The Prichard Art Gallery will feature work from four University of Idaho MFA candidates through May 6 in the “Unmasked Possibilities” exhibit.
The presented work ranges from mixed media installations to paintings, printmaking and performance art. The artists, Lindsay and James Mammone, David Roon and Reinaldo Gil will graduate this semester.
Most of the gallery pieces are traditional, in that the viewer could peruse the art at leisure. However, Lindsay’s performance art, which began at the opening reception around 5:15 p.m. last Friday, had to be watched then or missed. Her work brought together live performance with video and installation art.
Lauren Hirsch, a UI theater arts student, said she participated in the presentation along with other students from the theater and art department.
“Something Lindsay would always say: ‘Performance art isn’t complete until it’s performed,’” Hirsch said.
Lindsay, who is also pursuing an MFA in theater arts, tried to incorporate the Stanislavski method when instructing the performers, Hirsch said.
Gil said he comes from Caracas, Venezuela, and is interested in the idea of home. His artwork in the exhibit is mostly black and white, with pieces of isolated color.
“The evolution and adaptation of an individual in a new place is described by the revival of the past through memories in Black & White transitioning into a present in colors,” Gil wrote in his artist’s statement
James’ section of the exhibit, which takes up the top floor of the gallery, also has an installation, though his preferred medium is painting.
“One of the interesting things about this particular MFA program is it’s integrated by design. It asks you to work across disciplines and try new things,” Roon said.
Roon said James’ work demonstrates his interest in math and physics concepts and how they apply to the life of normal people. The portion of his exhibit made of paintings displays pieces of these concepts interspersed with depictions of meaningful animals or people.
Roon said his work is inspired by technical concepts. Roon is the program lead of the conservation biology and ecology program at UI and has a Ph.D. in the field.He said he wants to create art that is at the “interface between art and the field of conservation biology.”
Roon’s floor installation, which is one of the first things seen upon entering the gallery, depicts three crocodiles, one that looks stereotypically female, another stereotypically male, and one that appears to be a mix. All are crying what appear to be pills.
“There have been instances in the wild of skewed sex ratios in reptiles and amphibians because of the presence of things like estrogen in rivers,” Roon said.
Roon said he is also interested in using mythology to convey complex scientific ideas. He said one such myth he incorporated into the work on display was that of the Nuckelavee, a Scottish mythological creature that attacked people who were being disruptive near the water.
“There are a lot of really important things that we need to communicate to the public —climate change being one example— and it seems that technical scientific information often does a rather poor job of holding people’s interest,” Roon said. “So I’m really curious as to why a story like the Nuckelavee story would have the power to get people to change their behavior, but a 99 percent scientific consensus about climate change doesn’t seem to be able to do the same thing.”
Nina Rydalch can be reached at [email protected]