Faculty Biennial
by Greg Montano, SUNY Cortland, December 10, 2004
From November 9th to December 19th, 2004, the SUNY Cortland art department professors put on an art show. It's a once-every-two-years event that features work from the faculty only. Set in the Dowd Fine Arts Gallery, all kinds of media are on display for not only the students, but other faculty to see what our professors do with their own time. Featured artists were: Jeremiah Donovan, Lori Ellis, Chuck Heasley, Allen Mooney, Minna Resnick, Liz Sharpe, Bryan Thomas, Neil Zusman, and Stiller Zusman. Media included drawings, paintings, prints, sculpture, ceramics, digital images, and mixed media works.
Among the pieces in the show was Jeremiah Donovan's "West Nile Series," which was in the main room of the gallery. This was a group of ceramics pieces arranged on separate pedestals by Donovan. They were made from terra cotta and layered raku glazes. The pieces weren't whole, they were cut in half, or were broken parts glazed together in a fallen arrangement. It was a different look than I was used to, but it worked for me. It was like taking something that works and mixing things up. Maybe one could say that it was a Picasso-esqe ceramic project.
Also included in the mix was Bryan Valentine Thomas' sculpture called "Untitled (Walker)". This was a piece that immediately grabbed my attention. It was made from bronze, head form, wood, and steel. The head form made up a sort of torso while bronze made up his legs. Steel was used to hold the sculpture up from behind. The steel looked similar to leaf springs used in the rear end of trucks as suspension. The steel was attached to a wooden base for support and then placed on a white pedestal. It reminded me of something out of the movie Toy Story that the bad-kid next-door neighbor made from different parts of toys. It was an interesting piece.
"Untitled (Ascent)" is another work by Bryan Thomas. This one will catch anyone's eye as you walk through the gallery. It is a bright red narrow arch stretching from the floor to the top of a beam in the middle of the room. It's a square bar made up of plastic red firemen. There is a steel bar supporting the firemen structure. I like the idea that the structure is made up of fireman figurines as opposed to army men or something else. The firemen are ascending, maybe on a rescue using teamwork. I find it to be a good analogy and a good idea.
I've heard from professionals in a lot of fields that because they have a full-time job, they don't have time to work on anything of their own. It's the same complaint that I've heard from custom bike builders, teachers, contractors, and graphic artists. When all one's time is spent working for someone else or even for your own company, there is little time and energy for one's own work. So teachers who teach their craft day in and out may not have the time to create anything for themselves. The fact that this faculty show is every two years is probably a good thing because of this time issue.
The works in this show demonstrated to me and undoubtedly others, that these professors not only know how to teach these crafts, but they are indeed artists themselves. Being at a university perhaps adds to their art also in learning from other faculty and maybe even learning a bit from the students they teach. I enjoyed looking through the work of the teachers I look up to. I was impressed at the craftsmanship of every piece displayed.
The show runs till December 19th so if you get the chance to stop by I suggest you do. Come see what the members of the Cortland art department do on their own time.
DESIGNER: Greg Montano, New Media Design, SUNY Cortland, USA
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