KRIS HARRIS
Staff Writer
Traversing throughout Fredonia’s campus, there’s always a chance to engage with visual arts in some fashion. From the sculptures showcased in the courtyard between Mason Hall and Reed Library, to the pieces being held within the Marion Art Gallery, visual art is all around.
Within the student body, those enrolled in Fredonia’s School of Visual Arts and New Media are able add to this environment. This semester there are several opportunities to witness this art and hear people’s perspectives on it through a series of lectures, exhibits and art shows.
There will be two guest exhibits, which will be housed within the Cathy and Jesse Marion Art Gallery, the first of them being “Archiving Western New York: Select Artists from the Gerald Mead Collection.” The gallery will open Jan. 26 and runs through Feb. 28. The public reception for the gallery will be held on Friday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.
With this gallery, one can enjoy several different types of visual art, from sculpture to printmaking and even illustration. The art pieces belong to the collection of Gerald Mead, an esteemed artist, collector, curator, art writer, and educator at Buffalo State College.
In addition to this collection there will be two lectures, one from Mead himself on Jan. 28 at 8:30 p.m. and one from John Pfahl, a brilliant photographer who focuses on landscapes and whose work is included within the collection, on Feb. 11, 8:30 pm.
The other exhibition that will be featured will be “Near and Far: Sala Wong and Peter Williams.” Starting on March 4 and going on until April 10, “Near and Far” is a series of digital animations which take a look at one’s surrounding through digital media and plays with the idea of augmented reality. During the opening reception, which will be on March 4, at 7 p.m., there will be an outdoor projection that will be imposed on the Rockefeller Arts Center.
When working in Indiana, Barbara Racker, the director of the Marion Art gallery, met the couple during her time there as an art director.
“I am always looking for not only exhibitions of traditional media, but find it important to expose new media and digital art.”
She hopes that their interactive exhibit provides inspiration for the students here at Fredonia.
These guest exhibits fall under the Visiting Arts Program within the School of Visual Arts and New Media, in which students and members of the community are able to hear how artists not only conceptualize their work, but their views on several different topics.
Another lecture this semester include James Prosek, who is not only an artist, but a writer and naturalist whose work captures many elements of nature from animals to flora. He will be speaking on March 31 at 8:30 p.m.
Additionally, Daniel Ochoa will be giving a lecture on April 21. Ochoa, who hails from Brooklyn, is a painter who takes inspiration from the use of technology to create his works, which includes layered images of people and cityscapes.
In addition to these guest exhibits and lectures, students of the School of Visual Arts and New Media will be able to share the work with the campus and community. This semester there will be two Senior Shows which is in an increase from the usual one, due to the high number of seniors this year.
These shows will be also held within the Marion Art Gallery, one lasting from April 15 to April 22, with an opening Reception on April 15 at 7 p.m. and the other being from April 29 to May 6, with its opening reception on April 29 at 7 p.m.
It is also to be mentioned that with the new addition of dance studios to Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center, many of the faculty offices and classes for the Department of Visual Arts and New Media have been moved to Houghton Hall, which was once a science building.
On the move to Houghton Hall, Professor Ralph J. Blasting, the dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, said “while we are facing special challenges this year [pertaining to the move of the department,] we are looking forward to next Fall semester when we will all be back in the newly renovated Rockefeller Arts Center.”
All these events are free and open to the public.