Becca Schimmel
Contributing writer
Two exhibits are currently featured in the Clara M. Eagle gallery andare on display until Feb. 26.
One of the exhibits, “White Hot Gold,” is a collection of different artists, all of which use new media. These artists include; Marin Abell, Jeanette Bonds, Hernando Rico Sanchez, Jing Zhou, Marsha Owett, Jong Kyu Kim, Elizabeth Leister, Ryuta Nakajima and Ava Blitz.
The “White Hot Gold” show consists of new media, including short video clips, photographs, digital prints and interactive pieces. There is also a juror’s statement at the show to introduce the show and help convey the ideas clearly.
“White Hot Gold” has several overlapping themes. A few of the videos presented provide an interesting look at human interaction.
An art project that is produced by doing an experiment on Facebook takes art to another level. Jong Kyu Kim, nonstudent, focuses on social interaction in his contributions to the show. Kim lives his life doing everything Facebook tells him to do for a month.
These tasks included going to every event that he was invited to, accepting friendships from people unbeknownst to him previously and liking everything he was told to like and reading the books, listening to the music or watching the movies that were liked.
The display is complete with the best friend Facebook forever T-shirt he had to wear for every day of the experiment, a calendar of photographs from each event and a private message exchanged between him and someone who disagreed with the art project.
Another installation features Elizabeth Leister, nonstudent, bridging new media as well as a traditional media together.
A video is made including Leister’s drawing as well as a video clip that aids in the presentation. She presents a theme of kinetic art and still art together.
“Technology affords this interaction where connection and disconnection, time and place, overlap and transform into a dynamic space, neither here nor there, now or then.” Leister said.
The other exhibit is on the upper level of the Clara M. Eagle gallery and is called “Vanishing Drawings” by Esther Solondz, nonstudent.
The idea of the “Vanishing Drawings” show is being stuck in time or of time fading away. This is clear in that older photographs used and the media of rust makes this an interesting idea. Rust is seen as something that is the destruction of material and in this case it is used to create.
“It was more of an evolution of working, of trying and making those images,” Solondz said. “I was interested in trying to make an image of someone who was both static and moving at the same time.”
These portraits are done with rust on paper panel. She works a lot with the elements. “Vanishing Drawings” consists of portraits from photographs that have been collected over the years.
Each piece is named after the person Solondz used as inspiration.
“Rust, which is usually seen as something that breaks down material, here builds up to leave a beautiful image,” Solondz said.
Solondz will be giving a lecture and reception about her artwork at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Fine Arts building.