Faculty, student works on view
12/10/2004An intriguing span of genres and skill levels - from the breadth of emerging undergraduate students to the depth of renowned faculty members - fills the Fine Arts Center at Bowling Green State University.
An open house sponsored by more than a dozen undergraduate art organizations is tomorrow from 6 to 9 p.m. To the jazzy music of the Rob Howard Quartet, visitors can meander through displays of student work, tour studios of graduate students, and observe demos of sculpture (a metal pour), jewelry, glass, print making, and ceramics.
"The working environment gives you a lot more insight as to how the work is produced," said Dennis Wojtkiewicz, professor of art.
About 200 of the school of art's 900 students will participate in tomorrow's open house. Many items will be priced modestly, with proceeds going to student arts organizations.
Also in the Fine Arts Center, located next to the Jerome Library off Ridge Street and parking lot N, are three galleries that will be open tomorrow night.
The Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery hosts the 55th annual faculty and staff exhibition, which includes 88 works by 48 current or retired faculty and staff.
The show exudes strength and diversity, said Michael Arrigo, assistant professor and head of BGSU's program for first-year art students.
"This show is perhaps one of the most transmedia or mixed media shows that I've seen in a long time," he said. He noted an unusual piece by well-known digital artist Bonnie Mitchell. The viewer walks into a small, darkened space where her or his movements cause a computer-controlled video projector to change images. And Brad McCombs' translucent-blue sculpture conjures up the possibility of a man-sized crayfish. Made out of wire armature with a thin cover, it "breathes" out a mist and has movement sensors.
In the Willard Wankelman Gallery, Design Migrations showcases about 300 pieces of professional design work by 50 alumni from around the country. Their art represents packaging, web, environmental, corporate, branding, photographic, and other types of design, said Paul Obringer, show curator and creative director of UniGraphics.
The participating artists interned at UniGraphics, BGSU's internal design and print shop, in the last 12 years.
In the Hiroko Nakamoto Gallery, Akiko Jones, who teaches in the Asian Studies program, will give a presentation on a formal Japanese tea ceremony throughout the evening.
The free open house at the Fine Arts Center at Bowling Green State University will be from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow. In the same building, the faculty-staff exhibition in the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery and Design Migrations in the Willard Wankelman Gallery, will continue through Jan. 18. The galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. The galleries will be closed Dec. 15-Jan. 10 for winter recess. Information: 491-372-8525.
Contact Tahree Lane at:
tlane@theblade.com
or 419-724-6075.