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Milligan faculty present art exhibition, ‘Chimera’
MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY, Tenn. (Oct. 10, 2022) – Milligan University presents a unique exhibition, “Chimera,” showcasing artwork from the university’s art and design faculty, running Oct. 14-25 in the Milligan Art Gallery in Derthick Hall. An opening reception will be held Friday, Oct.14, 6-8 p.m., with a musical performance at 6:30 p.m.
The exhibition will feature traditional and nontraditional media from professors Art Brown, Karahann Kiser and Adam Trabold, who teach in Milligan’s visual and communicative arts area. The art ranges from traditional printmaking processes to works that integrate sound and light and works that were created in collaboration with artificial intelligence algorithms.
“The name of the exhibition, ‘Chimera,’ gets its name from the hybrid creature of Greek mythology because, like the creature, the collection of work for the show is a hybrid mix of individual styles,” said Brown, who teaches graphic design. “Each artist in the exhibition has their distinctive approach through various mixed media and subject matter.”
Brown’s work in this collection includes relief prints from a combination of linocuts and letterpress wood type that are hand-cut. The typography was hand-printed using antique letterpress wood type.
“I create images of dark, mechanical creatures and textures that serve as visual metaphors to express various ways I might feel about social and political issues, personal events or social situations,” said Brown.
Kiser’s work is a mixed-media incorporation of watercolor, ink and laser pyrography. Her largest work in the exhibit includes interactive ink-stained, laser-etched wood pieces of 162 creatures mounted on a large 58-inch kaleidoscope wheel. The interactive LED lighting will include an accompanying musical performance at the opening reception to showcase its generative programming. Titled “Fragile Children of the Air,” the work is named after an 18th-century lepidopterist book.
“The work is a naturalistic, geometric celebration composed of the small wonders that surround you every day in these hills and valleys,” said Kiser, who teaches interactive media and design. “Four months in the making, this work is at the very heart of the interdisciplinary nature of what I teach: illustration, experimental design, programming and traditional art principles.”
Rounding out the exhibit is Trabold’s experimental photography created in collaboration with artificial intelligence algorithms.
“I believe that it is my job as an artist to experiment and try new things and push the boundaries on what art is supposed to be and represent,” said Trabold, who serves as artist in residence and teaches photography.
Brown said the faculty exhibit is an opportunity to present to the public the results of their faculty research and creative activity.
“As professors in the visual arts and visual communication, we teach by doing, and we are responsible for exploring ideas and processes that expand our own understanding of the academic subjects and processes we teach,” said Brown.
The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.
To learn more about Milligan’s visual and communicative arts programs, visit www.milligan.edu/pvc.