Pam Griswold
Published: November 23, 2005
The Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts is hosting a holiday exhibit from now until Dec. 13 featuring pieces created by the art faculty.
Walking through the doors of the Switzer Center, a person can sense a difference in atmosphere. It feels like no other place on campus. The walls exude an array of different feelings as you move about the halls. It’s not the typical display. Art is everywhere.
A guided tour given by gallery director, Vivian Spencer opened the eyes of this casual observer and provided a glimpse into the world of an artist.
“It is important to know that everyone who teaches here is an artist,” said Spencer, who has several pieces hanging in the gallery.
“From the casual observer to the art major, this exhibit of mixed media is sure to hold something for everyone. It’s a treasure hunt,” Spencer said.
For the photography enthusiast, a collection of pictures taken by Virginia Vanneman covers a summer in France. She has documented a family she met working a vineyard, children riding a carousel, and even a version of the Running of the Bulls.
Vanneman’s pictures have a sharpness that only a digital camera can capture. However, Vanneman explains that she chose to develop one of the pictures using the Van Dyke method in “which the photograph is covered in a silver salt emulsion, which creates a brownish tint and gives it an aged look.”
If you enjoy paintings, you will find a pair of “Scarlet” lips that pout from their stationary position on the wall. Actress, Scarlet Johansen for which the first painting is named, as well as Julia Roberts are among the many who inspire Susan Myers’ paintings. These lips, in a variety of shapes and colors are scattered among the rest of the collection as if someone had blown a kiss.
Dr. Patrick M. Rowe has collected 425 prints created by the 19th century graphic artist, Honore Daumier. He has chosen 21 of the prints to display for this exhibit. Rowe’s research states these “pictures exposed the corruption and ineptness of the French government,” and because of this Daumier spent “around five months in jail.” A portion of the exhibit is devoted to the correlation between Daumier and Vincent Van Gogh that is highlighted in a case near the prints.
Among the previously mentioned pieces are various levels of ceramics, jewelry, and an in depth look at typography. Be curious and ask questions about the art because true appreciation cannot be realized until the depths of the imagination have been explored.