Euler Oxlaj, a freshman art major, said, “I heard the faculty had their one exhibition. I only know them on a surface level, so I really like to know their work, what their strong points are, and their different styles compared to each other.” Later while discussing works that stood out to him, Oxlaj said “Olivia Timmons, her intaglio pieces are just impressive. I recently just got into printmaking because of her work because it looks cool.”
When asked about her art on display, Professor Olivia Timmons said, “I have those two over there, those are intaglio pieces, so they incorporate color printing and shape play elements, so that’s kind of like collage.” Later, she talked about what inspired her. “So most of my work revolves around humanity’s impact on nature and the natural world, so those two pieces are talking a little bit about photo axis, which is when nocturnal insects use celestial elements like the moon or stars to actually navigate in, so when we started producing artificial light, it’s really had an impact on the populations.”
Junior art major Madi Thomas best summed up the event by saying, “I feel like sometimes we see a lot of students’ artwork, which I really do appreciate, but it’s rare to see faculty artwork. And yes, they’re a teacher, but outside of being a teacher, they’re also just regular humans who each have their own individual lives.”