Friday, June 26, 2009

2 Video Installations: July 11 - August 16 Side Gallery

Richard Schellenberg is a video artist who interprets dreams and events from his life, creating videos in the process. Although they are very personal and revealing, they also are compelling as story-telling. Read what Richard says about his work.

Superman
The installation consists of a large wall mounted sculptural frame into which a looped video is projected. The large bas-relief frame is a proscenium arch reflecting specific elements that occur in the video. The video involves a recreation of a dream I had as a six year old boy. The reason I remember that particular dream after all these years is not because it was so powerful, I thought it was fun at the time, but my mothers response to it, which frightened and confused me.
I've come to believe that my art (and life) is about returning. Not in a nostalgic sense, but looking at the past with new eyes and making connections with the present that need to be made. An artist friend of mine said of my work that it often did not go far enough. That I should recognize that the image is significant, but I need to explore why it has meaning, the release. I of course knew that, but hearing it at that particular time said in that particular way of his, sent me into a fever of discovery that led me to Superman installation as it exists today. I started to see how the dream was connected to other things in my life and particularly with my reaction to the trapped birds in the abandoned store.

Mystery/Science installation

Many years ago I was walking through an abandoned strip mall. It had been closed down for only a few months, but already nature was taking the area back. Grass was growing through cracks in the parking lot, vines covered large sections of the chain-link fence and birds lived in the abandoned buildin
gs. Looking through the window of an empty grocery store, I saw six birds lying dead, lined up four feet from the window. I responded viscerally to this heart-breaking event and all the complex themes involved, ideas of abandonment, unintended consequences, hopelessness and fear. After many years of trying to interpret that scene, I found video and audio was the best way to convey the strangeness, sadness, and wonder of that memory. While developing the project, I asked a mathematician friend to write a formula describing the arc of the bird as it flew towards the window. This formula was to be a minor element in the video presentation; however, her research, fact-finding, enthusiasm about bird flight and flight mathematics propelled this project into a much wider investigation. Her analytical response to an event that so deeply affected me emotionally was what started me into this extended inquiry about the myriad ways people organize everyday perceptions and experiences in an attempt to make them manageable.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Delaplaine Art Blog Begins!

Welcome to the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center blog. Our intention is to engage community artists and art lovers in an ongoing conversation about art. The term "community" may take on different definitions, such as the region of Frederick County, MD, or a global "community of artists", but in any case, we would love to hear from friends both near and far! We hope this is just the beginning of an exciting, creative journey that we will take together. After all, we are YOUR community arts center.

From June 6 - July 19, 2009, The Regional Juried Exhibit will be in the F&M-Kline Gallery at the Delaplaine. Juror Annet Couwenberg has chosen the work from regional artists living and working within a 75 mile radius of Frederick, MD. Ms. Couwenberg, an award-winning mixed-media artist, has exhibited nationally and internationally. If you are in the area, please stop in to see the show and give us your feedback here. Also, see her Juror Statement below.

Juror statement
"It was a pleasure to be the 2009 juror for the annual regional exhibit at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center a vital organization in promoting cultural activities for the region. What an honor to be exposed to a large amount of exciting art works from artists with various backgrounds and accomplishments, working in different media. I have sought to include here a number of artists whose diverse works and fresh interpretations are bound together by their roots in the traditional, but their innovations provoke or evolve into unsuspected discoveries. I was most impressed with the artists who showed a personal vision: work with strong content, creativity, imagination, and technical mastery. I looked for works that were innovative and challenge our viewpoint, question and engage the viewer. I would like to express my thanks to all artists, whose excellent art was created with devotion and awareness. Let me also extend a special thank you to Diane Sibbison, Manager of Exhibits for the smooth coordination and the whole staff at the Delaplaine Center for hosting this stimulating show."

Annet Couwenberg
Professor, Fiber Department
Maryland Institute College of Art