MSAE Thesis Exhibition
For Immediate Release
Darlene Gillan, Director of Communications
tel. 617 879 7050
e. darlene.gillan@massart.edu
MSAE Thesis Exhibition 2011
An exhibition of artwork by candidates in the Master of Science in Art Education Program at Massachusetts College of Art and Design
August 4-26, 2011, Arnheim and Doran Galleries
Artist's Reception: Monday August 15, 5:00-7:00 pm
BOSTON, MA: The Graduate Program in Art Education at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) is pleased to announce a multi-media showcase of thesis works by candidates in the Master of Science in Art Education program. The exhibition features drawing, installation, painting, printmaking, photography, and sculpture. Artists include: Darren Buck, Joanna Chase, Bree Curtis, Darlene Gillan, Annie Kane O'Connor, Sheryl Pace, and Jeremiah Stevenson.
About the Artist/Educators
Darren Buck's work envisions a world where the fading commercial signs of the past articulate their estrangement from society with poetic fragments, rendered in a rich vernacular of fluid scripts, insistent italics, and bold block letters. These "visual orphans" reach out to gallery viewers, passersby on the street, and even their fellow signs.
Johanna Chase explores landscape and the figure in landscape. Her images often deal with an instant in time: a figure caught mid-stride, or a landscape caught in a light that is changing before one's eyes. Her oil paintings represent observed moments that have captured her attention, sometimes seemingly insignificant moments that are pregnant with place or time.
Bree Curtis explores the use of memory as a catalyst for art making. Drawing upon imagery related to places she has visited or lived, her work reflects an interest in abstracting natural elements through the printmaking process to highlight their simplicity and beauty while simultaneously recognizing the memory once more on the papers surface.
Darlene Gillan's work provides witness to the physical and emotional impact of violence aimed against women; particularly the abuse that can occur in domestic relationships. The sculptural vessel forms and their contents are inspired by actual stories. They act as metaphors for the private domestic space and the violence that is perpetrated within-hidden from public view-and how that violence manifests itself in broader contexts.
Responding to both personal history and the current phenomenon of displacement in contemporary society, Annie Kane O'Connor's work investigates the relationships that develop between humans and the places where they live and explores how the disruption of these relationships through forced movement affects the individual.
Sheryl Pace examines feminism and womanhood by documenting the practice of extended breastfeeding in American culture. Extended breastfeeding has long been known to evoke strong opinions amongst advocates as well as opponents of this style of parenting. These rousing images explore who is practicing extended breastfeeding and why they choose to do so. Sheryl uses her own documentary photographs to serve as visual data and to share stories of different women exercising their right to do what is best for the development of their children.
Jeremiah Stevenson's artwork explores a personal and powerful experience with illness and surgery. Through an abstract painting approach, he confronts and reflects on something that was uncomfortable and unpleasant but important for the lessons learned. During the research process, he's come to realize this work is also about healing, rebuilding, and moving on.
Gallery Locations:
Arnheim Gallery, 621 Huntington Avenue, South Building, Ground Floor
Gallery Hours: Monday-Saturday 12:00-6:00 pm,
except Wednesday 12:00-8:00 pm
Patricia Doran Graduate Gallery, 600 Huntington Avenue, Ground Floor
Gallery Hours: Sunday-Saturday 10:00 am-5:00 pm
Admission: Free and open to the public. Handicapped accessible.
Information: 617 879 7166 or MassArt.edu
About the Graduate Program in Art Education
The Art Education program at MassArt is a leader in the field, with curriculum that reflects core beliefs that dynamic art teachers have a commitment to their own art making, and that art making and teaching carry a broad social responsibility which extends beyond the classroom into the wider community. The mission of the program is to develop an understanding of learning, studio, and teaching practices and how these areas interact and inform one another in dynamic, messy ways so that the students become reflective, resourceful, socially-committed artists and educators.
About MassArt
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, founded in 1873, is the only public, independent college of art and design in the country. The college's professional baccalaureate and graduate programs prepare students to participate in the creative economy as fine artists, designers, and art educators, and to engage in the well being of their society. As a national leader in visual art and design education, the college influences contemporary culture through the accomplishments of its alumni and the creative activities of its faculty and staff.