(Andy Bao/The Independent)
A crowd listened to one of five faculty speakers for the biennial art reception on Oct. 26 in Archer Gallery at 1 p.m.
Art instructor Michelle Ramin has two of a 10-painting series on display depicting the Mona Lisa through hands and cameras. She said her inspiration came after seeing Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Monet’s Water Lilies in Paris with her husband.
Arriving jetlagged yet eager at The Louvre museum by 8 a.m., she said thousands of people already barricaded the Mona Lisa, waving electronics to makeshift binoculars. Ramin said her goal is to encourage viewers to examine their own use of social media and technology. “How addicted are you?” she asked.
The Art Talks series and the gallery receptions are both made possible through the Archer Gallery program. The two events correlate in support of the featured exhibitions.
A Painter of almost 40 years, Stephen Hayes said it took almost six hours to complete his oil landscape, which pulls inspiration from exploring Google Maps.
“I’m seeing what it makes me feel like, what it makes me smell,” he said.
Graphic design student Victoria Gutierrez said her first experience at an Archer Gallery reception allowed her to reflect on her own creative goals. “It’s cool to see people sharing their art and to be on the other side of that,” Gutierrez said.
Art Professor Senseney Stokes’ “bloody” taxidermy rabbit was Guiterrez’s favorite work.
Titled, “Where I end and You Begin,” Stokes said she made her piece “as gruesome as possible” and was pleased with the final effect. “I don’t think rabbits even have that much blood in their bodies,” she said.
Stokes organizes Archer Gallery’s receptions and said her goal is to enrich Clark by providing professional art and two art talks every quarter where you can learn about the approach, process and execution.
There are plenty of talks on deck for following quarters. According to Clark’s website, one will be held on Nov. 16 from seven to eight p.m. in the Penguin Union Building student lounge. Stokes said one talk will feature Seattle-based mathematical painter Michael Schultheis.
(Andy Bao/The Independent)
She’s looking to show his work, which has been displayed in over 40 exhibitions worldwide. Stokes hopes to invite Portland-native artist Victor Maldonado to feature in the gallery.
She said in Spring the gallery will solely feature an artist-in-residence, who will share knowledge with art students and faculty for a week.
Though the program is directed toward aspiring art students, Stokes said she adores when people from different departments with different majors wander through. The gallery is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday.
