Rackham’s Centennial Exhibit artists innovators alums runs from September 28th - December 18th, 2012 on the 4th floor of the Rackham Building. Viewing hours for the exhibit are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Meet the artists and tour the exhibit this Thursday, October, 25th from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. A gathering will follow at 7:00 pm at Mercy's Lounge in the Bell Tower Hotel – all are welcome!
Alison Byrnes' Famous Animals Series, Elm Farm Ollie, First US Animal to Fly
In keeping with the spirit of recognition and celebration of achievement during the centennial year at the Graduate School, we are gratified and delighted to present to alums, students, visitors and the U-M community an exhibit honoring a select group of young, innovative and talented artists. Each of these working artists have earned an M.F.A. from the Penny Stamps School of Art & Design in recent years, ranging from 2007 to 2011. The artists hail from Michigan, Ohio, Washington DC, Illinois, Georgia and India. The exhibit demonstrates how very much young artists rely on and are at ease with technology and the amazing devices that allow them to readily collect images, sounds, words and objects. While at the same time it's apparent from observing their choices of subject matter, story and place that they crave involvement with immediate experience and the natural world. The exhibit includes numerous digital prints with great variation in scale, choice of print materials and subjects chosen for exploration. Photos include portraits of contemporary femmes, large abstracted patterns, and investigations of culture and historical moments in rural Mexico, the Arctic of the past and the local November sky. The precise skills required to demonstrate proficiency and imagination in drawing and painting, print-making and paper sculpting are in evidence and demonstrate that bottom-up construction, and hand/eye effort still reign supreme. One fine artist chooses to imagine and paint her response to historical narratives of famous animals with humor and pathos. A large, sculptural wall piece uses mosses and lichens to create a contemplative green space that brings just the right respite and meditative pause to a busy day in an academic world. These young innovators ask universal questions about loss, transformation, physical/historical truths and emotional perception. Their search for a meaningful response is sought through the artistic use of varied and available technologies and a stubborn love and commitment to the handmade.
Artists include: Sarah Berkeley, Alison Byrnes, Thea Eck, Charles Fairbanks, Brent Fogt, Kristin Kurzawa, Ashley Lieber, Melanie Manos, Toby Millman, Susan Stacks, Ann Stewart.
Published in: Rackham Centennial
Keywords: social rackham masters event centennial