"Show Offs" faculty art exhibition Oct. 29-Nov. 21 see poster>>>

10/22/2007 University of Wisconsin-Parkside Art faculty members put their talents and unique visions on display during the "Show Offs" exhibition. Opening Monday, Oct. 29 and continuing through Nov. 21, 2007, the exhibit allows patrons to experience the artistry of the men and women shaping the art world's next generation.

From the intricate sculptures of David Holmes to the prints of Doug DeVinny and Lisa Bigalke, from the paintings by Dennis Bayuzick (check each for a likeness of the artist) to the one-of-a-kind furniture created by Trenton Baylor, and the ceramic creations of Lisa Barber, the exhibition highlights the faculty's talents in more traditional media. Add the animation of Robert Miller the graphic artwork of Alan Goldsmith, and the digital artistry of Tao Chen and "Show Offs" promises be the a visual feast for every art connoisseur and for people who just like interesting images. Show Offs, the UW-Parkside Art Department Faculty Exhibition, is open Mondays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesdays and Wednesdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Communication Arts Gallery. The show's opening reception is Monday, Oct. 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. Admission to the reception and the exhibition is free and the public is welcome to attend.

Art and the art of manufacturing in one trip

10/11/2007 The University of Wisconsin-Parkside Art Department offers both a practical and artistic field adventure Wednesday, Oct. 24. The trip examines both the manufacturing side and the artistic side of Kohler during a daylong bus trip. The trip includes a factory tour of the Kohler Company's manufacturing facilities. Participants will get a first-hand look at metal casting and ceramics on a massive scale. Here, art joins with the manufacturing process to create everyday products that are anything but ordinary. Participants also have the opportunity to enjoy the JohnMichaelKohlerArtCenter. The Center, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this month, is currently showing "Sublime Spaces and Visionary Worlds: Built Environments of Vernacular Artists." In this exhibition, little-known but fascinating artists like Levi Fisher Ames, Eugene VonBruenchenchein, Fred Smith, and 19 others turn patches of wasteland into transcendent kingdoms. Their mysterious machines, their thrones made from bones and towers of steel offer a visual testament to artists as environment builders.

The bus leaves campus at 8 a.m. on Oct. 24 and returns at approximately 6 p.m. Cost of the trip is just $16 (cash, check, or money order) and tickets can be purchased at the UW-Parkside Fine Arts Office located in room 221 of the Communication Arts Building from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

UW-Parkside art exhibition shares the inspiration

09/18/2007 Artists are famously individual. They create their paintings and sculptures and prints in solitary studios and lonely garrets far from intrusive eyes. However, there are times when even artists join in a common enterprise and one such instance is taking place in UW-Parkside's Communication Arts Gallery through the end of September. Titled Shared Inspiration: The Art of the Exchange Portfolio, this exhibition put two loosely interpreted restrictions on the artists involved: work with a common theme and make the finished product the right size to fit in a common container (the "portfolio" part of the title). "The idea is to create the image around a theme that's either collaboratively established or established by whoever starts the project," said UW-Parkside Art Professor Doug DeVinny. "The real restriction is generally the size of the paper and you can see [in the exhibition] that they've broken the rules sometimes or didn't hear the instructions correctly."

"Shared Inspiration" has prints and photos grouped around six different themes, usually with a uniquely shaped custom made portfolio--there's one DeVinny described as looking like a padded pizza box and another that's an old fashioned green file box with a hinged top and a bracket on the front to hold card describing the contents. Another centered around a "School Days" theme with the portfolio resembling a cafeteria tray. "I really kind of like this one, in terms of the concept. Everything is contained in the food tray box and everybody was sort of reminiscing about high school days in some way or another," DeVinny said. "Greg Porcaro had a lot of trouble eating when he was in high school, people had a lot of trouble with biology class or bullies--bullies show up a couple of times. Connie Wolfe's has to do with a prom date that didn't work out too well. That's Connie and her boyfriend whom she scratched out. It's kind of a nostalgic thing and it's kind of fun just to go back and look at it." The padded pizza box DeVinny talked about contained a collection titled "Red Herring" which was described as prints having a "socially conscious fish" theme. The green file box was the portfolio for "Old School," a collection of prints done by UW-Parkside graduates. Artists like Gary Weidner, whose art was featured in the film "The Breakup," Lisa Bigalke, Connie Wolfe, Andrew and Joshua Brennen, Linda Wawiorka, and others created the nine-inch by four-inch prints that fit in the long, skinny portfolio. Works by 22 artists with a UW-Parkside connection are shown throughout the exhibition. Other portfolios include "Systematic Ante," a collection of prints and photos from faculty working at University of Wisconsin System campuses which is contained is a beautifully finished hardwood box with a sliding lid. There's another collection created by faculty at OhioUniversity. Still another features a portfolio by nationally known engravers. This collection has a special place in DeVinny's heart because it includes engravings done by an artist whom he has known since he was six months old, along with DeVinny's undergraduate and graduate printmaking instructors, and one of Doug's former students.

Shared Inspiration: The Art of the Exchange Portfolio continues in the Com. Arts Gallery only through Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. Hours are Mondays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free.