Students and faculty from Marshall University\u2019s School of Art and Design will play a part in \u201cReinventing and Reinvesting in the Local for Our Common Good\u201d at this weekend\u2019s 51st annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Association at the Big Sandy Conference Center in Huntington.<\/p>\n
\u201cArt and Life: An Exhibition of Work by Visual Art Majors in Marshall University\u2019s School of Art and Design and College of Arts and Media,\u201d will be on view in the Dogwood Room throughout the conference and will feature work by 10 visual arts seniors: Tanya Abbett,\u00a0Courtney Childers,\u00a0Michael Gallimore,\u00a0Paige Grimaldi,\u00a0Kaitlyn Hartford,\u00a0Lydia Lake,\u00a0Ashley Loftis,\u00a0Kayla Shapley,\u00a0Ashley Taylor and\u00a0Eryn Wilson. The school\u2019s director, Sandra Reed, curated the event, identifying works from senior visual art majors who are currently completing their capstone projects. The artists will be present on Friday, April 8, for a special session, \u201cTalk with the Artists: Life and Art,\u201d scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon.<\/p>\n
The exhibition will feature a remarkable variety of work that ranges from a crocheted pelt; photographs of the \u201cReal WV;\u201d backlit laser-cut figures; paintings; an oversize vase; a life-size, freestanding original character; a hand-made table with a three-tiered, laser-cut top; and a quilt created from original cyanotype portraits.<\/p>\n
A walking panel through the Visual Arts Center will take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Pete Massing, professor of printmaking, is the panel chair, and he will be joined by Edward Tucker architect Phoebe Patton Randolph; Hayson Harrison, associate professor of graphic design; Hanna Kozlowski-Slone, assistant professor of foundations; and Reed. The panel and tour are titled \u201cMarshall University\u2019s Visual Arts Center: Community Synergy by Design.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe panel will focus on how the context and design of the Visual Arts Center support a community synergy,\u201d said Reed. \u201cPhoebe will discuss preservation aspects of the building as well as the \u2018anthropological\u2019 process of working with faculty and staff to understand their processes and needs in order to configure the space to what was hopefully its highest and best use.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opened in 2014, the six-story Visual Arts Center on 3rd Avenue has worked to bridge the gap between Marshall and the Huntington community, pumping hundreds of students into the downtown area and playing host to community drawing sessions, public seminars and exhibitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe School of Art and Design\u2019s involvement in the meeting highlights the collaborative, expressive nature of \u2018Reinventing and Reinvesting in the Local for Our Common Good,\u2019 \u201d said Dr. Brian Hoey, chair of the conference and Marshall associate professor of anthropology. \u201cI hope the meeting will span the link between Marshall and the Huntington community to help lead a positive impact for the common good.\u201d<\/p>\n