University News
WIU Art Faculty to Exhibit at WCIAC Through October
September 12, 2013
MACOMB, IL – The Western Illinois University Faculty Exhibition will be held at the West Central Illinois Arts Center (WCIAC) in downtown Macomb from Tuesday, Sept. 17-Saturday, Oct. 19.
A reception for the exhibit will be held Thursday, Sept. 19, from 5-7 p.m., at the Arts Center, with remarks beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The bi-annual exhibit will feature works by numerous WIU faculty members, including painting, silk screening, ceramics, metal work, etchings, mixed media, drawing and sculpture.
WIU Department of Art Chairperson Charles Wright said the event shows the varied capabilities of the department and its faculty.
"The exhibition showcases the faculty and a small portion of the body of work they have been able to produce over the last two years," he said. "It also indicates to students that we are continuing professionals and we value what we teach."
New WIU ceramics Assistant Professor Ian Shelly will have two pieces in this year's exhibit. He said the themes of "perception, transition, permanence and relationships have floated to the top of my thoughts and practice over the last several years."
"These new ideas continue to overpower those in my previous work, such as place, subject and time," he said. "What is real? How are these different? Where does this lead? These are all questions I thrust upon my viewers as they explore, for themselves, the boundaries of performance, the speed and course of transition and, of course, the perceived relationships between objects and symbols."
At least 13 Department of Art faculty and staff members will display as part of the exhibit, including professors Jan Clough, Susan Czechowski, Bill Howard, Jenny Knavel, Julie Mahoney, Kat Myers, Tim Waldrop and Bruce Walters, assistant professors Shelly, Terry Rathje and Henry Oursler and associate professors Brett Eberhardt and Damon McArthur.
Rathje recently had gallery shows at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, IA, and in Peoria. He said the Figge show was titled "Questionable Architecture," and the Peoria show involved "found typography."
"The (Peoria show was) a visual interpretation of the messages I compose in my sketchbook," Rathje said. "The pieces are largely typography and imagery that I have found that was silkscreened on metal containers, license plates and signs. I cut them up, flatten them out and use those pieces as the raw material, which I assemble into sayings and designs that communicate the often paradoxical events that characterize my life. It is like writing poetry, but with pieces of the world rather than written words."
The WCIAC is located on the east side of the Macomb square, at 25 East Side Square. The facility is open Mondays-Fridays 11 a.m.–2 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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