The Importance of Art

Home 2009 Archive The Importance of Art

Alyson Webb

Published: January 24, 2006

As long as there have been humans, there has been art.  From ancient cave drawings to primitive written language, we have always been trying to connect to each other.

Art is one of the best ways of expressing oneself and if you think you don’t like art or don’t care about it, look at the clothes you’re wearing, accessories you might have, things that adorn your walls, pictures of your family, these are all forms of expression, of things you like and the things you care about.  They are, in fact, art.

That being said, there is an exhibit on campus you have to see.

January 15th through Feb. 9th the Visual Arts Gallery is presenting the works of William Clover, Jerry Lamme, and Kris Rybka.  Also, the public is invited to a reception for the artists from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 25

One of the artists in the exhibit is this year’s recipient of the Anna Lamar Switzer Endowed Teaching Chair, William Clover, PJC professor of ceramics and computer graphics.

“People have already made decisions about things they like. They just need to find similarities in art with things they already enjoy and then elaborate,” Clover said when asked why he thought people who don’t normally view art should give it a try

Clover, who started with clay and ceramics, does photography and digital imaging.  And that is where the most amazing pieces in his exhibit come from; with photos enlarged to cover an entire wall it seems as though you can see every pixel, every line.

Another one of the artists is Jerry Lamme of Tuscaloosa.  His mixed media work includes scanned drawings and photographs digitally manipulated and printed on paper and canvas.

Chris Rybka maintains a studio in Pensacola and works with metal sculpture. 

She studied glass etching at the Gumenti Museum of the Hague, Netherlands. 

Her House series includes intricate habitats made of bronze, glass, copper foil and sticks.

The gallery is in building 15 at Ninth Avenue and Airport Boulevard.  It is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday.

This is a wonderful exhibit, and whether you love it or hate it, by going you will have started your journey into appreciating art.