Former students display various media
Posted on November 15, 2007
In continuation of JMU’s Centennial Celebration, the school of art and art history presented “Generation,” an exhibition focusing on the work of JMU alumni.
This was the second fall exhibit, in the school of art and art history’s two-part Centennial Celebration set, the first taking place on Oct. 15 for faculty emeriti artists and scholars.
The “Generation” exhibit took place on Monday evening in Duke Hall’s newly renovated Sawhill Gallery. The gallery boasts sleek, wood-paneled walls, an elaborate lighting system and an eclectic feel.
The art media on display included paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs, metals, fibers, ceramics, interior design, animation and industrial design.
“The art media in this exhibit portray the different parts of the school of art and art history,” said Stuart Downs, a professor in the school of art and art history. “Each alumnus was chosen for the different media by faculty who thought that artist best represented that media from JMU.”
The alumni consisted of graduates from various years and from diverse locations including, Arizona, Washington D.C., Brooklyn, N.Y., Guatemala and other parts of Virginia. Not all of the alumni whose work was shown were in attendance, although some made the long trek back to their old stomping ground.
The first piece that caught my eye was “Tziguan Tinamit,” an installation piece created by Sara Ruel Bergeron, who traveled from Guatemala in order to attend the exhibit.
“Tziguan Tinamit was influenced by my work in social housing in Guatemala and from my interactions with locals, the Guatemalan scenery and my travels in Latin America,” Ruel Bergeron said.
The piece consisted of a projector displaying images of Guatemalan culture onto the wall, which was on top of a large box. The box was situated next to a car door nestled into two tires creating a seat. Scattered around the projector were little trinkets intermixed with Guatemalan candy.
As I strolled on I found myself standing below “Kitchen Tools with Display,” a decorative metal circle with kitchen appliances hanging from the sides of it in a repeating red and white fashion.
“This piece is different from all the others,” said Lindsay Krems a former industrial design major. “It is actually a retail product for sale, something that has gone through the entire design process.” Krems is currently employed in Brooklyn by Robinson, a firm which designs commercial and industrial products.
Leaving the metallic halo above my head, I wandered over to “Jesus is a Fish,” an animation piece, designed by Stephanie Williams and Jesse Thompson.
“Jesus is a Fish” was the most innovative piece in the exhibit, consisting of a TV on a large box next to a miniature bed with lovers “necking.” Alongside the bed, miniature books were scattered among other miniature ornamental pieces. The most intriguing part of the piece was the TV showing a rotating clip of an animated puppet looking around a room, finding a Bible and proceeding to circle the words “Jesus,” “fishes” and “Jesus said.”
“Everyone has their own misunderstandings,” Williams said when asked about the piece. “This piece is a journey in understanding misunderstandings and shows one exploring this through the eyes of a child, but it’s not to criticize religion. Jesus is just perfect iconography for a young child who doesn’t understand.”
“Generation” encompassed a variety of art medias and hosted magnificent pieces of art from the best of the school of art and art history`s practicing alumni artists. The exhibit is on display in Sawhill Gallery through Dec. 6.
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