Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern University

Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art Title

Ribbon Cutting for the new Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, February 29, 7pm
Presentation by Dr. Bruce Grube

Center for Art & Theatre

Public Event, Open to All!

Center for the Art & Theatre Open House
Sunday, March 2, 2008, 12-2pm
Featuring work by Betty Foy Sanders & Betty Foy Botts and
presenting the Betty Foy Sanders Georgia Artists Collection

Betty Foy Sanders & Betty Foy Botts

GAC

Oral Defense
April 9, 5pm

Reception
April 11, 6pm

ArtsFest, now in its 26th year, is an annual festival celebrating the arts and arts education through performances, exhibiting and demonstrating artists, and hands-on activities and games. ArtsFest ‘08 features Harry O’Donoghue, the First Annual Battle of the Bands, the Curious Moon Puppets, and the Artists’ Market. The festival brings hundreds of artists and over 6,000 visitors to Georgia Southern University’s campus each year. ArtsFest is free to the public and a service of GSU to Statesboro and the surrounding communities.

Be a part of the First Annual Battle of the Bands at ARTsFEST '08!
For more information, visit http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/art/arts_fest.html

Reveal
May 2, 5pm

Hours
May 1-2, 10am - 9pm
May 3, 10am - 6pm

The Ceramic & Sculpture Studio is located off of Forest Drive
on the Georgia Southern University Campus.

Artists include
Samantha Bonnell, Lindsey Jenkins, Jordan Banks, Carla Ballard, K. Alison Burroughs, & Victoria Breeden.

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, August 22, 2008
7 - 9 PM

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art cordially invites you to the 2008 Faculty Exhibition, in celebration of exceptional faculty and faculty emeriti who combine a dedication to teaching with an active life in the making of art.

The highly anticipated 2008 Faculty Exhibition will be on display at the Center for Art & Theatre Galleries and Sculpture Garden from August 18 – September 18, 2008. Please join us for a reception in honor of the artists on Friday, August 22, 7pm – 9pm at the Center for Art & Theatre, 233 Pittman Drive, Statesboro, GA 30460.

This exhibition provides the Faculty and Faculty Emeriti of the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, who are nationally and internationally recognized artists, the opportunity to share their talent and creativity with the Georgia Southern population, the Statesboro community and the surrounding areas.

Join Us for Wednesday Faculty Artist Talks (5-7pm)

August 27: Ed Rushton & Jeff Beekman

September 3: Melissa Lovingood & Kathy Hubbard

September 10: Pat Walker & Jane Pleak

September 17: Marc Moulton & Jessica Marshall

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, August 22, 2008
7 - 9 PM

Danielle Johnson, Jessica Coper, Marenn Mosley, Danielle Maskery,

STATESBORO, GA, August 13 – Through Our Eyes, an exhibition of photographs on view at the Center for Art & Theatre, August 21 – September 11 illustrates the recent journey made to China and Vietnam by members of the student photography group, Photo-Synthesis, at Georgia Southern.

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art’s mission to support transcultural opportunities for students and faculty through cultural exchanges made this summer study abroad program possible, during which two faculty and nine students completed creative research while exploring China and Vietnam. Through Our Eyes depicts the culmination of varying experiences, with imagery ranging in topic and purpose, depending upon each individual student’s perception of the exotic and unfamiliar world they observed over their 3 week trip.

The exhibition of photographs serve as a reminder to the artists of where they have been, what they experienced, and lessons they learned while worlds away from Georgia Southern. This exhibition is an offering of private insight to its public viewers. “We placed ourselves into a foreign culture and used the new world around us to look deep within ourselves to create art about the life-changing experience. New worlds and ways of thinking were discovered during our adventure,” said Jessica Loper, photography minor and member of Photo-Synthesis. Describing the exhibition, Loper said, “We all came from different backgrounds with different purposes, but we took this journey together, as one. This exhibit is the conclusion of one adventure, yet the experience has opened doors to countless others.”

The exhibit will opens on Monday, August 18 and will run through September 11 the Center for Art & Theatre.

Photo-Synthesis is a student organization that offers fellowship for students through the celebration of photography and artistic expression. “Our organization is a place where students can learn, explore the world of art, and meet others with the same interest in photography,” said Loper.

opening Reception
legends gallery
f1rst Friday, September, 5 2008
5 - 7 PM

[ exhibition: Foundations: Form & Content ]
October 20 - October 30

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, October 24, 2008
7 - 9 PM

Artworks created by students enrolled in the fine arts bachelor degrees offered by the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will be featured in a juried exhibition, Foundations: Form and Content from October 20-30, 2008 in the Center for Art & Theatre galleries on the Georgia Southern University campus. A reception for the artists and awards presentation will take place on October 24th, from 7-9 pm.

Foundations courses are required of all students who pursue a major in art and include courses in drawing, two-dimensional design and three-dimensional design, as well as art history. Foundations coursework is rigorous and demonstrates why the pedagogical research by Georgia Southern foundation art faculty in this field is highly regarded in the profession.

“Students wanting careers in art and design are challenged technically and conceptually in our six foundation courses, which consist of observation based drawing, concept based drawing, two and three dimensional design and two art history survey courses,” said Foundations Director, Professor Bruce Little, “These courses provide students with the underpinnings needed to be maximally successful as they move forward through the various concentrated areas of study. This pedagogically based exhibit is intended to honor their efforts in rigorous training, demonstrate to other foundation students what exemplary performance looks like and to provide the public with insights into how artists acquire both knowledge and skill. Art foundation faculty members will also provide descriptions of the learning activities demonstrated in the students works judged to be of sufficiently high quality to be exhibited.”

The mission of the exhibition is to showcase and honor the efforts of beginning art students; to provide an avenue through which high achieving art students can earn recognition and awards; and to demonstrate to future students the expectations placed on students who take foundations courses. A panel of Georgia Southern art professors who teach major courses in various artistic areas juried the exhibition. Faculty jurors include Patricia Walker, Professor of Drawing and Painting, Leigh Thomson, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, and Christina Lemon, Associate Professor of Jewelry/Small Metals.

[ exhibition: Vote. ]
October 20 - October 30

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, October 24, 2008
7 - 9 PM

Graphic design students in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, Georgia Southern University, will exhibit nonpartisan election posters created to promote Georgia Southern student participation in the 2008 electoral process at the Center for Art & Theatre, October 20-30, 2008. A reception celebrating the designers’ success in prompting the polls will be held October 24, 2008, 7:00 – 9:00pm at the Center for Art & Theatre; all are invited to attend.

Prior to the exhibition, election posters will be “plastered” all over the Georgia Southern campus, imploring students to pay attention to the value of their American right to vote. Adopting a journalist’s perspective, the Bachelor of Fine Arts designers will be documenting their peers’ response by photographing the public debut of their public service announcements as they interface with an target audience who are directly impacted by their posters. “One of the many goals of our graphic design program is to empower students to use their visual voice to better the world around them—to develop their sense of civic responsibility,” said Leigh Thomson, Professor of Graphic Design, Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art. “This course assignment will be disseminated into the University community to fully reach Georgia Southern students. So often, designers never get to see the reaction of their consumer, however in this assignment, students will observe, first-hand, how their work can make impressions on multitudes of people. Honoring the power of the visual image to communicate is the responsibility of the designer— as well as the challenge—and ultimately the reward of our creative work,” said Thomson, a multi-award-winning designer.

Explaining the parameters of the project, Thomson said, “This is design in its truest form—assessing a problem, executing a solution and disseminating content. The lack of participation from the youth of America in the 2004 election, posed a formidable question to our students… How do we communicate to the Georgia Southern University campus to encourage students to get out and vote? The Professional Practices in Graphic Design students were challenged to design copy and content that would strike a chord with Georgia Southern students. Over the course of three weeks, students conducted research on various voting campaigns, illustrated the progression of their work in class critiques, and in a final assessment, will exhibit their design work coincidentally in both a fine art gallery and public rally venues.”

Inspired by current issues, from healthcare, gas prices to animal rights, the VOTE. poster design campaign demonstrates the value of the visual language of design in articulating current issues. Various demographic viewpoints of each design appeal to both young adults and fellow Americans of all ages, fostering valuable insight through visual appeal and conceptual impact. The design posters present a juxtaposition of modernity with traditional imagery, while promoting democratic practices over 200 years old.

opening Reception
legends gallery
f1rst Friday, October 3, 2008
5 - 7 PM

Migration, a ceramics sculpture exhibition by Georgia Southern University Professor of Ceramics, Jane Pleak, will be on display in the Legends Gallery at Averitt Center for the Arts. The exhibition opening is part of downtown Statesboro’s First Friday celebration from 5 – 7 on October 3, 2008, will remain on display until November 2, 2008.

Pleak is inspired by the migration and transition of nature. In her ceramic sculptures, she transforms these transitory moments into frozen moments… capturing time. The exploration of this stopping point where bird figures stop and converse takes place on the top of ceramic bowls. ‘What do they talk about, Where are the headed,’ questions Pleak. Each form offers Pleak’s view on this migration as birds fly through her creative life and stop for a moment to do all the things we do – discuss the life in all of its absurd wonder.

The Averitt Center for the Arts is located at 33 East Main Street, Statesboro, GA 30458. Hours are Monday – Friday from 10am – 7pm and Saturday from 10am – 4pm. For more information on Averitt Center for the Arts, please visit http://www.averittcenterforthearts.org.

[ exhibition: The lightness of being & The burden of Gravity ]
november 3 - december 4

Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary Gallery
(directions)

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, November 14, 2008
7 - 9 PM

The Lightness of Being and the Burden of Gravity, a video installation exhibition by Master of Fine Art Candidate, Emy Mixon, will be featured in the Contemporary Gallery at Georgia Southern’s Center for Art & Theatre from November 3 – December 4, 2008. The public is invited to attend the exhibition’s opening reception on Friday, November 14, 2008 from 7 – 9 pm.

The installation of video by Mixon is provoked from a quote by Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being:

“History is as light as individual human life, unbearably light, light as a feather, as dust swirling into the air, as whatever will no longer exist tomorrow.”

“The challenge of the human condition is to bear the loss that comes with every seconds, moving forward, breathing without thinking;” Mixon states, “ through moments that will pass so uneventfully that we will not recall them, as well as the moments that we experience so profoundly that they will become landmarks in our personal histories.”

Mixon believes there will be pain, there will be pleasure, and regardless of the balance of these things, regardless of our decisions, no matter what we remember or what we forget, we must bear the knowledge and the burden of mortality. Her work is an “exploration of the concept of existence, of being, in the past, in the present, and in the future and of how those things so lightly pass, so fleetingly experienced, perpetuated by the burden of gravity.”

Mixon received her BS in Art Marketing from North Georgia College and States University in Dahlonega, GA in 2003 where she worked as an artist-in-residence prior to entering the Master of Fine Art Degree Program in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern University.

