Last night, Fine Arts faculty members transformed the Addams Gallery into a reception hall, replete with cheese and crackers, all to celebrate the first Penn showing in the new gallery.
Close to 50 Penn undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff attended the exhibition opening, which will run from Sept. 18 through Oct. 12.
Currently, the spacious three-room gallery houses 49 original works by University faculty and encompasses a variety of mediums, including oil paintings, large wooden sculptures, video imagery and computer animation.
"We are here to bring interest to this building" said Deirdre Murphy, exhibition coordinator for the Fine Arts program. With the new chairman John Moore, "the Fine Arts Program at Penn is really taking off."
As students filled the gallery at 200 S. 36th St., to catch a look at their professors' artwork, they filled their stomachs with free fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese and soda.
Some had more scholarly motives.
"It's the first show of the year and I came to support the department," said Erica Baclawski, a first-year master of fine arts student studying painting. "I came to see the work, especially the imagery of the work."
An engaging piece on display was Gabriel Martinez's "Negligee, Dominion over Gentility." The work featured a slow-motion, black-and-white video of naked elderly men in a sauna who break into an impromptu pillow fight.
"I love Gabe's work," College senior Danielle Minzer said. "He is funny and brilliant and has a great sense of humor."
Also in the crowd was Professor Matt Courtney's "Clay Wheel- Throwing" class, who came straight from class.
"I've had a lot of these teachers before," noted Fine Arts major and College senior Mary Kim, who is in the clay wheel-throwing course. "It is nice to see them not only as your professors, but as artists as well."
"The art is more personalized," added Nursing senior Jessica Chao. "It makes the experience more meaningful."
The faculty's art is not only on display for viewing but is also available for purchase. Prices range from $50 to $50,000.
The exhibition is the first of 30 planned exhibitions which will occur throughout the school year in the Addams Gallery and throughout campus.
Showing alongside the faculty exhibit, recent works by Penn Professor and renowned artist Hitoshi Nakazato are housed in the basement of the Morgan Fine Arts Building.
Many students look forward to future shows. "I will come back," Chao said. "For relaxation, to ease my mind after a stressful day."
