The Installation "Hairstory-Herstory" by Jill AnnieMargaret will be on display in the TMCC Main Gallery February 6 – March 13, 2019.
TMCC Spring Art Exhibitions will feature work on display February 6–March 13, 2019 in the Red Mountain Gallery, Erik Lauritzen Gallery, RDMT Student Gallery and TMCC Main Gallery. These various artists have created work that plays on our perception of the outside world, our interior perceptions that influence our understanding of what we see, and our capacity to empathize with what is exterior to ourselves.
Red Mountain Gallery
Established in 1921, the Latimer Art Club is one of Reno’s oldest art organizations, and a non-profit that has long been dedicated to promoting the fine arts. The exhibit “Nourishing Body and Soul,” on display in the Red Mountain Gallery, examines individual perspectives of food. While a necessity to not only existence, but survival, food carries spiritual, historic, cultural and economic markers that are exterior—yet that act upon—the self. Organic, free range, processed, raw, cooked, packaged or processed—food sustains us as it speaks.
A supporter of skills development, the Latimer Art club provides scholarships to both high school and college level art students each year. Their Annual Juried and Judged Miniature Exhibition is open to Nevada artists over the age of 18. Contact the Latimer Art Club for more information.
Erik Lauritzen Gallery
For most, the “Rorschach Test” conjures an image of an arbitrary image of an inkblot to which an equally arbitrary interpretation can be applied. However, the Swiss psychiatrist (who had a background in art) developed these “inkblots” less as a test, and more of an experiment into human perception. According to historian and author of the book The Inkblots, Damien Searls, modern psychology and abstract art posit that the human mind transforms what it sees, but also empathizes with the exterior world.
Will Barber, a former aquatic ecologist, utilizes the inkblot motif as a way to examine not only his unique view of nature, but as a method of engaging viewers in the interpretation of these interactive art pieces. Barber begins with photographs of various landforms and geological structures that are manipulated, resulting in a microscopic abstract image that focuses on line, texture and symmetry.
Red Mountain Student Gallery
TMCC student Joey Kelly, who is known in his artistic work as Yung Dactyl, is working towards his Associate of Fine Arts Degree. His exhibition "Extort Portfolio Emphasis" focuses on how symbolism influences our perception of self and others. According to his artist statement: "Yung Dactyl is a byproduct of his environment, a sum of every decision leading up to the present, an observer of people that acknowledges the facades of fellow artists around him. Many individuals create a guise of themselves based on their audience, whether it be a social media persona, a stretch of personality to impress another individual, or their true self. Whichever one it may be, Yung Dactyl extorts elements and factors displayed to him by each of his subjects; creating a different piece, symbolizing connections or conclusions of each individual."
Kelly plans to continue his studies at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) in the spring in their Bachelor of Arts Program.
TMCC Main Gallery
First exhibited in 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Hairstory-HerStory is a delicate installation that combines writing, audio recordings and hair “...as a catalyst for breaking the silence that suffocates those who have suffered the traumas of sexual assault, child sexual abuse or domestic violence,” said Jill AnnieMargaret, who is a Professor of Art and Associate Chair of the Department of Art, Design and Visual Studies at Boise State University. The work establishes an anonymous cultural record of brave and generous individuals who were willing to share their stories and their hair to aid this project, and to end child sexual abuse and assault.
"Throughout human history and across cultures, the hair of loved ones has been saved for memorial, ritual and spiritual purposes. Steeped in mythology and a verifiable biological parameter, hair is a physical print of the individual that is its source," said AnnieMargaret. "The work retains a hope for humanity and a belief that every person deserves to be free in their own skin, able to speak their truth free of shame, guilt and stigma. Gather offers an ethereal, nurturing space that is conducive to reflection."
Artist Reception Free and Open to the Public
An artist reception will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 6 from 5–7 p.m. in the Student Center to welcome these various artists to TMCC’s campus. At 5:30 p.m., Jill AnnieMargaret will present “Gather”, a talk about her art and processes. The event is free, and open to the public, and will also feature light refreshments.
For more information about the Spring Exhibition in the TMCC Galleries, contact TMCC’s Galleries Curator and Instructor, Aimee Kelly.