[ exhibition: knowyounevermetyou ]
november 3 - december 4

Center for Art & Theatre
University Gallery
(directions)

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, November 14, 2008
7 - 9 PM

knowyounevermetyou is a collaborative photography exhibition featuring works by studemnts and faculty of Unitec New Zealand, Auckland, NZ and Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA.

[ legends series exhibition: Cherie Sayer; 'L' is for Life ]
november 7 - November 30

opening Reception
legends gallery
f1rst Friday, november 7, 2008
5:30 - 7:30 pm

“L” is for Life, a painting exhibition by Georgia Southern University Assistant Professor of Art, Cherie Sayer, will be on display in the Legends Gallery at Averitt Center for the Arts, November 7 – 30, 2008. The exhibition opening reception is part of downtown Statesboro’s First Friday celebration from 5:30 – 7:30 on November 7, 2008.

Through her art, Sayer unravels the mysteries of our existence in a body to better understand who we are as humans. She wants to explore the delicate relationship between the way we understand existence and realties we do not immediately see.

“L” is for Life explores the body through Sayer’s personal experiences of pregnancy and producing new life. Unexpected experiences including: the pure joy of feeling life growing inside you, the navigation of a relationship through this time, the public nature of pregnancy, the judgments of others, the fear of becoming a parent, the connection to something bigger than yourself, the beauty of this metamorphosis, the reminder of mortality, and the questioning of life provide inspiration for the content of Sayer’s work.

Ceramics & Sculpture Buiding
236 Forest Drive, Georgia Southern University

Hours
Thursday, December 4: 10am - 9pm
Friday, December 5: 10am - 9pm
Saturday, December 6: 10am - 6pm

The Club Mud Semi-Annual Exhibition and Sale provides an opportunity for students to develop as professional artists. Proceeds not only support the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art students, but as well as student travel, visiting artist and local causes, Food Bank, Human Society and the American Red Cross.

This year, Georgia Southern University’s Club Mud Fall Exhibition and Sale will celebrate its 25th year December 4 – 6, 2008.

More than 40 undergraduate and graduate art students will exhibit and sell their work in ceramics, porcelain and stoneware, jewelry, small metals, prints and handmade books.

“Over the years Club Mud has evolved into a three day Gallery opportunity for the students,” says Jane Pleak, professor of ceramics. “We have such a diverse group of students the work always varies expanding creative offerings.”

Consistent from year to year is the opportunity for student artists to exhibit, network with the public and understand the business of art. “Club Mud,” says Pleak, “gives art students the opportunity to see what it’s like to become a professional artist.” Students exhibit and sell artwork they have created over the semester in a variety of courses, from Ceramics, Sculpture and Jewelry Making and printmaking and book arts. “The university and local community have been our biggest support encouraging our students as they develop their creative talents,” continues Pleak, “They support and encourage young artists and, over the years, see the student work evolve and grow.”

This year, Club Mud takes place from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, December 4th and 5th, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, December 6. Located in and around the Ceramics and Sculpture Studio on 236 Forest Drive, admission is free of charge. The prices of student work will vary.

[ exhibition: EXIT 2008 ]
december 8 - December 12

Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary & University Galleries
(directions)

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, December 12, 2008
7 - 9 PM

Art created by Georgia Southern University Bachelor of Fine Art candidates will be on display in an inaugural group BFA Senior Exhibition, titled Exit 2008 at the Center for Art and Theatre from Monday, December 8 to Friday, December 12. All are invited to attend a closing reception for the exhibition on Friday, December 12, 2008 from 7pm - 9pm.

Artwork will vary in scope and media from prints to sculptures, installation, ceramic pieces, jewelry, figurative paintings and photography. The BFA group exhibition will feature the work of: Tracy Adams, Zachary Butterfield, Laura Gordon, Jennifer Hager, Kelly Hill, Lisa Hughes, Michael Owens, Jordan Phelps, Ruben Renteria, Christine Smeaton, and Melinda Swift.

[ legends series exhibition: Travis Linville; The Deck ]
Decemeber 5 - January 4

opening Reception
legends gallery
f1rst Friday, December 5, 2008
5:30 - 7:30 pm

The Deck, a drawing exhibition by Travis Linville. Assistant Professor of Art, Travis Linville, will be on display in the Legends Gallery at Averitt Center for the Arts, December 5, 2008 – January 4, 2009. The exhibition opening reception is part of downtown Statesboro’s First Friday celebration from 5:30 – 7:30 on December 5, 2008.

The cards on exhibition are a selection from a complete set of 52 which portray figures of varying degrees of power/influence: world leaders, celebrities, blue-collar anonymous workers, religious leaders, refugees, etc. As with standard card games the values of these can change and the ability of certain cards to trump others may fluctuate though it is generally understood that particular suits and/or distinctions hold more sway than others in most games. With this deck, it is the viewer’s responsibility to assign value and dominance to individual cards. By examining the role of influential people in our own decision making, we can better ascertain the risk we invite and understand the chance collective of our individual belief systems.

Recent studies have found that checkers, like tic tac toe, is destined to be an infinite draw, a stalemate, and indicates that strategy is a concept that is designed to expect and anticipate human error. It also suggests the infinite possibility of one power’s susceptibility to eventual displacement. Through the integration of these portraits onto playing cards Linville is suggesting the same dynamic exists in our daily lives. Though most card games incorporate greater degrees of chance, the game presents similar opportunities while offering the same possible futility. On a personal level this project was a way for Linville to refine his drawing skills, as later portraits in the series exhibit greater technical facility, while at the same time making himself more aware of the major figures influencing public perception and world events.

Travis Linville, an artist and educator, currently resides in southeast Georgia. The former executive assistant of the Society for Photographic Education has serves as assistant professor of photography, drawing, and computer graphics at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, Georgia Southern Univeristy. Showing nationally and internationally, Linville continues to exhibit and play an active role in his field.

[ legends series exhibition: Colossal Head; Jessica Marshall ]
January 9 - February 1, 2009

Closing Reception
legends gallery
Janurary 23, 2009
5:30 - 7:30 pm

Colossal Head, an exhibition of paintings and collages by assistant professor of art, Jessica Marshall, will be on display in the Legends Gallery at the Averitt Center for the Arts, January 9, 2009 - February 1, 2009. A closing reception will be held from 5:30-7:30 pm January 23, 2008.

The title of the exhibition, Colossal Head, plays on the notion of the human head as an archaeological discovery, as well as an example of the vast and transformative nature of subjectivity. The imagery in this body of work is derived from vintage documentary, and medical photography, as well as current digital imaging technology.

The famed media theorist, Marshall McLuhan asserted that media are extensions of the human body. The physical senses play an immense role in the formation of individual and collective perception. McLuhan cited the invention of the alphabet as an historical event that privileged the visual sense over hearing in the communication process, thereby transforming literate society’s self-conception. Each media creates a different physical and mental response, which he often referred to as the “massage”.

Considering the significance of visual media in sensory and psychological response, I compare high and low technology, using artifacts of photographic history, to create a “portrait” of perception. In this series, I begin by drawing the heads or physical characteristics of different personalities. From a historical perspective these figures vary from the archaic and universal, to the small and insignificant. I then begin to build their likenesses out of fragments of visual media. Radiographic images, lens flare, and pixels come together to map the mental spaces of a diverse array of figures, including ancient Olmec heads, supermodels, random Internet personages, and personal acquaintances. These visual fragments simultaneously obscure and reveal the shapes of figures through photographic observation, collage, and automatic, free form painting.

Jessica Marshall, an artist and educator, has been featured in over 30 national and international exhibitions since 2003. She currently resides in southeast Georgia where she serves as Assistant Professor of drawing and two-dimensional design at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, Georgia Southern University.

[ exhibition: Latin American Posters: Public Aesthetics & Mass Politics ]
Janurary 12 - March 12, 2009

Center for Art & Theatre
contemporary Gallery
(directions)

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, January 30, 2009
5 - 7 PM

Latin American Posters: Public Aesthetics and Mass Politics, an exhibition of over one hundred graphics illuminating the history and culture of thirteen Latin American countries will be on exhibit at Georgia Southern University January 12-March 12 at the Center for Art & Theatre. A public reception takes place on Friday, January 30th from 5-7 pm. Curator Teresa Eckmann will speak on Wednesday, February 25th from 5-7 pm in the Visual Arts Building Auditorium about the travelling exhibition and the selections she chose from the 10,000 strong Sam L. Slick Collection of Latin American and Iberian Posters, housed in the University of New Mexico Libraries. The public is invited to attend all exhibition and gallery events presented by the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art.

Dating from the late 1950s to 2005, the posters in the exhibition explore five broad-ranging themes: (1) Imperialism, Solidarity, and Self Determination; (2) Icons, Martyrs, and Charismatic Leaders; (3) Human Rights, Feminism, and Indigenism; (4) Revolution and Popular Movements; and (5) Culture, Society, and Film.

These powerful images were selected to represent some of the most dynamic graphic designs from the second half of the 20th century. Many of the works are not attributed, as is typical of the poster medium, yet the exhibition includes works by such well-known artists as Raúl Martínez, René Mederos Pazos, and Eduardo Muñoz Bachs of Cuba, Jesús Ruiz Durand of Peru, Antonio Martorell, Lorenzo Homar, and Rafael Tufiño of Puerto Rico, and Claes Oldenburg, Rupert García and Ester Hernández of the United States.

Dr. Teresa Eckmann, co-curator of the exhibition and Assistant Professor of Contemporary Latin American History at the University of Texas, San Antonio states, “Latin American Posters is an exhibit that will intrigue and appeal to a diverse audience, from those well-versed in graphic design and the political history of Latin America, to those unfamiliar with printing techniques or the issues at hand. They speak boldly about universal concerns such as human rights, sovereignty, and equal opportunity.”

Patricia Carter, Chair of the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art echoes Eckmann’s praise of the exhibition’s appeal adding, “the democratic gestures of both printmaking and graphic design media are immensely powerful in their ability to evoke dialog around the world with ease through mass production of visual imagery, and in their ability to bring visual images to the public in ways that break away from sterile white walls of a gallery –such as installations in public spaces like community centers, park kiosks, libraries, or as graffiti prints and paste-ups on city streets— and in doing so they strengthen communities and promote change through a messaging system that remains as powerful today as it was when the first letterpress political poster was pulled centuries ago. Although these posters are framed and presented in a formal gallery space as historical examples, one cannot help but feel the past actions of each image as you envision their public presence and imagine the conversations they prompted.”

Story, Connect Statesboro

[ exhibition: Soldier Portraits by Ellen Susan]
Janurary 30 - March 12, 2009

Center for Art & Theatre
University Gallery
(directions)

Reception
Center for Art & Theatre
Friday, January 30, 2009
5 - 7 PM

Soldier Portraits, an exhibition of photographs by Savannah artist Ellen Susan, will be on view at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, January 30 - March 12. An opening reception will take place on Friday, January 30th from 5-7 pm at the Center for Art & Theatre. Ellen Susan will speak about the exhibition and her creative process on Wednesday, February 18th from 5-7 pm in the Visual Arts Building Auditorium. The public is invited to attend all exhibition and gallery events presented by the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art.

