Four faculty members of the Art Department came together to create an exhibit which allowed them to show their skills outside of the classroom.
The reception for the Echo of the Object art exhibit on Friday gave the artists a chance to take visitors through the maze of creations in the Atrium Gallery in the Arts and Journalism Building.
The collaborative exhibit, which runs until Dec. 1, features different types of art specific to each artist’s abilities.
“It was nice to work together and to know that there are going to be different types of art in the exhibit, 3D and 2D, that brings more diversity to the exhibit,” David Hannon, an associate professor of art, said.
Hannon used a bust of Abraham Lincoln and paper bags to create paintings that deal with relationships and personality traits. The paper bags represent a pessimist family and the bust represents an optimist. His work was described to show that it’s possible to show many different things at the same time.
Jacinda Russell, an assistant professor of photo, created photographs of objects that may seem pointless, such as a jar of hair. Her art, according to the event handout description, “forces us to consider our own tendencies toward saving and discarding.”
Hannah Barnes, an assistant professor of painting, used Russell’s collection of objects in her series by focusing on details in texture and shading in paper bags, ropes and lids from plastic containers.
Jennifer Halvorson, an assistant professor of glass, used glass teacups with tiny bronze chairs to show different needs and personalities. The handmade jars in her art have adjectives on them that relate to family dynamics.
Halvorson mentioned that while the exhibit was themed, each of the artists were inspired by each others’ artwork.
“I want something of everybody’s,” Russell said.
Many students and faculty were at the reception for the exhibit. Senior art education major Becky Diener said she was happy to see her professors do more than teach.
“It’s awesome to see our professors work and see everyday objects portrayed as monumental,” Diener said. “It’s beautiful.”
After the exhibit ends in the Atrium, it will move to the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland, and then the Downtown Gallery in Knoxville, Tenn.
