Distinguished Alumni Exhibit at USU

Department of Art Project Gallery

An art exhibit featuring work by seven distinguished alumni from Utah State University is the final event in a year-long celebration marking the 100th birthday of the university’s Department of Art.

Sponsored by the art department and the Caine School of the Arts, the Department of Art Distinguished Alumni Exhibit opens March 23 and continues through April 25.

An opening reception is Monday, March 23, from 5-7 p.m.

The artists and scholars with work in the exhibition represent continuity from one century to another and span 30 years of education in studio and scholarly disciplines, said Art Department Head Carolyn Cardenas.

“What makes this alumnus show so remarkable is that everyone included in the exhibition has parlayed his or her student experiences into a successful professional career,” Cardenas said. “I believe that these extraordinary individuals have in common a solid foundation in the arts that was perpetrated through the art department at USU. The faculty members here are still committed to developing excellence in the practice, teaching and scholarship of the visual arts.”

The artists included in the exhibition were chosen by current faculty in the department of art and include Heather Ferrell (art history and photography, BFA '94), Brad Schwieger (ceramics, MFA '84), Scott Rockwood (graphic design, BFA '75), Jon Rappleye (painting, BFA '92), Steve Smith (photography, BFA '86), Abigail Knowlton Israelsen (printmaking, BFA '00) and Shelia Nadimi (sculpture, MFA '95). The show is also co-curated by Ferrell.

Eccles Conference Center
Auditorium

In conjunction with the exhibition,
Uses of the Real: Selections from the Permanent CollectionSean Duffy’s work focuses on the sculptural transformation of objects such as filing cabinets, cars and audio equipment. His previous work includes a “grove” of speakers and wire that creates a sound sculpture viewers can activate with vinyl records. Duffy’s work also includes a record player rigged with three tone arms that simultaneously plays unmusical grooves, graphics from early video games evoking geometric abstraction, and drawings of macramé. In the summer of 2008, he completed an art installation at the Miami Art Museum using a Toyota Landcruiser and speakers made from 12 red five-gallon gas cans.

Audio of Sean Duffy's Talk on Utah Public Radio

Gallery Discussion

Monday, Feb. 9, 2009
1:00 p.m.

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
Upper Gallery

On Monday afternoon at 1:00, Duffy will join artist Karen Carson in a gallery discussion about the differences between ordinary objects and extraordinary objects, commodity culture and the artist, why readymade art is still shocking and various objects in the “Uses of the Real” exhibition.

Women's Work Contemporary Women Printmakers from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation September 15, 2008 – March 1, 2009 Women's Work features the work of contemporary women printmakers from the collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation. Included in the exhibition are 56 prints by a number of contemporary women artists, including Anni Albers, Louise Nevelson, Louise Bourgeois, Barbara Kruger, Bridget Riley, Kiki Smith, Judy Pfaff, Pat Steir and Kara Walker, among others. The exhibition will present a wide variety of themes explored by contemporary women printmakers over the past 35 years, including abstraction, humor and satire, politics, race, gender and the environment.		Louise Bourgeois, Bed#2, 1997, ed. 91/110, aquatint, drypoint, engraving
Eden Revisited The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser September 30 – December 21, 2008 Organized by Arizona State University's Art Museum Ceramics Research Center, Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser is the first major mid-career survey exhibition on the ceramic work of Kurt Weiser. In the hands of Kurt Weiser, (b. 1950) the centuries-old tradition of china paint on porcelain is given new life. Weiser’s sumptuous, provocative teapots and jars, resplendent with lush jungle scenes, can be both alluring and unsettling. Detailed depictions of tropical splendor become wayward reveries as radiant colors and subtle distortions transform classic porcelain vessels.Weiser is a Regents' Professor in the ASU Herberger College of the Arts and maintains a studio in Tempe, Arizona. An unassuming genius, the artist is known for his technical mastery and inventive pottery forms. This hallmark exhibition comprises 40 ceramic sculptures and spans 30 years of creative excellence. Peter Held, curator of ceramics, curates the exhibition. A catalog will accompany the exhibition.	Kurt Weiser, Untitled Globe, 2005, Cast porcelain, china paint, William and Jeanne Porte Collection	Kurt Weiser, Night Harvest, 1994, Cast porcelain, china paint, Jerome Shaw Collection
Kurt Weiser reception and workshops November 6-8, 2008 Weiser’s signature China-painted porcelain vessels constitute a groundbreaking development in the vessel tradition. The emotional content of the work focuses on the nature of desire, tenderly in and out of harmony with nature, providing a rich narrative with lush imagery. Weiser received his BFA in 1972 and his MFA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1976. From 1977 to 1988 he was resident director of the famed Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, located in Helena, Montana. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2003. Weiser’s work can be found in the collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; National Museum of American Art,and Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. among others. More information about Kurt Weiser		Kurt in his studio

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art continues to exhibit Klompen — wooden shoes that dance midair.

Klompen, is a sculpture consisting of 96 Dutch wooden clogs that “dance” a different rhythmic pattern each time the sculpture is activated. The sound sculpture was created by Seattle-based artist Trimpin.

more information

USES OF THE REAL

Originality, Conditional Objects, and Action/Documentation, Contemplation

January 2008 -December 2009

Contemporary art can be baffling. Artists sometimes take objects from the everyday world and transform them into art. What makes an object art? Is it originality, genuineness, authorship, or is it context? USU museum staff and guest curators selected works from the museum’s permanent collection that provoke the question “What makes it art?” Panel discussions and viewer participation projects will be sponsored during the exhibition through 2009. The museum’s major works of art will remain on display throughout the exhibit, but you won’t want to miss seeing the changes that will be occurring in our galleries as we explore with our viewers the questions associated with what makes art “real” art!

Installation View Uses of the Real: Originality, Conditional Objects, and Action/Documentation, Contemplation

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