Susan uses the wet collodion process—a photographic technique used in the 19th Century during the American Civil War—to make portraits of contemporary American soldiers, many of whom have deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan for multiple tours of duty. The artist describes how she, “wanted to produce physically enduring, visually arresting images of people sent repeatedly into war zones.” Many of the soldiers depicted are based in southeast Georgia.

One of her aims in photographing contemporary soldiers this way is to provide a counterpoint to anonymous media representations. The wet collodion process is slow and deliberate, requiring a large view camera and a darkroom onsite. The combination of the long exposures and the peculiarities of its appearance often elicit comments like "you can see into the subject's soul.”

In contrast, much contemporary portrait work made with view cameras exhibits a neutral, deadpan appearance. While the slowness and formality of large-format photography can lend itself to emotional distance, the specific properties of the wet plate process eliminate even the potential for that kind of image. Susan explains, “Personally, I think what the images reveal are simply lusciously rendered and highly detailed physical attributes of the individuals. I don’t think you can see anybody’s soul in any photograph, but if the appearance is compelling enough, it lets you imagine that you can—and then consider the face and the person it belongs to, and what they might be all about.”

More information about the Soldier Portraits project can be found at www.soldierportraits.com.

Ellen Susan's Resume
Ellen Susan's Artist Statement
Press Release, Center for Art & Theatre
Story, Photopop.com
Story, State of the Art
Story, Connect Statesboro
Story, George-Anne

[ legends series exhibition: The Frog Story; julie mcguire ]
February 6 - March 1, 2009

Opening Reception
legends gallery
February 6, 2009
5:30 - 7:30 pm

The Frog Story, an exhibition by Georgia Southern University Professor of Art History, Julie McGuire, will be on display in the Legends Gallery at Averitt Center for the Arts, February 6 – March 1, 2009. The exhibition opening reception is part of downtown Statesboro’s First Friday celebration from 5:30 – 8:00 on February 6, 2009.

Through her Art, McGuire addresses the issues she faces as a human being. By paying attention to life’s peculiarities and the nuances of human nature, she has found that there are many truths. For McGuire, art is not only a source of self-knowledge but also a vehicle for revealing these truths as they are filtered through her own experience.

The Frog Story represents McGuire’s feeble attempt to pay homage to some of the poor toads and frogs that have suffered a watery and chlorinate, miserable, bloated death in her swimming pool over the past several summers. She has created contemporary coffins, tiki temples, and retro reliquaries for the dead complete with all the royal regalia found in tombs of ancient pharaohs. After the individual pieces have been commemorated through exhibition, McGuire completes the funerary process by burying works in location s she believes amenable to a frogs’ afterlife – swamps, ponds, and other watery and chemically free environments.

With a B.A from Illinois College, an M.A. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and a PhD from Indiana University, McGuire is active in all realms of her discipline—teacher, scholar, and artist. As a professor of art history at Georgia Southern University, she has taught a variety of courses on modern and contemporary art such as 20th Century Art, Dada and Surrealism, and Contemporary Theory and Criticism in Art. As a scholar, she has published numerous articles and reviews on a wide range of topics that include performance art, art and technology, and art and popular culture. As a practicing artist, her mixed media installations and individual artworks have been exhibited in regional, national, and international venues—from the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago to Sharjah Art Museum in the United Arab Emirates.

[ July 20 - September 4 ]

exhibition: FACES
Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary Gallery

closing reception
September 4; 5 - 7pm

FACES is an ambitious portraiture project by the advanced photography students from the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern University. The portfolio portrays the entire department: students, faculty and staff. FACES will be exhibited in the Contemporary Gallery in the Center for Art & Theatre from July 20 to September 4, 2009 with a closing reception on September 4 from 5 – 7pm.

FACES set two primary objectives for the photographers. The first is to provide the advanced photography students with a set of circumstances and demands that mimic professional practice while pushing their ability to maintain their voice and creativity in a collaborative setting. The second is to foster a greater sense of community among the geographically separate and aesthetically diverse disciplines within the department.

Temporary Professor of Photography, Travis Lineville, spearheaded the project from concept to reality, “This is a wonderful opportunity for students enrolled to develop a set of skills that have both fine art and commercial applications. Ultimately it is a type of collaborative project that demands the students work with their subjects to create unique interpretations of very specific personalities.”

These photography students also were able to partake in an on-site demonstration by Ellen Susan in her Savannah studio. Ellen Susan exhibited her work, Soldier Portraits, in the spring of 2009 at the Center for Art & Theatre; making the entire project very educational by participating in real life, professional experiences.

Photographers include: Amber Bailey, Kristen Camp, Corey Carr, Demario Cullars, Amy Dexter, Megan Donaldson, Jennifer Youmans, Jessica Eanes, Sarah Ewer, Amy Fix, Bailey Garrot, Mackenzie Garrot, Jacqueline Gentry, Brianna Goodwin, Layton Hall, Tami Henry, Dani Maskery, Audrey McDaniel, Lauren McSwain, Jason Newton, Adam Pace, Danielle Scudder, Jared Siri, Kelsey Smith and Kelly Vermeil.

exhibition: ossawbaw
Center for Art & Theatre
university Gallery

closing reception
September 4; 5 - 7pm

[ August 17 - December 11 ]

exhibition: SACRED & PROFANE
Arts Building
Smith Callaway Banks Southern Folk Art Collection

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is pleased to announce Sacred & Profane, a folk art exhibition on display through December 11 in the Folk Art Research Center, located in the Fine Arts Building on Georgia Southern’s Statesboro campus. The public is invited to attend a reception on Wednesday, October 29 where they will be able to meet the curator, Smith Callaway Banks.

Sacred & Profane highlights vibrant folk art that illustrates the divide between good and evil. What is sacred? What is profane? The sacred artwork is inspired by a higher being while profane illustrates grotesque figures that often take the shape of folk arts’ popular face jug. From paintings and dioramas to three-dimensional ‘Face-Jug’ portraits, these artists have recreated their visions and warnings through the visual power of texture, color, form and text.

Smith Callaway Banks has created a thought-provoking exhibition that is lively in both content and scale. There are approximately 100 works of art on display that range from Lenzo’s Blue Devil Face with Porcelain Teeth to the appliquéd and 3-dimensional stuffed figures of the Garden of Eden by an unknown artist. Also included in the exhibition are well-known folk artists Stacy Lambert, Chris Hubbard, and Howard Finster, among many others, present gallery viewers with their enlightenment, their warnings, and their visions.

Smith Callaway Banks says, “This exhibit, Sacred & Profane, is my collection of folk art pictures, figures and jugs. You will see Biblical scenes, church scenes and images of Jesus and angels. The jugs have faces of Jesus, angels, devils, demons and ghouls. I hope all will enjoy this collection that shows how Southern folk artists have depicted and interpreted good and evil.”

Angel & Devil Faces, by Jon Stucky, is the iconic artwork of the Sacred & Profane exhibition. Known only as Stucky, his painting simultaneously shows both sides of the spiritual divide—angel on one side, wing aloft - devil on the other, horn of pain. Stucky, born in 1972, has been interested in painting since a very young age when his first media were crayons and sidewalk chalk. Stucky’s favorite part of the creative process is mixing the paint colors. Stucky’s works have been heavily influenced by the bright patterns and bold colors of Amish quilts.

Smith Callaway Banks’ generous donation of his folk art collection to Georgia Southern University has created the opportunity to introduce folk art to children and adults alike. Folk art is made by people who have not had formal art training but whose art styles and craftsmanship has been handed down over the generations. The traditions of folk art come from people living in our country’s rural areas and because of that, folk artists often use animals, snakes, demons and angles as their subject matter. People of all ages are drawn to their sometimes scary, sometimes uplifting visions.

[ september 14 - October 22 ]

exhibition: faculty exhibition
Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary Gallery

Twenty-two artists, teachers, and career mentors—otherwise known as the faculty, both current and emeriti, of the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will exhibit their artistic research and ongoing projects in the annual Faculty Exhibition. The exhibition runs September 14 - October 22, 2009 in the Contemporary Gallery of the Center for Art & Theatre at Georgia Southern University.

“This exhibition will be one of the most divergent and dynamic of the shows we offer this year,” said Gallery Director, Marc Moulton, “and will showcase works of ceramics, painting, metal-works, photography, and graphic design, as well as many works created with a combination of materials and processes. Without doubt, it will be the best window into the creative energies of the entire faculty. I guarantee viewers will find something of interest.”

The public is invited to an opening reception Friday, September 18, 2009 from 5-7 pm at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet and discuss art with many of the Department’s faculty.

The artwork in the Faculty Exhibition is a sampling of the active art-making life of the department’s dedicated professors and presents a broad range of inspirations and influences.

Inspired by an Ossabaw Island residency, attended by both painting students and faculty, Painting Professor Pat Walker will exhibit work that is based on her impressions and experiences while staying on the island.

Influenced by memory, Drawing Professor Bruce Little will exhibit collage works that speak of travel and passing. Jessica Marshall, Assistant Professor of Foundations, reflects through memory on, “how we return again and again to vivid, joyous memories, and elusive, dark, magic secrets.”

Jewelry & Small Metals Professor, Christina Lemon, will exhibit works that explore the physical and emotional relationships between humans and companion animals. While Ceramics Professor Jane Pleak honors her late dog with Ghost Toys for a Ghost Dog.

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art faculty, with advanced degrees from Universities such as Indiana and Indiana State, Rutgers, Ohio State, Columbia, East Carolina, Auburn, and The University of Memphis, to name just a few, bring a wealth of knowledge and experiences from around the nation.

The public is also invited to attend the two-part series of Wednesday Night Artist’s Talks, Wednesday, September 16th and Wednesday, September 30, 2009 from 5-7 pm in the Center for Art & Theatre. Professors speaking include Katherine Agurcia—Photography, Ed Rushton—Graphic Design, Jane Pleak—Ceramics, Elsie Hill—Painting, Marc Moulton—Sculpture and Leigh Thompson—Graphic Design.

exhibition: Roxie - Edge of 90
Center for Art & Theatre
university Gallery

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is proud to announce an exhibition of paintings inspired by the music of Beethoven’s Symphony No 3, Eroica created by faculty emeriti, Roxie Remley. The public is warmly invited to an artist’s reception Friday, September 18, 2009 from 5-7 pm at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet and discuss art with Professor Remley.

Imagine if you will, that you hear 200-year-old music; music with the power to cause change, movement, and action. Roxie, as she is affectionately and professionally known throughout the Coastal Area, has found such power in Beethoven’s Erocia.

Roxie writes, "Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica, the heroic symphony, was a dramatic unfolding of new tones in abstract instrumental music. His first performance of this symphony was in Vienna, Austria, April 7, 1805. With Eroica he broke completely free of classical constraints and was the first to break away from the classic style of music."

