SB STATESMAN: “Faculty Exhibition opens at Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery”

BY ELISABETH MAGOTTEAUX / OCTOBER 28, 2018

The Faculty Exhibit in the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery: Student Erin Bennett observes artwork by Professor Toby Buonagurio, “Neon Auroras Series: Emerald Suns, Celestial Body,” 2018 (foreground), while others view Jason Paradis, “Lexington Kaleidoscope (Windows),” 2017 (background). EMMA HARRIS /THE STATESMAN

The Faculty Exhibition at the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery opened on Wednesday, Oct. 17 with a variety of media and works of art from faculty members who are also recognized international artists.

The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, animated videos, installations, photographs, posters and 3D printed objects.  

“Most of the artists chose themselves what artwork they wanted,” Karen Levitov, director and curator of the Zuccaire Gallery, said. “Sometimes they talked to me about it asking, ‘What do you think?’”

The first piece that you discover while walking in the gallery is Maya Schindler's installation titled "REVOLUTION." Its size and blue color immediately catches your eye. Schindler printed posters with the word"revolution" on them and visitors are invited to take one — thus becoming "part of the artwork and part of this revolution," Levitov said, and are incited "to create whatever revolution that [they] see fit."

Mariah Magee, a sophomore art history and criticism major, was amazed by Stephanie Dinkins' 3D-printed sculpture and AI chatbot titled "Not the Only One — Alpha Release 2." When she realized the sculpture answered if you talked to it, Mariah enthusiastically said, "Now I like it even more."

Dan Richholt's bronze sculpture, which demonstrates political issues, is called "Swampsnake." The catalog says it's inspired by a particular presidential debate, and a notion that the "blind are leading the blind."

Bruce Lieberman's oil painting, titled "A painting in search of a title," is about the battle between good and evil, not religion. "It is about a sense of an existential threat, real or imagined, caused by our chaotic political climate," Lieberman wrote in the catalog.

Jeong-A Seong created a 45-second hand-drawn animation video called "Metamorphosis;secretdialogue," with themes of transformation and metamorphosis. As the title suggests,the videoshows an eye turning into a mouth that turns into a fish that then turns into a woman.

Lorraine Walsh also combines video and animation in "Forest of Manifolds" with her 40 drawings on wooden panels titled "Untitled" on a Debussy soundtrack. Her creation falls at the crossroads of art and science since she uses geometrical and mathematical forms.

Yulong Hu, a junior art history major, found the exhibition superb and liked Qin Han's piece "Pillow Talk." The visitors are invited to put their heads on the pillow where they can listen to the recording of a monologue. "It gives you a sense of intimacy in this huge gallery," Hu said. "You can be close to the piece and interact with it."

Other artworks showcase the passing of time such as Jason Paradis' "Lexington Kaleidoscope (Windows)" and Nobuho Nagasawa's moon model titled "Luminescence." Paradis created his piece after camping in the north Canadian wilderness and Nagasawa's creation is about how the phases of the moon were a way to measure time for many early civilizations.

The show also presents pieces by Howardena Pindell such as "Songlines: Labyrinth (Versailles)" The multifaceted artist has been fascinated with the form of the circle for many years. She was at first scared by the round shape because during segregation in the 1940s, red circles were drawn on dishes for non-white customers at restaurants. Since then, the artist has been willing to remove "all negative connotations" from the circle in her mind.

The show reveals only the tip of the iceberg of the artists' œuvre; each of the faculty members has at least one piece shown in the wide gallery.

All of the faculty members will give Salon Talks in the next few weeks. The gallery is open on weekdays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. until Dec. 16.

For the original article in The Statesman, click here.