Silhouettes grace the Kohler Gallery

Elena Amesbury

Julie Anand delivered a lecture on self-identity as part of an art exhibition reception that introduced three new collections to the Wriston galleries Thurs., April 5.
The new collections this term are “Flora and Fauna” in the Leech Gallery, “School Days: Cafeteria Plan” in the Hoffmaster Gallery, and “Overlaps” in the Kohler Gallery.
The exhibit reception highlighted the current work of Julie Anand in collaboration with Damon Sauer. In her lecture, Anand explained the inspirations and contemplations behind her work.
In her undergraduate education at the University of New Mexico, she studied ecology and evolutionary biology, a focus that has affected her choice of materials and subjects.
Anand’s current work, selections of which are shown in the Kohler Gallery, deals with self-identity displayed in physical form.
Through her art, she questions why so much emphasis is put on how we represent ourselves physically.
In the gallery are black cutouts that line the wall, entitled “Overlaps.” In these pieces, Anand explores various barriers that separate people, specifically skin.
Art major Cara Yesse noted that Anand used just the walls in the gallery. “Many artists have great 3-D art but just showcase one thing,” she explained.
The “Overlaps” are silhouettes of two people intertwining so that their individual bodies are hard to distinguish. The artwork comes in two sizes: small as your hand and large as a sheet, described by Anand as “not life-size, but life-scale.”
The Leech Gallery features “Flora and Fauna,” pieces from the permanent collection selected and arranged by Katherine Elchert ’08, as part of an Internship Art Museum Practice final project.
The pieces range from detailed to representational, and include statues of echidnas – spiny anteaters – made from woven fiber.
Displayed in the Hoffmaster Gallery is “School Days: Cafeteria Plan,” a portfolio of pieces commissioned by Assistant Professor of Art Benjamin Rinehart.
In the fall of 2004, Rinehart invited 23 artists who were all educators to contribute one piece of work that followed the theme of “School Days.”
“It was a way of getting in touch with people I hadn’t seen in a while,” he recalled.
Each piece is unique, yet is connected to each other through subject and use of print in some way.
Rinehart was especially drawn to Greg Porcaro’s piece “Stomach-Ache,” which uses nontraditional materials such as Shrinky Dinks.
“The image is really interesting,” said Rinehart. “I was really excited about how much Porcaro was into the project.”
Other prints are fairly understated, yet just as effective.
An especially noteworthy piece by Nancy Loeber simply depicts the face of a girl against a white background with the subtitle “Colleen Bailey and the amazing fingernail sandwich.”
The three exhibitions will run through May 6.