"These, sometimes atrocious or harmonious sounds, are slow and fast, low and high, soft and loud, small and big, and up and down with timing unprecedented. Twentieth Century Non-Objective painting can be described in a similar manner. I have attempted to interpret Eroica’s four movements in the four paintings, turning sounds into art elements of color, line, shape, and texture."

Gallery Director, Marc Moulton, describes Roxie’s interpretive works as bold, lively, and of strong color. That is, bold in shape and linear movement, lively with a composition that weaves in and out of complexity, and strong with bright vibrant colors that are visually stunning.

Roxie has been important part of the arts in Statesboro and the South Georgia area for many years. Since 1949 she has exhibited over 78 times in solo and group venues.

Please join the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art in celebrating the 90th birthday of Roxie Remley by attending a birthday party in her honor Friday, October 2, 2009 from 4:00-6:00 pm in the Center for Art & Theatre at Georgia Southern University.

[ October 26 - November 12 ]

exhibition: Seeds of Passage
Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary Gallery

Seeds of Passage, an exhibition of sculptures by Master of Fine Arts Candidate Olu Amoda will be on display October 26 – November 12, 2009 at the Center for Art & Theatre at Georgia Southern University. The public is invited to meet the artist on Friday, November 6th, from 5-7 pm.

Death and the King’s Horseman, a play written by Wole Soyinka of Nigeria, inspired Amoda to create Seeds of Passage. The play, based on an actual incident that took place in Nigeria in 1946, examines the explosive tension and conflict between the traditional cultures of Africa and the West. Death and the King’s Horseman received the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Replacing the actors with art-objects, Amoda has created an interpretation of the play that delivers an emotional impact that is true to Soyinka’s intent while expressing, in sculptural form, the activity and culture of Nigeria through the artistic use of materials, scale, and form. As the viewers’ eye navigates through the gallery and perceives the exhibition they receive meaning as time flows. Amoda states, “Seeds of Passage attempts to provoke the viewers’ interpretation of the meaning of the play through the ways I have rendered the visual elements within a sculptural framework. Gallery visitors experience a similar continuity of time as do viewers of the play.”

Amoda’s interpretation of the play is infused with his primary thesis, that the value of objects, handmade and found, is generated through human contact and its history of use. “The found-objects I discovered in my late mother’s collection enhanced my desire to use found-objects in my art work. Found-objects are repositories of latent energy and become reminiscent of historical events and as representatives of discourse become valuable.” For example, Amoda’s use of the common wooden palette used in shipping and storage to symbolize the cyclic pattern of discards that evolve into highly regarded art materials.

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art currently enrolls 23 full-time students in their Master of Fine Arts degree program. The sixty-credit degree is the terminal degree in the visual arts, in which a student’s thesis exhibition is regarded as the capstone product of a candidate’s creative research. The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is one of only 267 art programs accredited by the prestigious National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

exhibition: A generation of printmaking
Center for Art & Theatre
University Gallery

A Generation of Printmaking, an exhibition of fine art prints created under the tutelage of the late Professor Bernie Solomon, will be on display at the Center for Art & Theatre from October 26 – November 12, 2009 in the University Gallery. A public reception will take place on Friday, November 6th from 5 – 7 pm.

Bernie Solomon (1946 – 1995), Professor of Printmaking and contemporary American wood engraver, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology before taking a faculty position at Georgia Southern University, where he spent the majority of his academic career.

Solomon was one of the founding members of the Southern Graphics Council, where he hosted the first workshop out of Georgia Southern College. Solomon was a recipient of Southern Graphics Council’s Honorary Member of the Council Award in 2009. The conference program stated, “Bernie’s passing leaves an irreplaceable void in the world of prints and artist’s books. The example of his life and work, as well as his simple philosophy of giving more of himself than he took, will serve as his extraordinary legacy.”

Bernie Solomon made an impact on both students and the Statesboro community. When teaching, Solomon never created a duplicate of himself through students. He pushed students to be unique in their creative ideas and to have a style they could claim as their own. He wanted to empower artists.

In printmaking, Solomon’s unique talent was wood engraving, considered a lost art by many. “If no one works to re-establish wood engraving, the chances are that it will die out eventually,” the St. Petersburg Times quoted Solomon in 1974. Solomon achieved much recognition for his wood engravings and woodcuts, published both individually and as suites of images for limited edition illustrated books. Much of his fine art deals with religious themes, particularly pertaining to Judaica.

An active leader in the art world, Solomon organized and brought together most of the printmakers in the Southeast. An advocate of the arts, he realized that most grant money funded urban areas rather than rural. He fought to bring the arts to small towns, such as Statesboro, by organizing many exhibitions and art exchanges with other artists. Solomon wanted to Statesboro to be more than “Fleas, Falcons and Football,” as he believed art is something everyone can understand and relate to.

In 1981, Solomon worked with, what began, as an exchange of exhibitions between American printmakers of the South and a group of Soviet printmakers, an idea that grew into the Festival of Yiddish Spirit. The event was the first Yiddish-Jewish festival ever to take place in the US. Only twice before this, both in Europe, had the world seen such a gathering.

After Solomon’s death, Paula Solomon, Bernie’s wife, donated Bernie’s collection of student work to the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art. These pieces are still used today as examples in the classroom and remain as a symbol of Bernie Solomon’s passion for the arts.

[ November 16 - December 4 ]

exhibition: form & Content
Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary Gallery

Foundations courses are required of all students who pursue a major in art and include courses in drawing, two-dimensional design and three-dimensional design, as well as art history. Foundations coursework is rigorous and demonstrates why the pedagogical research by Georgia Southern foundation art faculty in this field is highly regarded in the profession.

exhibition: Denotation Connotation
Center for Art & Theatre
University Gallery

The Graphic Design students from the Master of Fine Arts graduate program in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art invite the public to Denotation Connotation, an exhibition that explores how people create and express language, communication, and meaning – visually.

Denotation Connotation runs November 16 through December 4, 2009 in the University Gallery of the Center for Art & Theatre at Georgia Southern University. The public is invited to a closing reception, December 4, 2009 5-7 pm at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the artists and learn more about their perspective on contemporary design.

The Graphic Design program at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is a dynamic, multi-faceted program that has graduated many talented and gifted undergraduate students. Denotation Connotation will be the premier showing of work by the inaugural class of graduate students enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts degree program in Graphic Design, Ashley Clement, Jermaine Dawson, Victoria Ivey, Stephanie Arends Neal, and Collin Smith.

Inspired by a Semiotics class taught by Professor Edward Rushton, the exhibition presents works that explore linguistic signs, unlimited semiosis, denotation connotation, anchorage, official language, fly posting, and hyper-intuitionalism.

Semiotics is the study of the relationship between signs, signifiers and what is represented. Through graphic compositions, along with written explanations of critical decisions made in the creative process, students will understand, master and manipulate meaning in visual communication.

Professor Edward Rushton states, “this exhibit will be aesthetically beautiful – now to understand that statement we must have a mental construct of what is beauty, while simultaneously having a physical reality of beauty—the object. This exhibition will be that expressed object of beauty.”

event: Club mud exhibition & Sale
Ceramics & sculpture building
Ceramics studio

Ceramics & Jewelry created by students in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art.

Hours: Thursday & Friday: 10am - 9pm, Saturday: 10am - 6pm

[ December 7 - December 11 ]

exhibition: BFA Senior Exhibition
Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary & University Galleries

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern University is pleased to present the works of the fall Bachelor of Fine Arts graduating class of 2009 in the Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. The exhibition runs from December 7th through December 11th, 2009 with a closing reception Friday, December 11 from 5 – 7pm; all are invited to attend.

The nine students, whose majors are photography, jewelry, drawing, painting, and sculpture, have aptly named this exhibition “Gestalt”, an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts. As the title suggests, the group of seniors perceive their diversity as artists to be overshadowed by the transformative experiences that they have shared as students in the fine arts.

Assistant Professor and curator, Elsie T. Hill, states, "The camaraderie of this year's graduating class has made the show a pleasure to curate. The sum of their efforts will indeed be an expression of the interconnectedness of diverse media and styles."

Inspiration, transformation, and psychology are common themes in this diverse collection of artwork. Photographers Brianna Goodwin and Lauren McSwain use their mediums as a means to explore the connections between their physical and metaphysical lives. Similarly, Samantha Tiernan’s self-portrait/mono-prints express an idea of self-empowerment while Michael Berzsenyi views his work as a way to tap into a universal power and beauty.

The voyeuristic home-life photographs of Kelly Vermeil and Jon-Erik Montgomery’s ape pastels explore the ironies and oddities of common human behavior. Marenn Mosely’s metal work draws inspiration from past symbols that connect man to nature where as Obie Beal considers his jewelry offerings to be the sum of his life experiences and Mae Chabra explores convex and concave forms that echo a natural search for balance.

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program, made from dynamic, multi-faceted curriculum and led by exceptional faculty, has graduated many gifted and diverse undergraduate students.

[ march 22 - April 22]

exhibition: masters of fine arts
Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary & university Galleries
Reception: Friday, March 26, 2010; 5pm - 7pm
Masters of Fine Arts Candidates:
Sarah Davis, Ceramics - The Ties That Bind
Kenneth Dent, Painting - Acts of Violence and Aggression
Jenn Galusha, Ceramics - Invasive Interactions
Duke Oursler, Sculpture - 3 + 1 Dimensions
Jessica Stewart, Ceramics - Object of Attraction

[ April 10, 2010]

Arts fest '10
sweetheart circle
11am - 5pm

ARTsFEsT, now in its 28th year, is an annual festival celebrating the arts and arts education through performances, exhibiting and demonstrating artists, and hands-on activities and games. ARTsFEsT 2010 will be featuring the annual Artists’ Market and Art Stops, plus mainstage performances by Magic Marc, Pladd Dot Music and Glass Harp Music.
For more information: ARTs FEst '10

[ April 26 - April 30]

exhibition: portfolio reveal
Center for Art & Theatre
contemporary & university Galleries

Reception: Friday, April 30, 2010; 5pm - 7pm
Lawrence Breen • Concetta Brooks • Robert Chandler • Hannah Clough
Clayton Cunningham • Meghan Geertsema • Shavonne Gray
Elizabeth Grider • Roderick Jefferson • Jessica Lester • John Mimbs
Amy Oliver • Laura Pallini • Matt Rogers • Lauren Roese • Susannah Roupe
Ganna Shylova • Jared Snavely • John Sprankel • Heather Waldron

[ april 29 - may 1]

exhibition & sale: club mud
Ceramics & Sculpture Building
236 Forest drive • (912) Gsu-arts

Free and Opened to the Public:
April 29 • 10am - 9pm
April 30 • 10am - 9pm
May 1 • 10am - 6pm

[ may 3 - may 7]

exhibition: Bachelor of fine arts
Center for Art & Theatre
contemporary & University Galleries

Reception: Friday, May 7, 2010; 5pm - 7pm
Nicole Augustine • Kristen Camp • Ashley Davis • Elizabeth Debban
Jessica Eanes • Jeanne Henry • Tami Henry • Danielle N. Maskery
Kimberly Riner • Abby Zimmerman

[ August 16 - September 10 ]

[ April 10, 2010]

Arts fest '10
sweetheart circle
11am - 5pm

[ April 26 - April 30]

exhibition: portfolio reveal
Center for Art & Theatre
contemporary & university Galleries

[ april 29 - may 1]

exhibition & sale: club mud
Ceramics & Sculpture Building
236 Forest drive • (912) Gsu-arts

Free and Opened to the Public:
April 29 • 10am - 9pm
April 30 • 10am - 9pm
May 1 • 10am - 6pm

[ may 3 - may 7]

exhibition: Bachelor of fine arts
Center for Art & Theatre
contemporary & University Galleries

[ August 16 - September 10 ]

exhibition: The Circus • Greatest Show on Earth
Center for Art & Theatre
University Gallery
Reception: Friday, September 10, 2010; 5pm - 7pm
Artist Talk: Wednesday, September 8, 5 - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is proud to announce The Circus, Greatest Show on Earth, an exhibition of paintings by faculty emeritus, Joe Olson, inspired by the rise and fall of the circus. The exhibition will run from August 15 - September 10, 2010 in the Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University.

