Talents combine for art show
Can people’s future health be foretold through the cells in their cheeks? The Psychic Cell Reading exhibit may be the place to find out.
It’s part of COMBINE 2012, an upcoming showcase of the best in fine arts undergraduate work at the Faculty of Fine Arts (FOFA) Gallery, which runs from November 26 to December 7.
Marlee Parsons will take cheek swabs from willing visitors, project the slides of resulting cells on the gallery wall, and discuss with participants what the future holds in store for their health. The performance project makes sense for someone who’s interested in health issues and once thought about being an art therapist.
“I thought about the healing you feel from sharing fears,” says Parsons, who earned her BFA earlier this year and is now taking science classes at Concordia. She presented the project last year and says some participants leaned towards the psychic side of the reading while others gravitated towards the biology. “This project has really been guided by the interactions I’ve had with people.”
The works at COMBINE 2012 span a variety of media, from “the most traditional skills like sculpture and oil painting to performance- and sound-based works. The exhibition really is a viable slice of what’s happening in contemporary art,” says jake moore, director of the FOFA Gallery.
The undergraduate-produced show extends beyond the exhibiting artists. A jury of their peers selected 17 submissions from among the 135 made. Art history students wrote the entries for the exhibition catalogue. As part of their curriculum, design students worked in teams on the catalogue’s design and production. One of those was chosen by a jury to be published as the official document, and will be revealed at the finissage on December 7.
Pamela MacKenzie, an undergraduate in the Department of Art History, wrote one of the 17 catalogue entries. She met with the artist with whom she was matched to learn more about his interests and to see his portfolio. “It is the responsibility of the author to incorporate the artist’s perspective, along with a review of the work,” she says of her role.
The project wasn’t part of her coursework but she jumped on the opportunity. “This kind of work is practical in terms of professional development […] and it’s really good practice learning how to deal with contemporary art,” MacKenzie says.
The benefits extend beyond the value of having published work. “I really enjoyed the dialogue with the artist,” she adds.
What: Exhibition
When: Monday, November 26 to Friday, December 7, 2012, weekdays from 11a.m. to 7 p.m., Vitrines always on display
Where: FOFA Gallery, Room EV-1.715, Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (1515 Ste-Catherine St. W.), Sir George Williams Campus
What: Finissage and catalogue launch
When: Friday, December 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: FOFA Gallery, Room EV-1.715, Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (1515 Ste-Catherine St. W.), Sir George Williams Campus
Related links:
• FOFA Gallery
• Department of Studio Arts
• Marlee Parsons
• America Blasco