Creatively yours: UT art faculty showcase, discuss works

January 25, 2017 | Arts, Events, UToday, Arts and Letters
By Vicki L. Kroll



Headlines, Jesus Christ, political rhetoric, family photographs and memories, technology and communication — these are some of the inspirations behind works created by UT Art Department faculty members.

Barry Whittaker's "Idolatry" displays different images that change with the music.

Barry Whittaker’s “Idolatry” displays different images that change with the music.

Check out the faculty exhibition that is on display through Friday, Feb. 10, in the Center for the Visual Arts Gallery on UT’s Toledo Museum of Art Campus.

“The exhibition features a wide range of visual practices, spanning all genres and media,” said Brian Carpenter, UT gallery director and lecturer in the Art Department. “The 13 artists featured in the exhibit teach in the areas of painting, sculpture, graphic design, art history, printmaking and photography.”

Creations by Chris Burnett, Jerod Christy, Debra Davis, Phil Hazard, Daniel Hernandez, Thomas Lingeman, Barbara WF Miner, Deborah Orloff, Mysoon Rizk, Karen Roderick-Lingeman, Arturo Rodriguez, Barry Whittaker and Eric Zeigler are in the spotlight.

A reception with the artists will be held Friday, Jan. 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Center for the Visual Arts Gallery.

In addition, several faculty members will discuss their creative processes Saturday, Feb. 4, at 2 p.m. in the Toledo Museum of Art Little Theater. Those scheduled to speak are Lingeman, Miner, Orloff, Rodriguez, Whittaker and Zeigler.

“It’s always fascinating to hear artists discuss what leads to their creations,” Carpenter said.

Orloff will talk about “Elusive Memory.”

An installation titled "Threads" by Deborah Orloff features a color photograph on vinyl and a carton of old letters, photographs and slides.

An installation titled “Threads” by Deborah Orloff features a color photograph on vinyl and a carton of old letters, photographs and slides.

“Family photographs provide glimpses of the past and elicit memories, shaping narratives of personal history and identity,” she said. “Pictures reinforce recollections, but do we really remember our past, or have we simply absorbed personal photographs into fabricated memories and shaped our perspective accordingly?

“The connection between photography and memory is enigmatic, and my new artwork is a meditation on this dubious relationship.”

Whittaker will discuss his work titled “Idolatry,” a screen that sits atop an amplifier and shows images that change with the music.

“I like to image communication in its most fractured and disrupted forms,” he said. “Our inaccuracies travel across space and time. We’re only aware of our communication tools because of their failings and shortcomings.”

He added, “I believe that artwork should inspire dialogue between individuals or between a work and its audience. With that in mind, I experiment with technology and the structure of communication both as subjects and as processes.”

The free, public exhibit can be seen Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information on the exhibition or lectures, contact Carpenter at brian.carpenter@utoledo.edu.

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