The public is warmly invited to attend a Artist Talk on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 from 5 – 7pm. Olson will be discussing the images and ideas that shaped his recent work. The department will also host an artists’ reception on Friday, September 10, 2010 from 5-7 pm at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University, were visitors will have the opportunity to meet and discuss art with Professor Olson.

Growing up in Philadelphia, Olson was fortunate to be exposed to diverse art forms through his many trips to major museums. He states, “Painting is an integral part of my life and represents the means by which I can most readily express my thoughts and feelings.” As a student working from life, Olson learned to “focus on the big things and leave out the unimportant details. As a result, the focus of my work has dealt with capturing the essence and spirit of things seen, felt, imagined and remembered.”

The circus has always been a fond memory that Olson revisits often in his paintings – he started off by drawing monkeys in the margins of his mother’s cookbooks. As a child, he loved the “3-Ring” circus and would frequent it annually. Then, the circus was held in massive tents that not only contained the high wire, trapeze, and numerous animals, but also thousands of patrons. Onlookers were over-stimulated by the commotion, exciting acts, colors, noise and adrenalin – all of which are represented in Olson’s paintings. With the increase of motion pictures, animal rights, and the shift of residences to suburban homes the circus became an overlooked relic of America’s past. This adverse decline is captured in the expressions and interactions of the animals and figures Olson painted.

Olson began his career in art in Philadelphia where he received his Master of Fine Arts from Tyler School of Arts, Temple University. He also earned an M.Ed. from Temple University before receiving an invitation from Lamaar Dodd to pursue his D.Ed. at the University of Georgia. In 1969, Olson joined the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, Georgia Southern University where he taught various studio art courses including Art Education and Art Appreciation. After 19 years as a faculty member, Olson retired and remained in Statesboro with his wife, Mary. Even now, Olson continues to play an active role in the community as an artist and citizen. Olson has exhibited work all over the eastern seaboard; he has works in both private and permanent collections such as Purdue University, Frank Center Advertising Agency in New York City, Scottish Heritage Society of Statesboro and the Botanical Gardens at Georgia Southern University.

exhibition: faculty '10
Center for Art & Theatre
University Gallery
Reception: Friday, September 10, 2010; 5pm - 7pm
Artist Talks: Wednesday, August 25 & September 8, 5 - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is proud to announce Faculty 2010, an exhibition of works by the current faculty at the BFSDoArt, now on display until September 10, 2010 in the Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University.

The public is warmly invited to attend Artist’s Talks on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 and September 8, 2010 from 5 – 7pm, where members of the faculty will discuss the images and ideas that shaped their recent work. The department will also be hosting an artist’s reception Friday, September 10, 2010 from 5-7 pm at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. Here, visitors will also have the opportunity to meet and discuss art with faculty at the BFSDoArt.

The exhibition features the work of 11 renowned faculty in all disciplines and reflects each artist’s academic specialty as well as their individual endeavors. “Many of these artists are unique because they spend a great deal of time and energy with their students. Yet, they still manage to continue their own studio practice and produce great work,” said Gallery Director, Marc Mitchell. “Many of our faculty members are known both locally and nationally. Having an exhibition such as this allows us to highlight their artistic achievements. In addition, it is a fantastic way for both students and the local community to see all of the works in one space.”

[ September 3 - 27, 2010 ]

exhibition: Graphic Constructions
Averitt Center for the Arts
Legends Gallery
Reception: Friday, September 3, 2010; 5pm - 7pm

By Graphic Design Professor, Ed Rushton

[ September 14 - 30, 2010 ]

exhibition: MFA Biennial
Center for Art & Theatre
contemporary & University Galleries
Reception: Friday, September 24, 2010; 5pm - 7pm
Gallery Discusisons: Wednesday, September 22, 5 - 7pm

An exhibition highlighting artwork by alumni and Master of Fine Art candidates from the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art graduate program is now on display in the Center for Art & Theatre. Located in the Contemporary and University Galleries, the 2010 MFA Biennial Exhibition will be on display until September 30, 2010. The public is invited to attend a reception celebrating the fine accomplishments of these artists will take place on Friday, September 24 from 5 – 7pm.

The exhibition features the work of 21 artists who continue to push visual and conceptual boundaries through drawing, painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry and small metals. “This exhibition is a fantastic opportunity to showcase an impressive group of emerging artists with the outstanding work of alumni who have transitioned into professional artists,” said Gallery Director, Marc Mitchell. “Over the years, the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art has played an integral role in educating many of Georgia’s practicing artists. Having an exhibition such as this will allow for a continued discourse between artists past, present and future."

Exhibiting Artists Include:
MFA Alumni: Dorothy Eckmann, Michael Morrison, Sarah Rene and Linda Whitt Smith
MFA Candidates: Stephanie Arends Neal, Colleen Beyer, Kristina Brennan, Kate Felzien, Kristin Lawhon Kyzer,
Jason McCoy, Alla Parsons, Alicia Perez, Patricia Quilichini, Max Rebel, Kimberly Riner, Virginia Russel,
Wesley Stewart, Eric Whitaker, Brent Williams and Ian Winsemius.

Dedicated to serving the public of Southeast Georgia, as well as the university community, the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is geared toward an interdisciplinary interpretation of art and culture. "The BFSDoArt MFA graduate program is diverse with degree specialization available in 2 and 3 Dimensional Art, plus Graphic Design. These areas cover Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper Making & Book Arts, Jewelry & Metalsmithing, Ceramics, Sculpture and the design of print and media graphics. Additionally, specific courses are tailored to the professional practices necessary for the studio artist, like Art Theory & Criticism and Critical Readings in Contemporary Art. Our graduate student body is dynamic, energetic and passionately focused on aesthetics. It includes local, regional, and international students who provide student centered reflections on art, culture, and the human need of expression. The micro-community created by the graduate students (more than 25) creates connections and points of discussion that become part of the learning and graduate school experience." explains MFA Director, Marc Moulton.

A panel discussion focusing on the role of the Master of Fine Arts in education and professional development, involving both students and faculty, will be held on Wednesday, September 22 from 5 – 7pm. The MFA Biennial Panelists Include: Colleen Beyer - MFA Candidate, 2D Design Lindsay Tyson - MFA Candidate, Graphic Design Ian Winsemius - MFA Candidate, 3D Design Desmal Purcell, MFA - Art Professor, East Georgia College Dorothy Eckmann - MFA Alumni & Education Director, Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art

[ October 1, 2010 ]

event: empty bowl project: open studio
Ceramics & sculpture building
ceramics studio
Friday, October 1, 2010; 9am - 3pm

Since 1990, ceramic students from the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) host the Empty Bowl Project, a service project in support of the Statesboro Food Bank. Lead by ceramics Professor Jane Pleak, the goal of the Empty Bowl Project is to create unique bowls and then serve a simple meal to the public in exchange for a $10 cash donation.
The annual Chili Bowl Sale will be held in the Rotunda on the Georgia Southern University campus on Thursday, October 21 from 11am – 1pm. Patrons keep the bowls as a reminder of the meal’s purpose. “We hope every time someone uses their bowl, they will be reminded that someone else’s bowl is empty and by purchasing their bowl they helped to alleviate hunger,” says Pleak.

Already this year, the Ceramics Studio has had hands-on help in preparing for the Chili Bowl Sale -- Georgia Southern University President, Dr. Brooks Keel and First Lady, Dr. Tammie Schalue, took their turn throwing clay on a pottery wheel to make bowls for the community fundraising project.

For those interested in helping the Empty Bowl Project, the Ceramics Studio will be open to the public to on Friday, October 1, 2010 from 9am – 3pm. Visitors will be able to help glaze and decorate bowls that will be sold at the Chili Bowl Sale later this month. Last year, in just 2 hours, the Empty Bowl Project raised $1,700 in proceeds that were given to the Statesboro Food Bank.

The last census reading stated that 1/3 of Statesboro was considered at the poverty level. During their after school program, The Boys and Girls Club of Statesboro feeds 250 under privileged children, daily, to ensure they are getting the nutrition they need. They also provide breakfast and lunch during the summer weeks when kids aren’t at school. The Statesboro Food Bank feeds anyone in need. However, they mainly service the working poor. For every dollar donated, the Statesboro Food Bank is able to provide the equivalent of 7 meals to one of these people.

BFSDoArt ceramic curriculum contains a service and business component that allows students to gain skills in producing multiple editions of their product. Pleak explains, “Becoming in tune with your community is very important to artists who make their living from their craft. Students begin to understand they have a skill that is viable and can offer great help to those in need. While their students work continues to improve, they develop a critical knowledge of what community is and how a basic fundamental form can connect so many people in such a positive way.”

The Empty Bowl Project will also be hosting a silent auction for 20 - 40 one of a kind ceramics pieces made by MFA Candidates, Alumni and local professional artists -- all proceeds also benefiting the Statesboro Food Bank. Check the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art website for up-to-date information. For more information on the Empty Bowl Project, please contact Jane Pleak at jpleak@georgiasouthern.edu or 912.GSU.7461. For directions to the Ceramics & Sculpture Building, please visit http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/art/contact_cs.html.

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[ October 4 - 21, 2010 ]

exhibition: Damaged Goods
Center for Art & Theatre
University Gallery

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is proud to present Damaged Goods, the Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition of Michelle Parker. The exhibition will run from October 4th through October 21st in the University Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University.

This exhibition features a number of small metal sculptures and jewelry that explore the role of fear, pain and isolation within memories. These objects, constructed from materials such as silver and precious stones, often create an environment where the viewer becomes a witness to something that is uncertain. Parker challenges the viewer to see the duplicity within her objects, which frequently vacillate between beautiful and terrifying. “These represent a journey of healing - an emotional catharsis necessary to move beyond the past in order to live a healthier, happier life,” says Parker.

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will host a reception on Friday, October 15th from 5 - 7pm at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University, where visitors will have the opportunity to meet and discuss the artwork with Michelle Parker. The event is free and the public is welcome.

