2008 Woodie Awards
Practicing what they teach
Wes Helmholz
Issue date: 8/28/07 Section: A&E
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Beginning Monday the Department of Art and Design began hosting an exhibition of the work of its adjunct faculty. The exhibition, which will run for four weeks, showcases the labors of nine faculty members.
The event is taking place in the Wagner Gallery in the Art and Design Building. It highlights pieces using many different types of media, including traditional oil paintings, photography, textiles, sculpture and video.
Sara Freiberger, a graphic design professor here, has two works on display. The first, called Virtualcolor Brochure, is a promotional brochure for her previous employer. Printed using a six-color process, an advanced printing process used for professional promotional materials, it has won several international awards and profoundly affected the firm's sales.
Her second piece, a DVD for the Downtown St. Louis Emergency Preparedness Organization, combines Freiberger's graphic design work with her considerable marketing and production skills.
Freiberger said viewers sometimes do not realize graphic design requires skill in many areas.
"In addition to artistic talent, everyone involved in graphic design must have significant production and printing knowledge," Freiberger said.
Freiberger said her immediate influences include her college professor Ab Gratama and the famous modern graphic design artist Paul Rand.
Nick Lang is a professor teaching intermediate and advanced sculpture. His piece takes up a swath of the gallery floor. Lang referred to his work as "simple representations of everyday objects, in this case, chairs, which become metaphors" based on observers' interpretations.
Lang's chairs have been cut apart at odd angles, and their legs and backs jut from the plane of the floor as though they were sinking into it.
Lang said people should interpret his work independently. Lang said he uses visual cues, like recognizable objects, in an odd context, rendering his pieces meaningful. He said the people who have influenced him are too numerous to count, and his subconscious thoughts and his life experiences are also major influences in his work.
Ceramics professor Matt Wilt oversaw the exhibition. He has been involved with this and many other displays in his six years at SIUE. Wilt believes the show allows students, other faculty and casual observers alike to witness the creative work being done every day by the talented artists among SIUE's academic community.
A reception for the exhibition will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday. The exhibition will remain open until Sept. 21.
An exhibition for the full time faculty will take place Monday, Sept. 24. For more information, visit the Art and Design Web site at siue.edu/ART.
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