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When you think of laundry detergent, hair and mold, does art pop into your mind? To the creative art staff at the University of Maine, these are some of the media used at the Annual Faculty show at Carnegie Hall. Digital images, moving installations and mixed media sculpture summed up the amazing range of talent displayed at this show.
In the exhibit’s paintings, the subject matter varied from detailed nature scenes painted in the backwoods to a spirited moment in the rain while driving. Pointillistic landscapes done on a large scale focus on gestural strokes, and in another work, sunlight splashes through forests to create luminous color with a turpentine wash.
In the show’s photographs, glimpses of alleyways caught in the act of being, and jovial men in black and white pull the viewer to that moment like it was stolen from time. In “Cristin,” the soft eyes of the subject draw you in and make you wonder what she is thinking about. Abstracting light in “Studies in Arrested Light” create immense feelings of movement and shift what some may view as reality in a whole new respect.
The “Natural Markers,” very vertical slabs conformed by hand-built clay show what art can do for society, and in “Aborescent Vessels” ( a work in progress) meticulously placed peeled wood gives the effect of nature inhaling and exhaling. Hair and other random objects are fastidiously placed in a semi-installation with so much movement and energy there is always something to muse over . Susan Camp found interest in how growth and decay can form artistic qualities. Owen Smith was part of his own moving installation. He created a somewhat cluttered environment that consisted of old NY Times building up in the corner and was actually working during the opening posting ideas and taking pictures.
Every corner of the room seems alive with concrete representations of the faculty’s creative expertise.
The University of Maine has such a spectrum of talent and creativity exemplified in this show; there is really no other opportunity during the year to view a show that is so diverse, yet still holds a consistency in its high level of quality.
The faculty art exhibit is at Carnegie Hall during regular school hours.
Bangor Daily News