Former Professor Shows Venice's 'Noble Silence'

The shot into the empty courtyard of the Centani palace, which "characterizes the show," is one of 42 by former art professor and chair Darryl Patrick on display in the Walker Education Center Gallery.

The quiet parts of Venice, “where one can feel the moment and murmur of history-filled brick and marble,” is the center of a 42-piece photography exhibit that will be on display in the Katy and E. Don Walker Education Center Gallery.

Former SHSU art professor Darryl Patrick was back in Huntsville this week to bring pieces of Italy and Greece to the campus on which he taught for almost 30 years with “Venice: A Noble Silence,” on display Feb. 9 through March 4.

The exhibit, which includes two from the Greek Islands Santorini and Patmos, one from Rome and a couple taken in and around Florence, are primarily shots of canals and buildings in “that make-believe city called Venice,” Patrick said. The photos were taken during trips in 2005 and 2006.

“I am moved by the color, texture and light in Italy,” he said. “From my first teaching experience in Italy in 1963-64, through the writing of a filmstrip for the Russells (friends Kenneth and Marjorie, to whom the exhibit is dedicated), to the recent travels and teaching there, it has always impressed me.”

One of Patrick’s photographs in the exhibit, the one taken in Rome, took first place in photography at the New Braunfels Artoberfest this past fall.

“I caught sight of a little side street in the Piazza Navona region and hung on an ancient wall was a birdcage,” he said.

The title, “A Noble Silence” was the invention of Sam Houston Memorial Museum curator of exhibits David Wight, but Patrick calls it “a good one,” as his photos do not include many people in the shots.

“The extreme age that is so evident in the walls, the algae, the very architecture, suggests that there is no recent activity, no movement save the ripples in the canal,” Patrick said. “When I get away from the crowd around the major sights, I get the feeling I’m one with the Medieval world, its environment, its quietness….that is until someone walks by with an iPod.”

Filippo Brunelleschi's Duomo, in Florence, from the reflection in a window.

Patrick came to SHSU in the fall of 1971, teaching art appreciation, the three survey courses, an American art course and the new graduate courses for the Master of Fine Arts program on the “top floor of the old library,” he said.

“Gaddis Geeslin was the chair those early years, and even when he stepped up to Dean of Fine Arts and Gene Eastman became chair, we had a pretty fabulous faculty,” he said.

In 1979, he became art department chair, a position he served in until 1984.

“At one time, I was teaching Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, 19th. Century and Modern art. In about 1988, I wrote and taught a course called ‘The Business of Art,’” he said. “It seemed to be successful; I still hear from students mentioning the value that course had for them.”

Patrick retired from SHSU in the summer of 2000.

Born on the high plains of Montana, Patrick received his Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from Northern Montana College, his Master of Art and doctorate degrees in art history from the University of Washington and the University of North Texas, respectively.

For more information on the exhibit, visit the Sam Houston Memorial Museum Web site or call the museum at 936.294.1832.

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SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt
Feb. 8, 2007
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