Madelon Powers Gallery to Present Methodologies: Combining Art and Science September 7 – October 1

Eleven invited artists who link art and science to explore, to recreate, and to reinvent phenomena found in nature will be featured in Methodologies: Combining Art and Science, September 7-October 1 at East Stroudsburg University’s Madelon Powers Gallery.

“The artists in this exhibition investigate natural phenomena and form visual conclusions through observation, research, and experiments,” said Darlene Farris-LaBar, professor of art+ design at ESU and co-curator of the exhibit. “They set their own parameters and question the world around them. Through these new definitions new phenomena and systems of information are created, which challenge our present.”

“Methodologies looks at a how artists create new models of understanding by questioning their own practice, process, and rules to find an answer,” said Hannah Israel, co-curator of the exhibit and associate professor of art and gallery director at Columbus State University in Georgia.

Hours for the gallery, located in the university’s Fine & Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. On Saturday, October 1, the gallery will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Family Weekend.

A reception for the artists will be held Wednesday, September 7 from 4-6 p.m. in the gallery. The reception will feature a performance piece by Sissi Fonseca of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a visual artist and performer who uses her body to describe memories and emotions of daily life.

The Moth Project by Plantbot Genetics, a collaborative team of Wendy Deschene of Auburn University and Jeff Schmuki of Georgia Southern University, Ga., will take place on the lawn of the Fine and Performing Arts Center after the reception. The project uses large images of moths projected on an outdoor tent to attract local moths for audiences to observe.

The exhibit, reception and The Moth Project are open to the public at no cost.

Farris-LaBar will give a gallery talk and tour of the exhibit Saturday, October 1 from 11:30 a.m. to noon. This event also is open to the public at no cost.

Artists invited to the exhibit include:  Karen Rich Beall of Lebanon Valley College who uses forms derived from small, often overlooked species from the natural world to create sculptures from a variety of media; Barb Bondy of Auburn University who examines the interaction between the functions of the human mind and the brain through drawing and photography; Hugo Fortes of University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who develops installations, photos, videos, performance and multi-media works in which the concepts of landscape, the element water and the relations between nature and culture are the central themes; Yvonne Love of Penn State—Abington campus, who uses unusual materials to create spaces and forms that address experience and memory; Jocelyn Kolb, assistant professor of art + design at ESU who uses current technologies and evolving materials to create forms that are inspired by nature; Jill Parisi of the State University of New York—New Paltz whose works celebrate the plant and animal kingdom’s wide palette and intricate patterns; and Michelle Samour of the School of the Museum of the Fine Arts at Tufts University, a multi-media artist whose works explore the intersections between science, technology and the natural world.

The work of co-curators Israel and Farris-LaBar, who see themselves as part of this circle of artists, also will be in the exhibit. Israel’s work is influenced by natural and cultural phenomena. She creates works that resemble the poetic seduction found in nature in relation to the sublime.

Farris-LaBar’s work focuses on preserving various plant species of the natural world through the use of 3D digital design and printing. Her work is intended to promote protected lands while bringing awareness about the importance of each plant species to the ecosystem and preserving them for future generations.

For more information on the exhibit or reception, contact the Fine and Performing Arts Events Line at esuart@esu.edu or call 570-422-3483.

Search

Recent Posts