Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / Sept. 28, 1994, edition 1 / Page 12
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September 28,1994 Campus Extras ^ Exhibit provides mixed emotions and frees the mind As I entered Frankie G. Weems Gallery in the Gaddy-Hamrick Art Cen ter last week, I felt as though 1 had entered a time warp. Was I in the past, present, or future was the question I asked myseif. Although I never foiuid the answer to this question, 1 was quite content with my thoughts and feelings as 1 observed the woiks. In actuality, I had not entered a time warp, and 1 assured myself that, yes, 1 was still on the campus of Meredith College as 1 took note of the fiaa that 1 was actually observing an exhibit of Women Artists of North Carolina. The art woik on display was done by five women from the Win- ston-Salem area, and most of the woik allowed many images to soar through my mind. As I observed the work, I was thrust back to my childhood, and I actually watched myself grow up through their self-expressions. Alix Hitchcock’s abstraa, yet aes thetic and colorful im^es seemed to take me back to the playground. Most of her art seemed extremely child-like as she worked with mixed-media and collage. The series which was done in this fashion was entitled “Daydream” and the pieces included, “At Home," ‘At Play," and “At Night.” They actu ally seemed to be the thoughts of a small child and what a child would put onto paper when given a box of Ciayolasand asked to draw something pertaining to daydreams. Her works also included the use of monotype with colored pencil and mixed media and these pieces seemed to show the progression oflife’s many cycles. 1 was really impressed with Hitchcock’s Horse series which was extremely ab stract as the images still could be easily seen. Heruseofcolorand dark images gainst light backgrounds really made her pieces seem extremely soothing to the eye. Ann Carter Pollard used graphite and colored pencil to present her ex pressions through wh^ seemed to be done ona more “grown-up” scale with a hint of child-like thoughts peering through at times. A “T" shirt series was done by her which seemed to stress the environment and saving the earth, but my favorite series was the Qown’s War series. This consisted of three Ashley Peay art review pieces which obviously were done in progression and showed the destruc tion of war. The first piece was very impressive as it was done in graphite only and, therefore, used no color. It pictured a clown wearing a gas mask and the simplicity of the image had a great impact on the theme which was being expressed. Clown War *2 used a little color and pictured mime Paul Legrand sticking his tongue out and wearing aT-shirt which read “It’s War." Qown War #3 was the most impres sive, though, as it piaured a skeleton with the American fiag as his back ground. His T-shirt read “Fighting Stops. " Pollard’s pieces left me with an almost unsettled feeling, so 1 quickly moved on to the work of another artist in search of something more appeal ing. litde did I know, it was only going to get worse. Martha Dunigan’s sculptures did not impress me at all. I felt as though after 1 had seen one, I had seen them all. She used simple types of media to create her subjeas such as wood, card board, febric, string, tar, wax, con crete, nails, tacks, steel, the list goes on, but I'm sure that you get the pic ture. Each piece stood on a wooden ^ttd of some type and was done in daik colors (usu^y black). The pieces were all harsh and pointy and did not make me feel anything at all, although her titles seemed as if they were sup posed to spaik some type of creative im^es from my inner-being. Her tides included names such as ‘Parable”(this one did not tell a story at all), “GuardiaD’CI did not feel protected at all), and “Conductor"(I did not hear any music at all). On to another artist in search of a more reassuring after thought. Anne Kesler Shields pushed me through life as 1 found myself away fromthe playground, forfiromthe point where I did not feel anything at all, and tow^ those good ole’ rebellious teen age years which we have all tried to push far from our minds. She used acrylic and wztet color over advertise ments which had been blown up to life-size pieces. 'They reminded me of many of the posters which grace the toUs of our lovely dormitories here at Meredith. Her pieces were huge and became moreimpressive and eye-catch ing the longer I stared at them As I peered in awe, it seemed to me that she liked to tie the past in with the present as she mixed old ait with new art. Her use of Reza-ye Abbasi, 1630, Persian with a Guess Ad and puzzle pieces to form an enormous piece en titled “Lover’s Puzzle” by far my favorite, but I don’t know if that’s saying much. I was not moved by her other sexually-oriented and somewhat depressing images which she created. As 1 moved on, 1 was finally taken in by the work of Elsie Dinsmore Popkin. I think that it was her use of colors and contrast which actually drew my eye to her woric. The media which she used was pastels, but her images were so solid that her pieces seemed to be almost lifted off of the paper. The colors which she used were extremely bright, with dark, almost black, back grounds and this contrast seemed to create a very aesthetic and soothing image. It was Popkin’s work which took me toward the future and the older, more “mature" life which we beginto envy during those “mid-term” and “finals’ weeks. Her work soothed me and made me feel as though 1 was aaually walking through these gar dens and yards which she portrayed so beautifully. Overall, many thoughts gushed through my head as I observed the artwork and 1 left the gallery with a refreshed feeling, Although three of the five artists did not impress me, I did like the way that the art gallery pre sented the works and set them up. The scultures were scattered throughout with one main exhibit in the center and the paintings were basically dis played according to artist. This made opinions and thoi^hts flow smoothly rather than being scattered. Dr. Bailey,headofthcMeredithAit Department, said that this is the first of a series of shows which will feature different women artists from different regions. The series will culminate in the year 2000 with a show represent ing Meredith Alumnae throughout the century. The art exhibit will be run ning through Oaober 23 and I would highly recommend it to those of you who need to take a break from the books and free your minds for a mo ment or two. photo by Jetson Meredith students support the women artists of North Carolina.
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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Sept. 28, 1994, edition 1
12
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