The Master of Fine Arts Degree (MFA) is recognized as the terminal or highest degree for studio art and design professions. The MFA degree prepares students for professional careers as practicing artists and designers, for positions as studio art professors in higher education or for work in other arts-related fields requiring advanced study in the studio arts. Dedicated to serving the public of Southeast Georgia, as well as the university community, the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is geared toward an interdisciplinary interpretation of art and culture.

[ October 21, 2010 ]

event: empty bowl project: Chili Bowl Sale
Russell Union Rotunda
Thursday, October 21, 2010; 11am - 1pm

The annual Chili Bowl Sale will be held in the Rotunda on the Georgia Southern University campus on Thursday, October 21 from 11am – 1pm. Patrons keep the bowls as a reminder of the meal’s purpose. Last year, in just 2 hours, the Empty Bowl Project raised $1,700 in proceeds that were given to the Statesboro Food Bank. “We hope every time someone uses their bowl, they will be reminded that someone else’s bowl is empty and by purchasing their bowl they helped to alleviate hunger,” says Pleak.

Already this year, the Ceramics Studio has had hands-on help in preparing for the Chili Bowl Sale -- Georgia Southern University President, Dr. Brooks Keel and First Lady, Dr. Tammie Schalue, took their turn throwing clay on a pottery wheel to make bowls for the community fundraising project.

The last census reading stated that 1/3 of Statesboro was considered at the poverty level. During their after school program, The Boys and Girls Club of Statesboro feeds 250 under privileged children, daily, to ensure they are getting the nutrition they need. They also provide breakfast and lunch during the summer weeks when kids aren’t at school. The Statesboro Food Bank feeds anyone in need. However, they mainly service the working poor. For every dollar donated, the Statesboro Food Bank is able to provide the equivalent of 7 meals to one of these people.

BFSDoArt ceramic curriculum contains a service and business component that allows students to gain skills in producing multiple editions of their product. Pleak explains, “Becoming in tune with your community is very important to artists who make their living from their craft. Students begin to understand they have a skill that is viable and can offer great help to those in need. While their students work continues to improve, they develop a critical knowledge of what community is and how a basic fundamental form can connect so many people in such a positive way.”

The Empty Bowl Project will also be hosting a silent auction for 20 - 40 one of a kind ceramics pieces made by MFA Candidates, Alumni and local professional artists -- all proceeds also benefiting the Statesboro Food Bank. Check the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art website for up-to-date information. For more information on the Empty Bowl Project, please contact Jane Pleak at jpleak@georgiasouthern.edu or 912.GSU.7461. For directions to the Ceramics & Sculpture Building, please visit http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/art/contact_cs.html.

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[ October 1 - 29, 2010 ]

exhibition: Drawings & Paintings
Averitt Center for the Arts
Legends Gallery
Reception: Friday, October 1, 2010; 5pm - 7pm

BFSDoArt Gallery Director & Assistant Professor, Marc Mitchell is constantly striving to create images in which the viewer senses architectural form and space by means of simple geometric shapes, pattern, and color. His paintings are based on architectural elements and textiles that he observes on a daily basis; these details can be as simple as the façades of the old industrial buildings where he works and lives, as ornate as an ancient textile, or as common as an open window or door.

Mitchell begins to explore these details, using austerely calculated and hard-edged confinements with a hope that these parameters will lead to an intuitive and delicately painted image. Through this act, he attempts to redefine the objects and spaces within his pictures resulting in something that transcends its original environment. Here, on the boundary between representation and abstraction, Mitchell's paintings quietly explore the elements of his world, and strive to capture residuals of the tangible and true.

In Mitchell's most recent body of work, he is attempting to grapple with the death of a very dear family member. Having watched a loved one struggle with a terminal illness and ultimately pass from this life, he was overcome by a range of emotions that led him to question many of his beliefs. These newest pictures are not only tributes to the deceased, but they also serve as a narrative for the struggle to come to grips with internal discord and grief.

[ October 25 - November 30, 2010 ]

exhibition: Behind the Image
Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary Gallery
Gallery Talk: Wednesday, November 3; 5 - 7pm
Reception: Friday, November 12; 5 - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is proud to present Behind the Image, an exhibition that explores the relationship between an artist’s source material and the final object. The exhibition will open on October 25 and run through Tuesday, November 30, 2010 in the Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. Wednesday, November 3, from 5-7pm, Gallery Director, Marc Mitchell, will guide an informal gallery talk discussing the images, artists, and ideas that shaped this exhibition. The department will also host a reception on Friday, November 12, from 5-7pm.

Behind the Image features the work of six established artists who live, work, or teach in Boston and New York City. The exhibition highlights the various inspirations and processes utilized by these artists to produce their specific artwork. Displayed with the finished objects are materials that were used by the artists to develop their content and imagery.

“Artwork is often created in a solitary environment and the final product is the only object that viewers ever see,” said Mitchell, “This exhibition is a wonderful chance for students, faculty, staff, and the general public to see how ideas start small and build into something far more complex. Frequently, interests outside the studio play a pivotal role in what artists produce for many years to come.”

Behind the Image features artists Hannah Barrett, Dana Clancy, Lisa Costanzo, John Guthrie, Cristi Rinklin, and Joe Wardwell. This exhibition was co-organized by Marc Mitchell, Gallery Director and Assistant Professor at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, Georgia Southern University and James Hull, Gallery Director at the New England School of Art and Design, Suffolk University.

About the Artists
Hannah Barrett utilizes the traditional practice of portraiture to challenge gender notions, prejudices, and incestuous tendencies. Her artwork often morphs the features of both sexes into one image that questions society’s conventions regarding male and female. The source material for her images comes from photographs of historical figures and family members.

Dana Clancy is interested in the notion of observing and being observed. Based on photographs taken while visiting cultural museums, her paintings often make visitors to the institutions the subject of the artwork. Her photographic studies of contemporary museum architecture combine traditional Dutch genre scenes and Eastern figuration resulting in paintings that are academic, yet feel very contemporary in their approach and execution.

Lisa Costanzo is interested in the role that historical conventions and fashion play in contemporary culture. By combining traditional Victorian portraiture with modern sources such as photographs, fashion magazines, and cartoons, she exploits the relationship between traditional societal norms and the daily life of a contemporary woman.

John Guthrie creates elaborate watercolor drawings that are based on the notion of fetishism. Trained as an aerospace engineer, and having worked in submarine acoustics for many years, he continues to apply mathematic principles and scientific process to his intricate drawings. The eight drawings displayed here, all from the series Fetish Drawings, are based on such subjects as hair, wigs, and clothing.

Cristi Rinklin combines the “Digital Age” with the “American Sublime”. Her paintings are influenced by the aesthetics of Baroque painting, 19th century American Landscape painting, Asian Prints, and more recently by filmmakers and software designers. Digital technology and various painting techniques are used to construct landscapes that seduce the viewer into believing that impossible spaces can exist.

Joe Wardwell explores the interaction of text and image by inserting rock ‘n’ roll lyrics across landscapes that recall Albert Bierstadt’s naturalistic views of the America. Wardwell’s paintings, however linked to musical bands or specific locations, speak more to the broad contemporary issues that face our society. The result is often paintings that have a balance of irony and social commentary.

exhibition: The New Landscape, by Susan Weiss
Center for Art & Theatre
University Gallery
Artist Talk: Wednesday, November 3; 5 - 7pm
Reception: Friday, November 12; 5 - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is proud to present The New Landscape, a photography exhibition by Savannah based artist, Susan Weiss. The exhibition will be on display from October 25 through November 30, 2010 in the University Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. The public is invited to attend an Artist Talk on Wednesday, November 3 from 5-7pm, where Weiss will discuss the images and ideas that shaped this body of work. The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will also host an artists’ reception on Friday, November 12 from 5-7pm.

The American landscape has long captivated artists who are fascinated in the way the unspoiled beauty embodies our society’s identity. Relying on a Mayima VII (a specific type of medium format camera) to capture the magnificent color and clarity of her surroundings, Weiss reveals the splendor and complexities of the ever-changing landscape. By using Kodachrome film, which will be discontinued at the end of 2010, she furthers the dialogue regarding how shifts in technology effect the landscape and the way artists choose capture it.

Weiss holds a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Master of Arts in Choreography and Production from Mills College. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout the state of Georgia and the US - including her 2009 exhibition at the Jewish Education Alliance (JEA) in Savannah. She is also working on a yearlong project, READY SET GO, which captures the effects of deployment on military families.

[ December 6 - 10, 2010 ]

exhibition: Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Exhibition
Center for Art & Theatre
Contemporary & University Galleries
Reception: Friday, December 10, 2010; 5pm - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) at Georgia Southern University is pleased to present the works of the Bachelor of Fine Arts graduating class of Fall 2010. The exhibition will be on display in the Center for Art & Theatre from December 6th through December 10th, 2010 with a closing reception Friday, December 10th from 5 – 7pm; all are invited to attend.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is comprised of a dynamic and multi-faceted curriculum that is led by exceptional faculty. Every year, the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art graduates many gifted and diverse undergraduate students that go on to successful careers in a variety of professions. This exhibition is a cohesive record of the ideas and images that each student has investigated throughout the last semester of their academic pursuits.

Demario Cullars and Candace Hopkins challenge the viewer to look within to empathize with the subjects of their photographs and paintings. Through his photography, Cullars produces haunting reminders that depression, a disease that effects millions of people, can often result in suicide in 60% of people suffering from the illness. By using friends as the subjects, he tries to personalize a disease that often impacts many people who suffer silently. Hopkins uses the unruly nature of watercolor and ink to represent the behavior of those dealing with addiction. She chooses to depict the addictions in manner that is colorful and lighthearted, which addresses that many addictions are based in leisure and entertainment.

Lisa Ragsdale creates an environment where the space between viewer and image is obliterated. Ragsdale’s close-up depictions of faces, often with their eyes looking directly at the viewer, tend to invade the personal space of the observer. The psychological engagement between observer and subject often results in the viewer challenging their own sense of self.

Porsha Antalan and Amy Dexter are interested in the duplicity of a subject. Antalan photographs her subjects in a manner that creates ambiguity regarding their gender. Without favor to either sex, she tries to highlight the beauty that can be found within both. Dexter is fascinated by the relationship of architecture to its surrounding community. Many of the structures that she photographs have been abandoned yet continue to retain a sense of identity. By capturing these solitary structures at nights, she explores the notion of isolation and abandonment that can be applied to the buildings or the people who live around them.

G-Code Explorations exhibition: Andrew f. Scott: G-Code Explorations
Center for Art & Theatre, Contemporary Gallery
Reception: Friday, January 28; 5pm - 7pm
Artists Talk: Thursday, February 10; 5 - 6pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is proud to present G-Code Explorations, an exhibition by Savannah based artist and SCAD Professor, Andrew Scott. The exhibition will be on display from January 18, 2011 through February 24, 2011 in the Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. The public is invited to attend an Artist Talk on Thursday, February 10 from 5-6pm, where Scott will discuss the images and digital processes that shaped this body of work. The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will also host an artists’ reception on Friday, January 28th from 5-7pm.

