Mixture of mediums, talents on display at VCOM Faculty Show
Erin Marissa Russell
Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: Entertainment
At the Visual Com-munications Faculty Show, a skateboard hangs near traditional paintings and art books are displayed next to flyers. The striking variety of mediums and types of work is a testament to the nature of the visual communications field, where one degree can prepare a student for a wide range of careers.
The show was displayed from Jan.19-Feb. 2 in the Atrium Gallery of B Building at Brookhaven College.
Gallery Director Wes Smith said, "Our staff and faculty are multi-talented, and we all dabble a little bit in everything as far as the arts go." He said some of the work on display was done as private fine art and some as work for clients.
Lauri Collins, visual communications professor, had photographs and artists' books on display. She said an artist's book is "not necessarily a book that you would pick up and read, like a novel … the content and the book itself make a work of art."
Collins teaches Publication Design, a three-week course in May, in which students go through the complete process of making a book, from the cover to the printing and binding.
Collins said, "I've had wonderful books come out of that class." She said she has seen everything from cookbooks and family trees to poems, short stories and artists' books.
Jerry Hill, visual communications professor, said the inspiration for his piece, a Texas flag made of Texas wine corks, was from a competition a few years ago to redesign the Texas flag using different materials. He made his first flag from pecans.
Hill said his involvement in the visual communications program has helped make him a better instructor.
"I learn something from my students every class, every semester. You stop learning, you've got one foot in the grave," Hill said.
Smith said Brookhaven has exposed him to some of the most artistic and wonderful people he's ever met.
As gallery director, Smith has talked with Bart Forbes and other notable illustrators such as Barron Storey and Jack Unruh when they exhibited at Brookhaven. "When I was a young kid, Bart Forbes was my god," Smith said. "I would never have dreamed that I would even have met him."
The Atrium Gallery will also host the Texas 2SHOW at the end of the spring semester. It will showcase a juried exhibit of work by visual communications students in two-year programs statewide.
For more information about the Atrium Gallery or its exhibits, students can call Smith at 972-860-4735.
The show was displayed from Jan.19-Feb. 2 in the Atrium Gallery of B Building at Brookhaven College.
Gallery Director Wes Smith said, "Our staff and faculty are multi-talented, and we all dabble a little bit in everything as far as the arts go." He said some of the work on display was done as private fine art and some as work for clients.
Lauri Collins, visual communications professor, had photographs and artists' books on display. She said an artist's book is "not necessarily a book that you would pick up and read, like a novel … the content and the book itself make a work of art."
Collins teaches Publication Design, a three-week course in May, in which students go through the complete process of making a book, from the cover to the printing and binding.
Collins said, "I've had wonderful books come out of that class." She said she has seen everything from cookbooks and family trees to poems, short stories and artists' books.
Jerry Hill, visual communications professor, said the inspiration for his piece, a Texas flag made of Texas wine corks, was from a competition a few years ago to redesign the Texas flag using different materials. He made his first flag from pecans.
Hill said his involvement in the visual communications program has helped make him a better instructor.
"I learn something from my students every class, every semester. You stop learning, you've got one foot in the grave," Hill said.
Smith said Brookhaven has exposed him to some of the most artistic and wonderful people he's ever met.
As gallery director, Smith has talked with Bart Forbes and other notable illustrators such as Barron Storey and Jack Unruh when they exhibited at Brookhaven. "When I was a young kid, Bart Forbes was my god," Smith said. "I would never have dreamed that I would even have met him."
The Atrium Gallery will also host the Texas 2SHOW at the end of the spring semester. It will showcase a juried exhibit of work by visual communications students in two-year programs statewide.
For more information about the Atrium Gallery or its exhibits, students can call Smith at 972-860-4735.
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