The Lycoming College Art Department will hold an exhibit featuring new artwork by faculty in the Art Gallery in Snowden Library from Nov. 21 to Dec. 13. The opening reception will be held Thursday, Nov. 21, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
The show will feature art by Lynn Estomin, Howard Tran, Seth Goodman, Leah Peterson, Katherine Sterngold, Jeremiah Johnson, Michael Darough, David Burke and Jay Innerarity.
Estomin, professor of art, will exhibit “Shame,” her artistic response to last April’s garment factory collapse in Bangladesh. The installation combines imagery from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the Rana Plaza building collapse, as well as magazine ads from clothing manufacturers, donated clothing labels, silk-screening, stitching and original photographs of a closed U.S. garment factory. Estomin hopes to draw attention to the history of human rights violations in the global clothing industry.
Tran, chair and associate professor of art, will include artwork that explores Vietnamese/Chinese philosophy, which is influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, and stresses simplicity, the worship of ancestors, the cycles of life and connections to nature. Tran examines relationships between older generations and newer, as well as the transition of moving between East and West.
Goodman, assistant professor of art, will display work that examines various cultural expressions of identity as they relate to the American class structure. The art becomes part social critique and part self-reflection, according to Goodman, who draws inspiration from his early history growing up in a small upstate New York town. He uses the subject matter as a platform to explore the role of class in American society as well as to question what extent his socioeconomic roots shape his identity.
Peterson, chair and assistant professor of communication, will exhibit a drawing that is based on a photograph, “Yellow Brick Road,” she took in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The photo won “Best in Show” at the Park Art Fair International in Geneva, Switzerland.
Sterngold, instructor of ceramics, will have pieces that continue an exploration of slab and coil pots in stoneware in the exhibition. She’ll be showing an undulating slab platter and several matte-glazed coil pots in stoneware with various cone five glazes. In addition, she’ll also have some earthenware “chicken pots” decorated with engobe, a white or colored slip used for pottery.
Johnson, instructor of printmaking, will contribute artworks that pay homage to the politically charged intaglio prints of Francisco Goya. As Goya’s “Los Caprichos” series is a testament to the crimes against humanity in 18th century Spain, Johnson’s intaglio prints are a testament to the crimes against the environment and its people due to regional gas drilling.
The work Darough, visiting assistant professor of art, will show is made using a very popular method of capturing images – the cell phone. According to Darough, social media is dominating culture and the cell phone, which is always at hand, is an essential tool for the professional and amateur photographer. It also allows him to be a street photographer and not interrupt the process of daily life.
Lycoming College is a four-year, residential liberal arts and sciences school dedicated to the undergraduate education of 1,400 students. Its rigorous academic program, vibrant residential community and supportive faculty foster successful student outcomes. Lycoming offers 36 academic majors and is recognized as a Tier 1 institution by U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1812 and located near the banks of the Susquehanna River in Williamsport, Pa., Lycoming is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the nation. For more information, visit www.lycoming.edu.