G-Code Explorations highlights the relationship between the digital fabrication process and traditional studio practice. “G-Code” is the primary numerical control (NC) language used to drive digital fabrication devices. This exhibit explores how data generated in virtual environments can be utilized to create object that vary in media and scale, yet were created through digital fabrication.

Scott holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Long Island University, Southampton and a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Ohio State University, where he has also studied at the Advanced Computing Center for Arts and Design (ACCAD). His work has been exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally. He has been awarded numerous grants and fellowships, such as the Individual Artist Fellowship from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, Ohio Art Council’s Fellowship for Sculpture and Media, and most recently the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Presidential Fellowship.

Art in the Woods: 2003 - 2010 exhibition: Art in the Woods: 2003-2010
Center for Art & Theatre, University Gallery
Reception: Friday, January 28; 5pm - 7pm
Artists Talk: Wednesday, February 16; 5 - 6pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is proud to present Art in the Woods: 2003-2010, an exhibition by the artist group, Stillmoreroots. The exhibition will be on display from January 18, 2011 through February 24, 2011 in the University Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. The public is invited to attend an Artist Talk on Wednesday, February 16 from 5-6pm, where members of the Stillmoreroots group will discuss the images and ideas that shaped the exhibition. The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will also host an artists’ reception on Friday, January 28th from 5-7pm.

Since 2003, eleven artists have collaborated and exhibited site-specific artwork in the woods outside of Stillmore, Georgia at an event called "Art in the Woods". The group has taken the name, Stillmoreroots, and they continue to exhibit their work in both traditional and non-traditional venues throughout the United States. Art in the Woods: 2003-2010 is a retrospective exhibition chronicling the eight years of artwork exhibited during their annual exhibitions. The exhibition at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is the first time that objects created for "Art in the Woods" will be shown outside the woods of Stillmore. It provides a unique opportunity for viewers to interact with environmental art in a traditional setting.

The Stillmoreroots group was founded in 2002 by students attending Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Atlantic State University, and Savannah College of Art and Design. This exhibition features the work of the following Stillmoreroots members: Mel Cartaya, Bridget Conn, Greg Cradick, Scott Dombrowski, Anthony Faris, Bryan Ghiloni, Jean Gray Mohs, Nick Nelson, Desmal Purcell, Mary Sanderson, and Brandon Tatom.

To view more images visit the BFSDoArt Flickr Photostream.
© All images by respective artists.

MFA Thesis Exibition exhibition: MASTER OF FINE ARTS THESIS EXHIBITION
Center for Art & Theatre,
Contemporary & University Galleries
Reception: Friday, March 4; 5pm - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) at Georgia Southern University is pleased to present the works of the first Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis Exhibitions for the 2010-2011 Academic Calendar. The exhibition will be on display in the Center for Art & Theatre from March 1 - 18, 2011 with an artist reception Friday, March 4 from 5 – 7pm; all are invited to attend.

Dedicated to serving the public of Southeast Georgia, as well as the university community, the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is geared toward an interdisciplinary interpretation of art and culture. “The BFSDoArt Master of Fine Art graduate program is extremely diverse and offers degree specialization in 2 and 3 Dimensional Art, plus Graphic Design. Courses are specifically tailored to develop the professional practices necessary for any contemporary artist. Our graduate student body is dynamic, energetic and passionately focused on creating work that reflects their broad interests. This exhibition is the culmination of three years of deep artistic research and is a wonderful showcase of creative expression," explains Marc Moulton, MFA Director at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art.

Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition

Colleen Beyer is interested the psychology of relationships and how they shape human development. Beyer creates painterly landscapes that are comprised of twisted roots or branches, which represent how relationships are often intertwined and parasitic. Beyer’s intensely worked surfaces highlight the struggle that occurs during our relationships. Her painting technique, continually scrapping and adding paint, mimics the “give and take” that is associated with cultivating relationships.

Alla Parsons explores the cerebral, emotional, and spiritual connections that one has with their culture. Parsons uses her memory to create images that juxtapose both the real and imagined. By delving deep into her Russian heritage, she creates narrative paintings that straddle the line between Symbolist and Surreal.

Ian Winsemius’ ceramic work is rooted in the history of the Anagama kiln. Winsemius creates organic vessels that are fired by utilizing a wood-burning technique that lasts for many days and is extremely labor intensive. This process not only generates a bond between object and artist, but a unique surface that relates to the forms themselves. As air and fire move through the structure, residue is left on the surface of the objects creating brilliant contrasts in color and texture.

To view more images visit the BFSDoArt Flickr Photostream.
© All images by respective artists.

[ Image Credits (L - R): Colleen Beyer, Trapped, Oil & Charcoal, 2010; Ian Winsemius, Fluid Form #54, Anagama Fired Stoneware, Natural Ash Glaze, 2010; Alla Parsons, In a Room with Memories, Oil on Canvas, 2010 ]

MFA Thesis Exibition exhibition: MASTER OF FINE ARTS THESIS EXHIBITION
Center for Art & Theatre, Contemporary & University Galleries
Reception: Friday, March 25; 5pm - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) at Georgia Southern University is pleased to present the works of the second Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis Exhibition for the 2010-2011 Academic Calendar. The exhibition will be on display in the Center for Art & Theatre from March 22 through April 8, 2011 with an artist reception Friday, March 25 from 5 – 7pm; all are invited to attend.

MFA Thesis Exhibition

Herman J. Dawson explores the relationship between perception and interpretation. Through deconstructing and reconfiguring successful elements of branding, Dawson’s work analyzes the perceived value and connotations associated to images.

Kristina B. Hall is interested in the emotional residue that accumulates as a result of the events that define our lives. Hall creates painterly landscapes that explore how environmental stress can manipulate growth. By focusing on the movements of trees and their limbs, Hall is able to draw parallels between the natural world and human society.

Jason McCoy’s sculptural work examines the relationship of a rectangular form with the human body. By working with rough-hewn timber, McCoy considers the dichotomy of a material that is considered both utilitarian and beautiful. By using large rectangular beams to construct his sculptures, McCoy utilizes scale to create a tangible connection between the object and viewer.

Patricia Quilichini’s photography examines how socio-cultural beliefs often become the basis for morality. By creating metaphorical characters based on the male penis, Quilichini develops alternative narratives that challenge preconceived notions of religion, sexuality, and power.

Please be advised that this exhibition contains male nudity. Adult discretion is advised.

To view more images visit the BFSDoArt Flickr Photostream.
© All images by respective artists.

Contact
Marc Mitchell, Gallery Director
(912) GSU.ARTS
marcmitchell@georgiasouthern.edu

[ Image Credits (L - R): Herman J. Dawson, Altering Perceptions, Digital Imagery, 2011; Kristina B. Hall, Fold, Oil on Canvas, 2010; Jason McCoy, Rough Hewn, Lauren Oak, 2010; Patricia Quilichini, Peter's Lament, Ilfochrome, 2011 ]

April 1

event: Bruce Little's Retirement Roast
Center for Art & Theatre; 6 - 9pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is a little less colorful these days. As Dr. Bruce Little, Professor of Art and longtime art instructor, mentor to millions, and dedicated art education advocate, prepares for retirement at the end of this academic year, a sentiment is echoing in the halls of the Arts Building: "Dr. Little could never be replaced." Reflecting on his years as an art educator he states: "Even after all these years of teaching art I still get a thrill out of watching a student make a new discovery. I have seen thousands of students make the same discovery, but when it is the first time for that particular student and I try to be in the moment with them and share in the excitement of their discovery."

A veteran high school teacher, Little joined the faculty of Georgia Southern in 1988 teaching undergraduate and graduate art education courses, foundation studio courses such as Drawing I, II and Two-Dimensional Design as well as upper level courses such as water Media, Studio Pedagogy, and Aesthetics and Criticism in Art. He has directed the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Graduate program and chaired numerous thesis committees. His research includes an extensive exhibition record as well as numerous publications including the classic NAEA publication, Secondary Art Education: An Anthology of Issues, now in its second edition.

With an EdD in art education, an MFA in painting, and a passion for art advocacy, Dr. Little is revered as an icon of art education in the state. Honored in 2003 by the National Art Education Association (NAEA) as Art Educator of the Year and more recently as the 2010 recipient of Georgia Southern University’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Science’s Ruffin Cup, Little continues make significant contributions to the field. In the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, he is known as a “brilliant and demanding” professor of art who stresses the importance of quality teaching practices. His strength of character and efficiency in teaching, scholarship and service is both admired and applauded by his colleagues.

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will be honoring Dr. Little with a reception at the Center for Art & Theatre Friday, April 1, 2011. Merriment begins at 6pm with a Roasting Ceremony at 7pm; all are invited to attend. Please RSVP to Julie McGuire, jmcguire@georgiasouthern.edu.

Download the invitation
April 2

event: artsfest'11
Sweetheart circle; 11am - 5pm

Georgia Southern University invites you to beautiful Sweetheart Circle for a festive day of art, music, dance, and more. Experience a world-renowned magician and local ballet troupe, groove to rhythms of jazz and rock, indulge your passion for stunning art, relax with a game of Ultimate Frisbee and munch on BBQ and funnel cake.

“Artsfest an energy-filled event loved by many annual attendees. It unites the community and university to celebrate the importance of the Arts. Especially in this economic climate, we're delighted to be able to offer a day of creative activities and performances that are fun and free for all ages. I am grateful to live in Statesboro – a community that honors the visual and performing arts,” said Stephanie Neal, Director of Artsfest 2011.

Enjoy a variety of performances - Magic Marc from WTOC will entertain the crowd with humor, education and breathtaking illusions. Accompanied by his pets, Goose, Bingo, Showbiz, Wizard, Bubba, and Fluffy, he focuses on "magication," Magic Marc's own word for combining magic and education for kids. Magic Marc’s performance will take place from 11 am to 1 pm, followed by demonstrations of magic tricks for all to learn, and a chance to interact with Magic Marc’s menagerie of unique pets. Both The Chucks & Sonic Boom of Pladd Dot Music’s School of Rock will be rockin’ their talent this year on the main stage! These students, all under the age of 18, not only cover some of music’s greatest hits – they also are responsible for writing their own original tunes! Don’t miss a beat – these rock stars will be lettin’ loose at 1:30 sharp!

Statesboro is overflowing with talent. Watch the community act, dance, sing and more on the Community Stage sponsored by the Averitt Center for the Arts with performances by Southern Cheer & Dance Team, Theatre & Performance’s Children’s Theatre and Gail Hursey School of Dance.

Visit the open-air Artists’ Market where you can watch artists demonstrating their talents in photography, painting, ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry - including the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art’s Jewelry Guild and the Statesboro Regional Art Association! In addition, Threads of Hope is back by popular demand - $1 will buy a friendship bracelet made by artisans in the Philippines to raise funds to provide schooling, medical care and nutrition to those that don't have the resources to do it on their own.

