The Retort

A Look Inside the 2009 Faculty Show

Wed January 13th, 2010 by Lou Donaldson Of The Retort Staff

In the Northcutt Steele Gallery on the first floor of the Liberal Arts (LA) Building one can view the 2009 faculty show. In this year’s show one can find works from current instructors such as Lea Zoltowski and Neil Jussila, and past instructors such as Marcia Selsor and Ben Steele (yes the same man that is the “Steele” in Northcutt Steele).

Upon entering the gallery, on the left wall is an installation piece by Candace Forrette. Candace Forrette’s piece is entitled Children of War and is comprised of twenty Raku fired faces. Each piece, while having a different appearance because of the firing technique, also has a different facial structure from one to the next. This individual facial structure gives the pieces a sense of being as though one is looking at an individual person (or representation thereof) rather a general conforming “cookie cutter” copy. It is the individual representation more so than the title of the piece that gives it it’s thought-provoking ability.

Further down, at the corner of the wall past other pieces by Candace Forrette, a bronze piece by Grace Frankforter, and a brightly painted watercolor by John Pollock are two pieces by Lea Zoltowski. Mammut Two and Savor Tu have the feeling of being a hunter’s trophy kills for how they are mounted on the wall. The cured dates and banana chips on and within the folds and crevasses of these pieces entice the viewer to reach out, around and in to retrieve the prize (represented by the food stuffs).

Between Mammut Two and Savor Tu is a cast bronze piece by Grace Frankforter. Grace’s pieces can be found in several locations throughout the gallery. Generating Chaos is a sculptural piece by Grace that is located to the right when entering the gallery. This piece is a combination of cast bronze and steel; the texture of this piece is truly interesting with all of its bumps, nodes, folds, crevices, holes and even a “brain” in a lower corner. Creating Chaos gives the viewer something to look at from every angle, as well as enticing the viewer to want to feel the texture that covers this piece.

On the front wall to either side of Creating Chaos are the pieces by Dennis Kern. To the left of Dennis’s pieces is Strata by Brian Cast. Brian has a talent for combining sculptural pieces with painting, presenting a piece that is both simple and pleasing to the eye. This can be seen in Strata which is a piece comprised of glass, steel, and acrylic on wood.

Continuing down the wall on the right side of the gallery are two extremely large canvases done in conte crayon and acrylic by Neil Jussila. One has to have respect for the sheer size and scale in which these pieces are done. The darkness of the conte crayon is a nice contrast to the white of the supposed gessoed area while the colored ball gives a nice focal point to the piece that is not overwhelming in its relation to the rest of the piece.

In the corner is what could be considered Connie Landis’s main piece. Entitled Way to Encourage Children and Youth to read more, like many of Connie’s pieces this is an interactive piece designed to be touched and played with. With sponge mats and pillows inviting one to sit down while the toys, brightly colored baskets and multitude of books with bright pictorial covers entice one to pick them up, snuggle in with one of the stuffed animals and start to read in the quiet comfort found in the gallery.

Along the back wall of the gallery can be found another piece by Brian Cast and several pieces by former faculty member Marcia Selsor. Dispersed throughout the main floor of the gallery are several “books” by Connie Landis, while one of these requests that the viewer not touch it the others have white gloves supplied to keep the grease from the viewer’s hands off the “book” itself.

Along with the pieces by Connie are two additional pieces by Lea. Shell Platter is located towards the back of the gallery, this piece offers up chips as its “reward” while Armour, located towards the front of the galley, has yogurt covered raisins hidden within the rather vaginally shaped mouth.

This year’s faculty show offers much for the viewer, whether it is the buffet of visual stimuli or the hidden treats to be found in several of the pieces. It is definitely worth a visit.