Art in ’08: Art Outside the Classroom at CFA
School of visual arts faculty exhibition
At BU, the visual arts mean more than pictures hanging in galleries.Art means images from a cross-country trip painted on walls, delicatesculptures made of concrete and steel, and innovative ways of lookingat the world. This week, BU Today looks back at the year in visual artsat Boston University.
Art students in the College of Fine Arts learn form, color, and contrast every day. But study alone isn’t enough, says Lynne Allen, director of CFA’s school of visual artsand a professor of art. “You can teach someone to draw, but that’s notwhat makes them an artist,” she says. “There has to be passion behindit.”
Providing a real-life look at the art world outside of theclassroom, every three years the Boston University School of VisualArts Faculty Exhibition gives students a glimpse of a working artist’slife. The opening reception of the show, which ran through January 6, 2008,and included the work of more than 25 artists, was held on November 9 atBU’s 808 Gallery.
“All of our faculty members are working artists,” says Allen,who is one of the artists exhibiting. “This is the chance to see whatthey do as artists, while still teaching their students throughexperience.”
Each faculty member has an allotted amount of spaceand can show as many pieces of artwork as they choose. The work coversa variety of media, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, graphicdesign, and photography. A mix of genres, from realism to abstraction,is represented in the exhibition, which includes paintings ranging insize from barely a foot high to work that covers a wall.
Withsculpture from Sachiko Akiyama and painting from Dana Frankfort, bothCFA lecturers, and photography by Stephen Frank, an assistant professorof art, says Allen, there’s something for everyone and enough variety to spark interest and discussion for the most discerning art critic.
“Artistsare enlightened about the world and always have something to saythrough their work,” she says. “And each artist has their own style.The art that interests you carries with you for the rest of your life.”
Kimberly Cornuelle can be reached at kcornuel@bu.edu.
This story originally ran November 9, 2007.
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