Context is king: UIUC faculty art and design show returns
When you view a painting in a magazine or online, what you're really looking at is a piece of paper or a computer screen, but when you go to a gallery and see a painting in person, the thing that you're looking at is an object. It's big, it's small, it has a variety of textures, and it can even smell (hopefully like oil paint or turpenoid, but I've smelled much worse things that have been thrown on canvas). Paintings, which we often think of as ‘flat', also have edges along their boarders; broad segments that pick up gestures and colors that seemingly have little or no meaning in the greater context of the painting itself.
But viewing the edges of a painting in fact tells us many things about how it was made, as does staring intently at the brush strokes (or lack thereof) evident on the surface of the canvas or panel. This evidence of a process is why I like viewing art in person, but is only a part of why the University of Illinois's Fall 2009 Art and Design Faculty Exhibition is worth your attention.
In one respect, you can look at the art in this year's show as a record of the time that each artist spent with a particular idea, because in a thousand different ways, the artists involved (29 in total by my count) are attempting to communicate with an audience: transferring a set of ideas from their heads to ours. This is always a messy process, and is never perfect, which is precisely what makes participating in the artist/viewer relationship so special. But the neat thing about the university's annual faculty show is that unless you're a student of the faculty involved, you're not really the intended target. Don't get me wrong — they're happy to have you (showing art in the context of a faculty show is hugely important for a number of reasons outside of the teacher/student relationship) but in the context of the show, the works selected are meant to showcase for new and continuing students roughly where their instructor's are at in their own lifelong trek through the art making experience. They're literally raising a flag and yelling: "I'm over here!" to the hundreds of potential pupils that they'll come in contact with over the next four years.
And that's why this particular show is immensely important. Just by attending, the students who step into that gallery are learning from their instructors. What's nice is that the rest of us can join in too. Visit it for yourself, and consider the precision involved in Laurie Hogin's quivering depiction of sociopathic rabbits. Be overjoyed that you have 50 feet of blank floor to fully take in Patrick Earl Hammie's colossal figurative paintings, and consider that the artist was never more then 10 feet from them while they were being created. Scratch your head over Alan Mette's Series EV, and tell me, please, that you can see some evidence of how they were made (frankly I'm puzzled).
Think about how you're viewing the art; be conscious of when you put your hands in your pockets to keep from reaching out and touching something. Take notice of when you only look at something politely, and think about why it doesn't appeal to you. Form a guiltless opinion.
And consider one last thing; the art represented in the show was largely grown in our local communities, by instructors who usually work out of their homes. Most are incredibly down to earth, and do things like mow their lawns and buy ice-cream (or custard). They also make some damn fine art, and choose to spend much of their time dedicated to passing what they know onto others.
The faculty exhibit started August 28 and runs through September 27. Krannert Art Museum is located on 500 E. Peabody Dr. on campus in Champaign.
3 comments
Matthew Campbell
Nice article, Michael. Good to see you on here.
Thanks! Also of note - this evening at 5:30pm there will be a Gallery Conversation at the Krannert Art Museum with artists Tammie Rubin (whose ceramic work in the show is fantastic - they look like surrealist hood ornaments) and Stephen Cartwright (who somehow convinced computers to help him make sculptures, which puts fear deep in my heart).
I completely respect but rarely understand painting so I really appreciated your article. Thanks for making it more attainable.
Most Recent Arts Comments
Karen Vaccaro is a remarkable person as well as a dedicated performer. I couldn’t imagine a better night at theater!
The director should’ve added the wrinkle that the ban on dancing’s the only thing keeping Bomont from attracting the green/tech/jobs of the future!
Now that’s Class!
I have read several of her books and liked them. I guess because I’m not an overweight, lesbian, intersexed Jewish amputee with divorced parents I can’t comment on the offensiveness of some of her jokes.
You forgot to mention fat people. She made fun of obesity. And divorce. Children of divorce were lampooned, too. Jewish people. She hit on a lot of “groups.“ I fit into a number of them. If you didn’t like her speech you won’t like her books. If…
Lesbians: Anecdote about her mom being a lesbian, and getting her mom introduced to Rosie O’Donnell, and mom and Rosie talking about oral sex, and Weiner acting disgusted. She probably meant the disgust in a “don’t wanna hear about my mom’s vag” kind of way, but all…
Oh. Wow. What exactly did she say, Emma? Do you remember?
I went to this. In the first 5 minutes of her talk, she made fun of lesbians, intersexed children, and amputees. I was honestly surprised at how offensve she was—it was like she thought the Champaign Public Library was a venue for Last Comic Standing. I…
Theresa—are you speaking generally about that monologue, or did you attend the Friday night showing at UIUC?
Most Popular Arts Articles (60 days)
- Celebration Company prevails over predictable cliches in Ug!
- Be Okay: Author Jennifer Weiner in town on Sunday
- Book review: Keyhole Factory by William Gillespie
- Sirens in the Night brings local talent together
- The physical self in Hammie’s Recent Works
- The Little Dog Laughed a strange summer delight
- In dreams: Inception
- The man who taught us to hear
- The Little Dog Laughed, but not for long...
- A better Footloose
Most Recent Comments
Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.
Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is. But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…
I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get. I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library. None of those activities…
These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…
(speaking as a Savoy resident) By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc. This is how library systems work. The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…
I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“
I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?
Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.
I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…
And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.
The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.
Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…
Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.
good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…
Most Popular Articles (14 days)
- Camp Rantoul Report: August 20, 2010
- Withershins: the hardest working band in Champaign
- Champaign to close recycling drop-off center
- Pygmalion schedule changes, Emeralds and new Erin Fein project added
- The Burlington Coat Factory Mosque
- Meet the new blog on the block
- CU Pride Fest review
- Flatlander fundraising off to a tasty start
- The right thing changes from state to state
- Garbage doesn’t just “go away”
Recent Searches
- 1592 (7 Results)
- Susan Toalson (3 Results)
- Gabe (4 Results)
- Bond (97 Results)
- Bond (97 Results)
- Gabe (4 Results)
- bond (97 Results)
- bond (97 Results)
- dan schreiber (34 Results)
- gillespie (129 Results)
- Men Against Sexual Violence MASV (1 Results)
- 8684 (1 Results)
- Men Against Sexual Violence MASV (1 Results)
- great cover up doug hoepker (13 Results)
- great cover up (589 Results)
- C-U Circle (32 Results)
- 4130 (1 Results)
- elsinore (123 Results)
- elsinore (123 Results)
- ryan groff elsinore (35 Results)
Facebook
Twitter
Full Site
Events Calendar
The main character’s name is actually Lisbeth, in case you want to correct.