Ragged Mythologies, paintings by Martha McCollough

September 2, 2010 - September 24, 2010

McCollough's work refers to myths both urban and ancient, jokes, conflicts, and childhood obsessions. Together they form a dream diary that explores the interplay of the personal and the collective surreal. The artist chooses images that are simultaneously frightening and funny. More and more her work depicts catastrophes of one kind or another, and she says that while this was not necessarily where she thought she was going with this body of work, it started to seem timely.

Late Soviet Era Prints from the Collection of Larry Doherty

September 27, 2010 - October 22, 2010

This show presents Russian prints from the collection of Larry Doherty. Dating from the late Soviet era, the exhibit includes lithographs, both black and white and color, etchings and mono-prints. While the works present a broad range of subject matter, a dominant theme of the exhibit will be trees of various species.

Apocalypse Management, animation by Chris Doyle

October 25, 2010 - November 19, 2010

Buildings collapse. Bridges buckle. Steel, concrete, and brick twist and slide into piles of rubble. It is impossible to prepare for disaster on an epic scale, only for recovery. Apocalypse Management (telling about being one being living) is the first section of a planned series of five animations based on Hudson River painter Thomas Cole's Course of Empire. The series grows out of Doyle's longtime interest in that cycle of paintings, the panoramic landscapes of Hans Memling as well as Last Judgment altarpieces of the renaissance.

The projected landscape depicts the aftermath, a constant looped state of digging out. The particular cause of the devastation is unclear, but whether natural disaster, act of war, or environmental nightmare, the scenario of wreckage portends a state of emergency for which we are reminded to be ready. The figures in the animation are each lost in the moment when disaster ends and the processes of grieving and rebuilding begin.

Hero's Story, work by Cullen B. Washington, Jr.

November 22, 2010 - December 17, 2010

In this body of work, entitled Hero's Story, the backdrop of the narrative is Blackness, a constantly expanding universe, a setting for trial, play, struggle and metamorphosis. Within this metaphorical space, the heroic archetypes of the artist's Louisiana childhood, American Pop culture icons, comics heroes, Christian and African deities are invoked in new guises to engage with the day-to-day struggles of this past-present-future continuum we call reality.

Photomontage, collage, drawing, painting and language each contribute their voice to the narrative. This mix of media registers like a chorus witnessing the emergence of the new heroes of a new mythology rising from the ashes of urban debris, grit, personal memory, and universal dreams to give voice to the ever-changing (r)evolution of human existence.

New Ceramic Work by Preston Saunders

January 19, 2011 - February 11, 2011

An exhibition of new work by Professor Preston Saunders, created during his 2010 sabbatical.

Sculpture by Nathalie Miebach

February 14, 2011 - March 11, 2011

Miebach's work focuses on the intersection of art and science and the visual articulation of scientific observations. Using the methodologies and processes of both disciplines, she translates scientific data related to ecology, meteorology and oceanography into woven sculptures and installations. Her method of translation is principally that of basket weaving, as it provides her with a simple 3D grid through which to interpret data in three-dimensional space. Central to this work is the artist's desire to explore the role visual aesthetics play in the translation and understanding of science information. Lately, Miebach has started to translate the data into musical scores, which are then interpreted through sculptures as well as through collaborations with musicians. By utilizing artistic processes and everyday materials, Miebach questions and expands the boundaries through which science data has been traditionally visually translated (ex: graphs, diagrams), while at the same time provoking expectations of what kind of visual vocabulary is considered to be in the domain of 'science' or 'art'.

Seldom Seen, photography by Ivana George

March 14, 2011 - April 8, 2011

Through this body of work, inspired by a trip to Costa Rica in 2007, George intends to raise appreciation of the fantastic biodiversity of the ecosystems she found there, and to increase awareness about the impact individual choices have on these ecosystems. The imagery is compelling in its beauty and the audio creates a meditative environment in which to experience the artwork. The audio combined with the imagery helps evoke the awe-inspiring experience of being in these diverse ecosystems. However, both the images and the audio challenge the viewer to think about the human impacts on the ecosystems, since the images contain references to the causes of species endangerment and the audio composition ends with the sounds of chainsaws in the forest and a single tree crashing to the forest floor.

47th Annual Student Show

April 11, 2011 - May 14, 2011

This juried exhibition features artworks created by both graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in Bridgewater State College's Art Department. The exhibit showcases a variety of media created in the five concentrations of the department. The exhibit will be on display at both the Anderson Gallery and the Maxwell Library.