Work by university's art faculty showcased in Beach Museum of Art 'Here, and Now.' exhibition
Friday, March 2, 2018
"Time Flies" is a 22-by-30-inch Aquarelle graphite and oil crayon on Stonehenge paper by Teresa Schmidt, professor of art at Kansas State University. The work is included in the exhibition "Here, and Now." The exhibition of the university's art department faculty's work runs March 6-May 12 at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.
MANHATTAN — The talents of Kansas State University's art department faculty will be on display in a new exhibition opening Tuesday, March 6, at the university's Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.
"Here, and Now." features the works of 15 members of the art faculty. This diverse group of artists from across the nation offers work varying in concept and construction and from a variety of disciplines: ceramics, drawing, fibers, graphic design, painting, photography and new media.
An opening reception for this faculty art exhibition will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 15, at the museum. Chad Alligood, chief curator of American art at the Huntington Library and formerly curator of the critically acclaimed Crystal Bridges "State of the Art" exhibition, will make remarks at the reception. The digital catalog for the exhibition includes a foreword by Alligood.
Art faculty members featured in "Here, and Now." include Kevin Bernstein, Carlos Catellanos, Geraldine Craig, Nicholas Geankoplis, Matthew Gaynor, Rebecca Hackemann, Daniel Hunt, Shreepad Joglekar, Nancy Morrow, Mervi Pakaste, Teresa S. Schmidt, Jason Scuilla, Daniel Warner, Erin Wiersma and Dukno Yoon.
"WormConnect," the work by faculty member Castellanos, assistant professor of art, was done with his students and links art and science. "WormConnect" is an interactive system where participants can connect with a colony of C. elegans nematodes via their heart rate.
"The project explores the material agency of microorganisms and the capacity of emerging technologies as mediums for information transmission, communication and interconnectedness between human and nonhuman organisms," Castellanos said.
"My students are contributing to every aspect of the pieces for this work: fabrication, electronics, code, etc.," he said. "Their work is part of an experimental independent study they are doing with me through the art department's Digital Experimental Media Lab."
Castellanos is director of the lab, also known as the DX Media Lab.
Related to "WormConnect" and "Here, and Now." will be LASER Special Edition: Interfacing with the Nonhuman at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 9. LASER stands for Leonard Art Science Evening Rendezvous. This LASER presentation will include lectures, demonstrations and exhibitions on the aesthetics of interaction and communication between humans and nonhuman organisms. Combining art, biology and digital technologies, this mini-symposium will explore various forms of awareness and engagement with seemingly simple lifeforms. It is presented by students and faculty of the DX Media Lab. The evening will begin with student demonstrations at the lab in 217 Willard Hall, and then move to the Beach Museum of Art for a panel discussion.
"Here, and Now." runs through Saturday, May 12, in the Beach Museum of Art's Hyle Family and Marion Pelton galleries.
