Click the image below to view video of the installation filmed by the artist:

Artist Statement

This project was conceived to be part of Earth Week activities when we at Bellevue College acknowledge our responsibility towards our environment on a limited Earth.

Drawing from the figure has been a part of my art practice for over ten years. My habit and ritual is to participate in a drawing session once or twice weekly. In this way I have accumulated stacks of drawing pads filled with drawings. I have been motivated to devise ways to “recycle” the drawings because of the ongoing consumption and accumulation of paper.

The figure drawings serve as a record of the hours and the efforts in my process towards mastery.  Many are quick gesture drawings completed in two to three minutes; others were allotted more time. I consider this my practice rather than my professional “body of work”.

Ideally, Decomposition: Indecent Exposure will speak to issues of the environment and sustainability. My intention is for the environmental effects of weather (wind, rain, and sun) to impact the work in its own way by tearing and dislodging the paper or soaking and diluting the ink. Consequently, the figures may dissolve and the paper will decompose. Human beings in our natural state are subject to environmental effects; like paper, we are simultaneously vulnerable and resilient. We must see ourselves as part of nature rather than an independent agent in the nature/culture dichotomy.

I can trace the origins of this project back twenty years in my tenure as an artist. When I returned from a trip through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania I produced a series of prints inspired by Amish clothes hung out to dry. Hanging “sheets” of paper mimics the Amish way of conserving natural resources.

For more about other work by Linda Thomas, visit Prographica.

This exhibit represents the development of design proposals for a variety of public sites — ranging from sculptural seating installations in parks, transit sites and university campuses to illuminated sculptures, narrative panels, space ships, and giant corn stalks.

Made from a variety of materials including metals, stone, concrete, glass and lighting, these diverse concepts share a desire to create durable, well-crafted and meaningful works that speak to the uniqueness of each one’s site and to do so with a balance of humor, elegance and sophistication.

This is how Reiquam describes the exhibit: “The scale models, drawings and photographs document my thought process as I develop site-specific proposals and offer insight into the fabrication process. The models were created as a tool for communicating my ideas to a selection committee — a way of describing the full-scale sculpture three-dimensionally and to address questions of form, scale, color and materials as well as content and context provided by a given site.

 There are many ways to approach a career in the arts and this is mine, win or lose.”

Click on the image below to view a video of the exhibit and interview with Jordan Schnitzer:

Opening Lecture with the collector, Jordan Schnitzer:  4:30 p.m., Carlson Theater

Reception in the Bellevue College Gallery Space:  4 – 8 p.m., Room D271

“I would like to invite all faculty and staff to participate in the opening events of this exhibit featuring works of art from some of the most prominent African American artists from the past 40 years.  Included are: Kara Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Lorna Simpson and many more.  I also hope some of you will consider building a classroom activity or assignment that takes advantage of having these works of art on campus.

I am more than happy to offer class tours of the exhibit as well.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or if you would like a PDF of all works to be included.”

Kate Casprowiak
Art History, Bellevue College
katrina.casprowiak@bellevuecollege.edu
(425) 564-2629

After the talk, please continue to the Gallery Space for a reception with the collector and to view this rich and provocative exhibit.

COLORING WITHIN THE LINES: GRAPHIC WORKS BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTISTS
EXHIBITING FEBRUARY 6 – APRIL 12, 2013

Opening Reception in the Bellevue College Gallery Space
4 – 8 p.m., Room D271

Included in the exhibit are: Kara Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Lorna Simpson and many more.

To arrange a special tour of this exhibit, or if you would like an annotated PDF of the works to be included, please contact the exhibit’s curator, Kate Casprowiak:

Kate Casprowiak
Art History, Bellevue College
katrina.casprowiak@bellevuecollege.edu
(425) 564-2629

Lundin is is Prographica’s Gallery Director and Professor of Art Emeritus at the University of Washington.

Join us for the opening reception from 3 – 7 p.m. in the Gallery Space.

Domenic Cretara, “Lawyer”, brown conte & charcoal, 30 x 22″

Images from the Exhibit:

To capitalize on the exhibit — which includes artists such as Sonia Delaunay, Frida Kahlo, Dora Maar, Diane Arbus, Marina Abramović, Louise Bourgeois, Atsuko Tanaka, Cindy Sherman, Sophie Calle — SAM has created nine additional interrelated shows by women artists. The exhibits explore modern pieces, a retrospective, modern U.S. masters, abstract currents and countercurrents, video, and issue-driven conceptual work. Some of the artists featured include Georgia O’Keefe, Imogen Cunningham, Yayoi Kusama, Joan Mitchell, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Elizabeth Murray, Agnes Martin, Ellen Gallagher, Ghada Amer, and many others.

For information on the SAM exhibits, visit Women Take Over:   Elles:Pompidou  Elles:SAM  Elles:Seattle

To see work by Pat De Caro, visit http://www.patdecaro.com/index.html

The sculptor and installation artist Michelle Acuff will be featured as we open “Surrogate” on November 14.

Acuff is Assistant Professor of Art at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and her work ranges from object making to installation to video and performance — addressing the eroding boundary between nature and culture, discourses of authorship, and the exciting intersections between science and art.

Acuff has been involved in a number of art projects with students. One of her projects, “Fence”, explores monuments such as Treaty Rock on the Whitman campus. By “interrogating” the history of the rock and plaques and the conflict surrounding them, Acuff and her students discovered the focus of the treaty was the removal of Native American land rights through the establishment of reservations.

The resulting work — a barbed wire fence confining the monument – has caused an interaction between community members, faculty, and students.

We hope you’ll be inspired by this artist and will take a look at the exhibit. We’ll host a free public reception Wednesday, November 14 from 3 – 7 p.m. The exhibit will run from November 14 to December 5.

Opening Reception Wednesday October 3rd,  3 – 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend and meet the artists!

(featured work by Victor Sandblom: “Odyssey”, oil on panel)

The Gallery Space is proud to host this exhibit featuring works in a variety of media by members of its noted Art faculty.

Works include two- and three-dimensional pieces. These artists explore a variety of media — from charcoal, encaustic, oil, watercolor and photography to metal casting, sculpture, wood work, printmaking, and ceramics.

Featured artists include Victor Sandblom (whose painting was used for the exhibit poster), Ginny Banks, Ross Brown, Pat De Caro, Karen Eaves, Lars Husby, Gretchen Lillie, Dale Lindman, Carolyn Luark, Kapka Stoyanova, Ron Tanzi, Linda Thomas, Chad White, and Margaret Zydek.

Contact Chad White, Gallery Director, for an appointment or if you need special accommodations.   All events are free and open to the public.

The BC Foundation mini-grants are designed to support projects and programs that may not be eligible for support through other college funding sources.  Mini-grant awards range from $300 – $3,000 and are available to all college employees.  Preference is given to projects that are consistent with the college’s strategic plan as well as the President’s and Foundation’s priorities and goals.  Grants can be for ongoing projects, one-time projects, or for seed money to start new programs.

The BC Foundation Mini-grant program is funded by donors to the BC Foundation, including many BC faculty and staff.

Funds from this award will go towards the purchase of a Fine Art Printing Press which will improve the capability of the current BC design-print studio.

The Fine Art Printing Press will help accommodate the needs of current and future BC students and serve members of the community through prospective Continuing Education classes.

Lockwood Faculty Excellence Awards are given in support of new or ongoing projects that promote innovation in teaching and/or advance entrepreneurial models at the college. Typically, individual grants will range from $2,500 to $10,000. These grants are made available through a generous donation from the Lockwood Foundation.