Make art at over 20 different Studio Art Stops. Create giant bubbles, print Gyotaku fish, make paper, sculpt with clay, paint a masterpiece, craft jewelry or pose in a photo booth! ArtsFest 2011 has many new guests this year, too! Imaginative Journeys will demonstrate how to Create-a-Crest while Connect Statesboro will help recycle old newspapers by constructing origami. The Georgia Southern Museum will give a sneak peak to their upcoming exhibition, A View From Space, with Rocket Launch. Explore a variety of percussion and string instruments at The National Association for Music Education’s Instrument Petting Zoo. Create funky frames with Natasha Williams Photography and have fun with paper dolls with D.I.M.E.S Fashion Organization. As always, the Humane Society invites all to paint larger-than-life dog sculptures (an annual ArtsFest favorite!) and meet the many dogs and cats available for adoption.

Be sure to come hungry. Mouthwatering BBQ, funnel cakes, strawberry lemonade, cotton candy, Bruster’s Ice Cream and other festival food will be available all day!

“For the past 29 years, the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art has hosted the spring arts festival, providing “a day for the arts” to Bulloch County and the surrounding region. Generations of families hold fond memories of this event that was once a part of their childhood, and is now part of their own children’s experience,” said Patricia Carter, Chair, Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art. “Our goal is to provide such a quality and quantity of arts events that attendees end their day at the festival with pure exhaustion and unlimited inspiration from the exhilarating fun they had. We want people to go home and mark their calendars for next year’s Artsfest as a day they don’t want to miss!”

Juried Undergraduate

exhibition: JURIED
Center for Art & Theatre, Contemporary Gallery
Reception: Friday, April 29; 5pm - 7pm

Download the prospectus

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) at Georgia Southern University is pleased to present the 2011 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, on view from April 15 - May 3, 2011. This exhibit showcases the outstanding work being produced by students enrolled at the BFSDoArt. An artists’ reception and awards presentation will occur on Friday, April 29th from 5-7pm.

The artworks in the exhibition represent the various disciplines taught within the BFSDoArt including: sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and mixed media. The jurors for this exhibition are Dorothy Eckmann, Director of Education at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, and Rocío Maldonado, Internationally acclaimed artist whose work has been exhibited and collected by numerous museums.

BFSDoArt is committed to offering superb undergraduate programs that prepare students to become professional artists, designers, art educators, and art historians. Recognizing its role in training the next generation of artists and designers, students enrolled at BFSDoArt are encouraged to think independently and develop their own artistic voice. "We look forward to reviewing the artwork submitted for the annual student juried exhibition,” said jurors Dorothy Eckmann and Rocío Maldonado, “Each piece will be considered individually. Special consideration in the selection process will be given to artworks that tells us something about the artists as well as relating to the viewer."

Students featured in the 2011 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition are: Iricel Ayala, Zach Blount, Sheila Boarman, Brendan Bresnan, Amy Bryan, Rachel Burke, Haley Coker, Mary Frances Cooper, Caitlin Crute, Michelle Cruz, Pauline Dorsey, Lindsay Day, Hallveig Kristin Eiriksdottir, Emily Elam, Brandi Gaines, Michael D. Johnson, Jacob R. King, Jason Newton, Kristen Perez, Anna Kelley Polatty, Elizabeth Nicole Ramsey, Brittany Linares, Sarah Miller, Mandy Moersch, Blair Moore, Ashley Murphy, Kenny Olowoyo, Adam Pace, Jennifer M. Stuart, Meryl E. Sutton, and Jennifer Youmans

To view more images visit the BFSDoArt Flickr Photostream.
© All images by respective artists.

Contact
Marc Mitchell, Gallery Director
(912) GSU.ARTS
marcmitchell@georgiasouthern.edu

exhibition: FORM & CONTENT
Center for Art & Theatre, University Gallery
Reception: Friday, April 29; 5pm - 7pm

Download the prospectus

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) at Georgia Southern University is pleased to present the 5th annual juried exhibition, FOUNDATIONS: Form & Content, from April 15 - May 3, 2011. This exhibit showcases the exemplary work being produced by students taking art foundations courses at BFSDoArt. A reception and awards presentation will occur on Friday, April 29th from 5-7pm.

All BFSDoArt students pursuing a major in fine art are required to take art foundations courses that include drawing, two-dimensional design, and three-dimensional design. The coursework that comprises the foundations program is extremely rigorous and helps to create the solid infrastructure needed for a career in the fine arts. The BFSDoArt believes that it is essential to provide an avenue through which high achieving art students can earn recognition and awards.

“Students wanting careers in art and design are challenged both technically and conceptually in our six foundation courses, which include observational drawing, conceptual drawing, two and three dimensional design, and art history,” said Foundations Director, Professor Bruce Little, “These courses provide students with the underpinnings needed to be successful as they progress through their various concentrated areas of study. This pedagogically based exhibit is intended to serve a number of purposes for both students and general public. The art foundation faculty provide descriptions of the learning activities demonstrated in the students artworks to help articulate why objects were deemed worthy of display.”

The mission of the exhibition is to honor the efforts of the outstanding beginning art students, as well as to demonstrate to the expectations placed on future students at BFSDoArt. FOUNDATIONS: Form & Content is juried by a panel of art professors from Georgia Southern University that teach upper level courses in all disciplines.

Students featured in Form & Content are Jessie Adams, Virginia Angles, Zach Blount, Jennifer Burnett, Aaron Childers, Haley Coker, Lindsay DeBlasio, Pauline Dorsey, Anthony Dowdy, Hallveig Kristin Eiriksdottir, Hollee Elliott, Millie Fortner, Casey Hall, Callie Harkness, Lindsay Hartmann, Lois Harvey, Rebecca Henry, Tanisha Hollis, Kara Kollars, Elizabeth Orehosky, Ashley Murphy, Andrew Pate, Paola Robelo and Tiffany Simmons.

To view more images visit the BFSDoArt Flickr Photostream.
© All images by respective artists.

EVENT: Club Mud Exhibition & Sale
Ceramics Studio - 4000 Forest Drive, Georgia Southern University
Thursday, May 5 - Friday, May 6: 10am - 9pm
Saturday, May 7: 10am - 6pm

More Information: Club Mud Exhibition & Sale

BFA Senior Exhibition exhibition: Bachelor of fine arts senior exhibition
Center for Art & Theatre, Contemporary & university Galleries
Reception: Friday, may 13; 5pm - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoA) at Georgia Southern University is pleased to present the works of the Bachelor of Fine Arts graduating class of Spring 2011. The exhibition will be on display in the Center for Art & Theatre from May 9th through May 13th, 2011 with a closing reception Friday, May 13th from 5 – 7pm; all are invited to attend.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is comprised of a dynamic and multi-faceted curriculum that is led by exceptional faculty. Every year, The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art graduates many gifted and diverse undergraduate students that go on to successful careers in a variety of professions. This exhibition is a cohesive record of the ideas and images that each student has investigated throughout the last semester of their academic pursuits.

The 2011 BFA Senior Exhibition features the work of the following students:

Patrick Donald / 3-Dimensional Art
Brandi Gaines / Photography
Jacob King / 2-Dimensional Art
Amanda Miller / Photography
Blair Moore / 2-Dimensional Art
Adam Pace / Photography
Heather Phillips / 2-Dimensional Art
Anna Kelley Polatty / 2-Dimensional Art
Jennifer Youmans / Photography

September 9 - October 25

BFA Senior Exhibition exhibition: Studio-f: Monoprints from the University of Tampa
Center for Art & Theatre, Contemporary Gallery
Reception: Thursday, September 15; 5pm - 7pm
GALLERY TALK: Wednesday, October 5; 5pm - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is proud to present STUDIO-f: Monoprints from the University of Tampa, an exhibition of lithographic and serigraphic monoprints by 18 internationally renowned artists. The exhibition will open on September 9, 2011 and run through Tuesday, October 25, 2011 in the Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. Wednesday, October 5, from 5-7pm, Gallery Director, Marc Mitchell, will guide an informal gallery talk discussing the images, artists, and ideas that shaped this exhibition. The department will also host a reception on Thursday, September 15, from 5-7pm.

STUDIO-f: Monoprints from the University of Tampa features 21 monoprints by 18 celebrated artists who have participated in STUDIO-f, which is the University of Tampa’s visiting artist program. This exhibition is a rare glimpse of artists who have embraced the experimental nature of the monoprint technique.

“STUDIO-f at the University of Tampa is one of the most interesting and engaging visiting artist programs in our nation. The prints created by the artists are exceptional and engaging,” said Mitchell, “This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and the general public to see world-class artwork that would typically be found in museums.”

STUDIO-f: Monoprints from the University of Tampa features the following artists: Louisa Chase, Audrey Flack, Sam Gilliam, Stephen Greene, Willie Heeks, Roberto Juarez, Komar & Melamid, Tom Lieber, James McGarrell, Sam Messer, Ed Paschke, Pedro Perez, Larry Poons, Katherine Porter, Miriam Schapiro, Joyce J. Scott, John Walker, and Robert Zakanitch.

Artwork:
Ed Paschke, Tampa Series #26, 1999
Serigraphic monoprint
© Ed Paschke, 2003 / Photo: Jim Lennon

BFA Senior Exhibition exhibition: Medium Anxiety
Center for Art & Theatre, University Gallery
Reception: Thursday, September 15; 5pm - 7pm
GALLERY TALK: Wednesday, September 21; 5pm - 7pm

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is proud to present Medium Anxiety, an exhibition highlighting video, sound sculpture, and artwork that challenges traditional artistic media. The exhibition will open on September 9, 2011 and run through Tuesday, October 25, 2011 in the Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art & Theatre, Georgia Southern University. Wednesday, September 21, from 5-7pm, Co-Curator and Assistant Professor, Derek Larson, along with Gallery Director/Co-curator, Marc Mitchell, will guide an informal gallery talk discussing the images, artists, and ideas that shaped this exhibition. The department will also host a reception on Thursday, September 15, from 5-7pm.

"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's job with yesterday's tools and yesterday's concepts." Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Message

McLuhan described our Age of Anxiety as the “blurring of technology and society.” As industries continue to provide artists with new forms of technology for expression, there is the risk of losing one’s message in the medium. The novelty of medium continues to influence much of contemporary art, leading some artists to consider new means of validation. Medium Anxiety features the work of seven artists who use a variety of media to explore and recreate experiences.

Artists included in the exhibition are: Thomas Gokey, Syracuse, NY; Toby Kaufmann-Buhler, Madison, WI; Phillip Andrew Lewis, Chattanooga, TN; Fred Muram, Chicago, IL; Brian Priest, Indianapolis, IN; Pascual Sisto, Los Angeles, CA; and Bob Snead, New Orleans, LA.

Artwork:
Brian Priest, Grains (Detail), 2011
Sound Sculpture, variable dimensions

To view more images visit the BFSDoArt Flickr Photostream.
© All images by respective artists.