High School Series Spring Semester 2011

Our spring semester of our Student Series kicked off in February. Students have been busy with their ongoing projects, creating an environment in a box based on the themes of death, water, & figure .

We’ve also had our first movie night, featuring Exit Through the Gift Shop, the Banksy documentary. It was quite a hit after students learned about the history of graffiti and street art.

Here are some pictures:

Movie Night - February 24, 2011

Movie Night

Student Nathan having some fun with Karen Bondarchuk's "Autogenesis"

Students interested in graphic design and animation met with graphic designer Marcus Griffen.

Students discussing animation and graphic design.

Student Evan having some fun with spray paint as he works on his semester project.

 

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Julian, the Talking Raven

Speak, Memory X, 2011, 41" x 50.5", charcoal on Rives BFK (aka Julian)

Karen Bondarchuk has talked a lot about Julian, a talking raven she’s befriended (and a model for several of her corvid portraits). Julian is an unreleasable raven living at Horizon Wings Raptor Rehabilitation and Education Center. He was found with a severely broken and infected wing which left him flightless. He stays there as an educational bird to help bring awareness to the public of the environment around us. He has picked up a few phrases that he hears us say.

What was that? A talking raven? Yes, for those of you who didn’t know this (your blog poster included), birds in the corvid family are able to mimic speech, similar to parrots. This includes ravens, crows, and blue jays. Curious to see a talking raven? Check these videos out.

Who’s a good bird?

What’s Up?

This video shows that the raven was quoted saying, “Nevermore!”

Posted by Jessica.

Now Showing: Evermore

Evermore, featuring Karen Bondarchuk, Joshua Rowan, & Teresa Wang, opened last night with an amazing turnout! Josh and Karen were in attendance and gave guests interesting insight into their works.

Here are a few pics of the galleries:

Some information on the artists’ work:

Karen Bondarchuk – (Michigan) Karen’s scavenged tire rubber sculptures and drawings explore the artificiality that often defines our relationship with the wild, and the reality that most close encounters with wildlife are by human design (zoos, roadsides, galleries, natural history museums, etc.). Her work has common thematic elements of animals and language for the past several years, examining linguistic and physiological connections between animals and humans, and most recently has centered on crows and ravens.

Joshua Rowan – (St. Louis) Josh’s photographs catch the beauty in the mundane and attempts to find the sometimes small and fleeting perfect alignments of time, angle, and color. The locations of his photographs include Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado; Jalisco, Mexico; Brooklyn, New york; Cherokee, North Carolina; and St. George, South Carolina.

Teresa Wang – (St. Louis) Teresa’s oil paintings, based on modern Chinese poetry, bridge    Eastern and Western artistic traditions. While her Chinese background heavily influences the formation of her ideas, the education she received in the States guides the way toward expressing her ideas and presenting her imagination through her work.

 

-Posted by Jessica.

 

Sneak Peek: Evermore

Here is a sneak peek of our upcoming show, Evermore, featuring artists Karen Bondarchuk, Josh Rowan, & Teresa Wang. Show opens January 27th with a public reception from 6 – 8 p.m. The show is open until February 26th.

Karen Bondarchuk's "Autogenesis," 2008, scavenged tire rubber with tire and automotive head lamp

Karen Bondarchuk's "Corvus Osiris," 2010, scavenged tire rubber

Teresa Wang's "Melodies in a Hidden Valley II"

 

Teresa Wang's "Charm I"

Josh Rowan's "Wonder Tower"

Josh Rowan's "Junipers, Colorado," 2010