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February 28, 2007
Purdue Galleries exhibitions to link visual art, written word
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
"Ekphrasis: Writing on the Collection" will be presented March 5 to April 22 in the Robert L. Ringel Gallery in Purdue Memorial Union.
Ekphrasis is a term used to denote poetry or poetic writing concerning itself with the visual arts, artistic objects and/or highly visual scenes, such as John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn," said Galleries director Craig Martin. Poetry about works of art is the most obvious form, but ekphrasis can be essays, short stories and other literature about any visually powerful scene or subject, he said.
Writers will have an opportunity to compose creative writing in response to objects from the Galleries permanent collection, and those writings will be featured alongside the artwork on display. During the exhibition, visitors can leave their writings, which will allow the exhibition to grow and change throughout its presentation, Martin said.
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A dry erase board, tables and writing materials will be on hand in the gallery to enable classes and individuals to express themselves.
"We encourage everyone to come and see the artworks and try their hand at writing a poem to share," Martin said. "This type of show allows for a very different interaction - and a fresh interpretation - of the art in our permanent collection."
A closing reception will take place from 5-7 p.m. on April 19 in the Ringel Gallery featuring a reading by the Black Cultural Center's Haraka Writers. The reading will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Along with the Ekphrasis exhibition, "Discontinuum: Photographs by Jane Calvin" will be on display in the Stewart Center Gallery.
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Densely layered, darkly seductive and neon-lurid, Calvin's photographs create and recreate references to the memories, impulses and fantasies that tug at the edges of our conscious minds, Martin said.
Her images are created by montaging projected imagery and found objects into room-sized assemblages, which she then photographs in color.
"Imagery and text fragments gleaned from advertising, story books, movie posters, romance and mystery novels, along with dolls, dresses and other props, all conspire in Calvin's final photographs to reflect and blur demarcations between evil and innocence, fact and fiction, childhood innocence, sexuality, desire, tenderness and violence," Martin said.
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Calvin is a resident of Chicago and obtained a master of fine arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited throughout the United States and China, including the Artsea Gallery in Shanghai and Gallery 798 in Beijing, the Contemporary Arts Center of Virginia, the Southeast Museum of Photography in Daytona Beach, Fla., and the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth, Minn., from which the "Discontinuum" exhibit originated and traveled. She has received several Illinois Arts Council Visual Artists Fellowship Grants and the Arts Midwest/NEA Regional Visual Artist Fellowship Award and has taught at Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
At 5:30 p.m. March 22, Calvin will speak in Stewart Center, Room 218. Following the lecture, a reception will take place in the Stewart Center Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.
The Robert L. Ringel Gallery and the Stewart Center Gallery are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 8 on Thursday and from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. All Purdue Galleries exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu
Source: Craig Martin, (765) 494-3061, cdmartin@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Juli Haas (Ekphrasis), "Dreamer," drypoint with watercolor, 2000 (Image courtesy of Purdue University Galleries)
Jess Hobby (Ekphrasis), "Brown Co. Autumn Landscape," oil on canvas, 1920 ca., Gift of Dave Kurfess (Image courtesy of Purdue University Galleries)
Jane Calvin, "It Is As If," Cibachrome print, 2001 (Image courtesy of the artist)
Jane Calvin, "Sally Said," from True/Stories Series, Cibrachrome print, 1994 (Image courtesy of the artist)
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