MUSE: MFA graduates exhibit their thesis works in 'Gold Star: 2007 Masters of Fine Arts Exhibition'
Jamie Banes displays a "breathing wall" kinetic sculpture
By: IRENE TROY
Issue date: 5/31/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
For those interested in a glimpse into the variety of visual pleasures that the fine art of the future has to offer, perusing works composed by the UC Davis 2007 Master of Fine Arts graduates will be an exciting and worthwhile endeavor.
The graduates' artwork will be showcased in Gold Star: 2007 Masters of Fine Arts Exhibition at the MU Gallery on the second floor of the Memorial Union and at the Richard L. Nelson Gallery, room 124 of the Art Building, beginning Friday and continuing through June 22. The galleries are open for free exploration Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.
Jamie Banes, a dynamically skilled kinetic sculptor and mixed-media artist, is but one of the graduates whose art will be presented in the exhibition. Sparked by a distinct interest in the fundamental connection between humans and the surrounding world, Banes formulated his goal in producing art: to create an interactive relationship between artist and viewer.
"It's important to me that my work goes beyond a purely optical viewing experience," said Banes in an e-mail interview. "The sculptures often invite bodily encounter in which the viewer becomes somehow integrated into the function of the piece with the purpose of meaningful visceral exchange between the work and the spectator."
Banes furthers these aims by producing artwork like that which he plans to display at the Nelson Gallery, a kinetic sculptural representation of a "breathing wall." The wall brings the physicality of the gallery into direct conversation with the viewer, achieving the interactivity that he considers essential to his artwork.
This work is composed of a large piece of stretchy fabric attached to one of the gallery walls. The tissue-like fabric conceals metal machinery that function as the "ribs" of the artwork. The viewer must breathe into a sail-like extension of this fabric to incite the lifelike action that the combination of media will produce. The metal ribs will then push the wall into the viewers' space for as long as the exhalation continues.
The graduates' artwork will be showcased in Gold Star: 2007 Masters of Fine Arts Exhibition at the MU Gallery on the second floor of the Memorial Union and at the Richard L. Nelson Gallery, room 124 of the Art Building, beginning Friday and continuing through June 22. The galleries are open for free exploration Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.
Jamie Banes, a dynamically skilled kinetic sculptor and mixed-media artist, is but one of the graduates whose art will be presented in the exhibition. Sparked by a distinct interest in the fundamental connection between humans and the surrounding world, Banes formulated his goal in producing art: to create an interactive relationship between artist and viewer.
"It's important to me that my work goes beyond a purely optical viewing experience," said Banes in an e-mail interview. "The sculptures often invite bodily encounter in which the viewer becomes somehow integrated into the function of the piece with the purpose of meaningful visceral exchange between the work and the spectator."
Banes furthers these aims by producing artwork like that which he plans to display at the Nelson Gallery, a kinetic sculptural representation of a "breathing wall." The wall brings the physicality of the gallery into direct conversation with the viewer, achieving the interactivity that he considers essential to his artwork.
This work is composed of a large piece of stretchy fabric attached to one of the gallery walls. The tissue-like fabric conceals metal machinery that function as the "ribs" of the artwork. The viewer must breathe into a sail-like extension of this fabric to incite the lifelike action that the combination of media will produce. The metal ribs will then push the wall into the viewers' space for as long as the exhalation continues.