41st Annual Art Faculty Exhibition

This is the first of the exhibits for the spring semester and 2001. 39 pieces are being shown ranging from 2-D and 3-D work to representational and abstract work.

The opening reception of the exhibition is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 18 from 5-7 p.m. Professors will be on hand and music and refreshments will be provided. Admission is free. All Sam Houston State University students are encouraged to attend.

Each year, art faculty members from SHSU are asked to submit recent pieces that showcase their talent as an individual artist. The subject matter, media used, and number of pieces shown are left to the professor's discretion. This year, every faculty member is participating.

Chuck Drumm, graphic design instructor, is showing for the third year in this exhibit. Her I Don't Need to Know Her pieces are done with acrylic on board and are the largest pieces in the exhibit. Showing typical female stereotypes, they are the most controversial pieces, but Drumm says that is strictly in relation to the others being deemed "non-controversial." Drumm seems to really enjoy the work she does both inside and outside the classroom.

Each piece shown is not generated because of the professor's job. It is important to remember that each faculty member is also a working artist. "We teach to pay the bills," explains Drumm. "That is what we'd be doing anyway, aside from our job."

Tony Shipp, sculpting instructor, has four mixed media sculptors in the exhibit, which contain movable and motorized parts. Gene Eastman, another art faculty member, will retire after this semester. Eastman has three watercolor exhibits that give a preview into his work. A solo retrospective exhibit will run Eastman's work from Febuary 5-March 1.

This show is generally the most well attended of the exhibits because students like to see what their professors can do outside the university setting. It also serves as a way to draw attention to a class they teach. If a student can see the abilities the professor has as an artist, it may make them interested enough to enroll in their class in the future. Some drawing students also use the exhibit as a way to practice drawing sculpture work, which helps the exhibit serve dual purposes.

The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is located at 1028 21st Street on the southwest corner of the SHSU Campus at Sam Houston Avenue and 21st Street in Art Building F. For more information, please call (936) 294-1315.

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SHSU Media Contact: Audrey Wick
Jan. 17, 2001
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