2008 Converse Art and Design Faculty Exhibition
Entitled Interiors, the 2008 Converse College Department of Art and Design Faculty Exhibition opens November 6 and runs through December 4 in the Milliken Art Gallery on the Converse campus. An opening night reception–with heavy hors’doeuvres and wine–will be held from 6:30-8:30 pm in the gallery.
Interiors showcases the talents of the Art and Design faculty through such diverse media as printmaking, photography, sculpture, painting, drawing and ceramics. The faculty is comprised of individual artists with backgrounds in studio art, interior design, art education and art therapy. The vast and varied talents have produced an exhibition that pushes the boundaries of creative expression.
Diane Bagnal, Director of Art Education, will be exhibiting her photography from a day at North Island in Georgetown, SC. These photographs focus on the textures and forms. “I wanted to have an experience of ultimate creative thinking. It had to be one that would move to a realm of activities from my norm,” said Bagnal.
Ruth Beals, Owings Associate Professor of Interior Design and Director of Interior Design, will be displaying photography as a part of her Interior Design Consultation with Qatar shell Research and Technology Center in Qatar. “It is rare for an independent interior designer to have this type of commission for an international and major corporation. I was in the right place at the right time,” said Beals.
Also presenting photography will be Andrew Blanchard, Assistant Professor of Studio Art, Printmaking/Photography. Keeping a close watch on the political aspects that have occurred, Blanchard wanted to feed this concern into his passion for photography. “Three of the four images were all shot from my couch, in my upstairs living room via a cell phone. Having watched the debates, I felt compelled to document this closely scrutinized contest,” said Blanchard.
The goal of Mayo Mac Boggs, Professor of Art, was to explore internal and external space through four photos and two marble sculptures. “This summer, I was able to fulfill a dream to create art in the world of Renaissance artists. I had the opportunity to spend five weeks carving marble in the shadows of Michelangelo’s marble mountain.
Geri Hurlbut, Director of the Art Therapy Program and Assistant Professor of Art Therapy, will be displaying watercolors upon ideas from her trip to Tuscany. “The many sights, sounds, smells, and tastes linger, and it is through the artwork that I hoped to convey the sense of my experience there,” said Hurlbut.
Acrylic on panel, in addition to acrylic and charcoal on panel, will be exhibited by Glen Miller, Visiting Lecturer in Art. “I chose to consider the concept of Interiors as a personal space, a place where people safely reveal the self even if only to themselves,” said Miller.
Frazer Pajak, Associate Professor of Interior Design, will be presenting black and white photography, focusing on the use light and action photography. “The images are like pictures frozen in a time capsule. I enjoy reflections in my work and try to express emotion and thought about my images,” said Pajak.
Teresa Prater, Chair and Associate Professor of Art, will be exhibiting wax and photography and placed on wood. In addition, she will have wax and charcoal on wood. “Using encaustic wax, charcoal, transfer text, and my own photographs, the exhibit works are meant to take advantage of the ethereal nature of encaustic painting. Most of the work refe