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As U students, we are not only fortunate enough to have a museum on campus, but one that showcases the excellence of our programs by highlighting our faculty themselves. New Narratives, the latest exhibit at the UMFA, displays works from more than 30 artists, all professors and staff at the U.
Showing until Jan. 11, New Narratives is a unique opportunity for students to get to know their instructors in a different way. The artists do more than just create and contribute to the art community in Salt Lake — they teach others how to do so as well. This rare exhibit showcases their best works as chosen by guest curator, Katie Lee Koven, director of the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at USU. The submission process began in the summer, when a multitude of works were sent to Koven for consideration. Koven then collaborated with the artists on what she felt were their strongest pieces and thus began the process of deciding what would be put into the exhibit and where. During her time getting to know the artists and their works, Koven started to recognize similarities in themes between the works and set out organizing the exhibit that way.
“Using humor, self-distortion, realistic representation, angst and the idea of a journey, these artists explore what it means to be human,” said Koven.
Brian Snapp is the associate professor of Art and Art History at the U and is also a seasoned ceramicist with several works displayed in the exhibit. As head of the department’s ceramics area, Snapp believes that “what we are celebrating at the core of our creative research both as artists and teachers is our belief in the fundamental importance of visual arts to humanity.”
This exhibit not only echoes that sentiment, but speaks volumes of the talented staff at the U. Students are afforded the rare opportunity to see their professors do what they do best and get to know them outside of the classroom setting, while those who have never had the pleasure of taking courses from professors yet still get to appreciate their art.
Today, from 4-6 p.m., the pre-gallery stroll takes place at our very own UMFA. On the third Friday of each month, Salt Lake City puts together a gallery stroll that spans several galleries in the Salt Lake Valley. Free and open to the public, the gallery stroll allows viewers to meet the artists and experience the expanding visual arts market in Salt Lake. Boasting a variety of mediums and art forms both familiar and foreign, students can expect to be enlightened not only by the objects displayed, but by the conversations with the artists themselves. With New Narratives kicking off the Gallery Stroll, it’s sure to be a night full of art and inspiration for students and the public alike.
College of Fine Arts dean Raymond Tymas-Jones said of the exhibit, “It demonstrates the strong spirit of collaboration. There are two fine arts institutions at the university that have come together to provide this extraordinary experience for our community and campus … and the work done could not have been accomplished without the collaboration we see happening.”
With the exhibit bringing together students, teachers, art lovers and museum-goers of all kinds, the collaboration continues to inspire even those beyond the realm of the U. The UMFA is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekends from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Mondays and holidays. It is free for U students.
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