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Alumni art exhibit worth a visit
By Susannah Luthi
Assistant News Editor
The Hillsdale
Alumni Painters and Designers exhibit is a small collection
of very different work--from delicate watercolors to bold and
bright oils, from experiments in graphic design to themed and
sometimes tongue-in-cheek collages. And every piece pokes into
contrasting definitions of art while playing with its media.
Of course this contrast reflects
that in the careers of the alumni artists themselves.
"There is more than one lawyer
in the group," Professor of Art Sam Knecht said, crediting
this to Hillsdale's liberal arts training. And then there are
also those who have continued pursuing and producing art as
a career.
Carolyn Manto, '01, for example,
studied sculpture in Florence, Italy, through grants from the
National Sculpture Society and the Leslie T. and Frances U.
Posey Foundation. Not only has she received awards, including
first place in the 24th National Sculpture Competition in Old
Lyme, Conn., she has also shown her work in several galleries,
including the Pen and Brush, Inc., Gallery in New York City
and the Lansing Art Gallery in Lansing, Mich.
Beth Holland, '72, has remained
in the art world as well, teaching at Cranbrook Academy of Art
in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., for 22 years, and also taking a
year-long sabbatical in Europe to travel, paint and hone her
skills.
Then there are others, such as
Sam Torode, who have worked in design. Torode, who worked full-time
for Touchstone magazine, is now a freelancer in design. His
painting of Tolkien is featured on the cover of Hillsdale professor
Bradley Birzer's book J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth.
The exhibit points strikingly,
then, to all the diverging paths out of Hillsdale.
"It draws [all the artists'
strength and knowledge of their medium] together-reflecting
a certain joy and appreciation of their lives in the world,"
Professor of Art Barbara Bushey said.
Still, no matter what their medium,
the artists have toyed with opposing ideas. Mark, for instance,
a watercolor by Beth Winzel, '85, is a head portrait emerging
as an impression in brilliant oranges and yellows, shadowed
in blues and greens. This stands apart from the watercolor series
by Manto-Tuscan Landscape, Venetian Canal and Venetian Scene--small,
gracefully drawn and subtly colored glimpses into Italy.
The oil paintings also explore
a range of subjects and emotions, some searching beyond their
representations to uncover something new, others magnifying
some aspects on the surface of their subjects for a description
of the whole.
Among these is Torode's Pope John
Paul III, a prayerful figure expressing spiritual struggle,
joy and contemplation; he is illuminated by a pale light that
sweeps over his forehead and the white folds of his robe. Beside
this is Katherine Teague's The Road to Damascus, in which the
use of light softens the colors and angles. Like Torode's, Teague's
interpretation is a conventional treatment of a spiritual theme:
Three figures form themselves in exaggerated, expressive poses;
two are averting their eyes, rejecting the light. The third,
Paul, symbolically dressed in white, faces it.
Pastoral Landscape, by Grace Ellis
Barber, '01, contrasts with these, turning to a simple depiction
of the outdoors and concentrating on technique. Barber
has massed deepening shades of green into rolling hills, meadows
and trees, while swirling blue with a cloudy haze for a soft
sky. The peaks of the hills are dark, and the light is diffused
into the valleys where the sheep are feeding. It is reminiscent
of some 19th century French landscapes, but blurred and dreamier.
Then there is Tom Esterline's
untitled study layering bands of variations on greens, yellows,
purples, browns and blues in a patterning that deepens the perspective
while keeping a simple design
Holland's The Yellow Hat-a cheerful
and gaudy acrylic-is one of the most vibrant paintings in the
room. It is a sea-side picture capturing the color of the coast
through the experience of the girl on the sand who is wearing
the yellow hat.
Mixed with the others, of course,
are the less traditional pieces that grab attention often because
they are less traditional. Among these are both of Chris Niemiec's
untitled works, one in acrylic and paper on MDF board, made
of shapes layered into what looks like a twisted tree stump.
The second is a pastel on paper playing with blues, grays and
purples on a grid, and exploring changes in color and value.
And then there is humor, in a
category of its own. This is Pete Williams' collage-The Sacred
Cereal Goddess-a kaleidoscope of pictures of Kellogg's Special
K with Red Berries cascading around an antique advertising model.
Since Williams teaches art at Kellogg Community College, this
could very well be an anecdote on a cereal empire.
There is also the more pragmatic
work--such as computer graphics, brochure design and children's
book illustrations: Hillsdale's graduate art students can do
anything.
But whatever the product, every
piece contains something of its creator.
"We have people committed
to doing art that expresses their spirituality," Knecht
said. And the individuality stemming from that not only shows
the range of possibilities out in the world, but also the many
ways of responding to them.
The Hillsdale Alumni Painters and
Designers Exhibit is on display in the Daughtrey Gallery of
the Sage Center until October 24.
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Tyler Horning/Collegian
Beth Holand, '72, contributed
this acrylic paiting to the Alumni Patiners and Designers Exhibit.
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