University of Dayton Artist in Residency

Welcome

2007-08-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the University of Dayton's 2007 Artist in Residency website. On this website you can find the artwork created by the student artists during the summer of 2007. The pieces which are spread across campus are conveniently located here in digital format for your viewing pleasure. Of course, you should have gone and looked at the work in the respective residence halls already anyways, but this is a more readily available compilation of all the work.

In addition to ease-of-viewing, the intention of this website is for us artists to get feedback from you the viewer. What do you like about a certain piece? What do you dislike. Let us know! The artwork is divided into slideshows by residence hall and within that, by room. At the bottom of each post is a link to leave a comment. Ideally, we would prefer to avoid general statements such as "I like it" "I think it sucks" "This is cool" or "I hate it." If you like it, tell us why. If you don't, elaborate. It would also be preferable for you to attach your name with your comment and not leave it anonymously.

We hope you enjoy the work and thank you for visiting this site.

Virginia W. Kettering

2007-08-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

"The VWK plaza is centered around the theme 'environment.' The theme is linked to the three separate bodies of work that coexist together in the plaza space. Nate Christopher’s work reflects familiar places around campus with figments of one’s imagination integrated into a University of Dayton student’s everyday environment. These imaginary friends keep turning up unexpectedly as the character makes his way to VWK, Marycrest, the Roesch Library, the Science Center, and through KU field. Nick Lacke investigates the social environments of human interaction in the college setting. He excludes the literal environment college students exist in, emphasizing the human emotions that occur when a person is unaccompanied or in the presence of another. Ellen Schneider explores the natural environment of Mt. St. John through the media of photography and printmaking. Depicting the beauty that exists currently and the potential for destruction. The dialogue between the two media serves as a reminder of the beauty forever lost when nature is unprotected and dealt with unwisely."

Nate Christopher
Digital Prints on Wood

Nick Lacke
Acrylic and Ink on Wood

Ellen Schneider
Woodcut with Silkscreen

"The intent for the artwork in the Game Room was to take advantage of the casual, primarily student-occupied area. To do this, the artists used the medium of graffiti. This unique form of expression has gained popularity with the current youth generation and would seem fit to be used in an area intended for student use. The bright colors and sharp graphic lines of graffiti are appealing and can bring life to an environment.

The three panels on which the graffiti was written are an effort to push the perception of the works towards fine art and away from vandalism, in order to discourage such an activity. Even while pushing the pieces towards fine art, the artists still sought to create a more traditional graffiti experience. This led to a collaboration between the artists on all of the panels and a usage of traditional tagging as a backdrop for more graphic stenciling. The stenciling was done to create a central focus for each panel and incorporate an image with which the artists could express their individuality while bringing the panels together."

Nate Christopher
Nick Lacke
Ellen Schneider
Spray Paint on Wood

"For the wall of photographs, the artists wanted to break from conventional photography by making it more of an installation instead of a showcase for traditional photographs. To achieve this, they wanted the focus to be more on the whole and not on each individual image. The arrangement of the photos on the wall is meant to symbolize movement, which in turn is meant to reflect the nature of the hallway. Still, they did not want to sacrifice the individual images in making the whole. The body of work is a combination of photographs taken by three individual artists with individual ideas to communicate while still maintaining a cohesive collection. Their subject matter ranges from the documentation of deteriorating urban environments to the juxtaposition of urbanization and nature to glimpses of the ordinary from unordinary angles. Through this combination of photographs, they want to provide a wide array of images so that viewers will always have something new to see."

Nate Christopher
Nick Lacke
Ellen Schneider
Archival Inkjet Prints

Marycrest

2007-08-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

"I work with the subject of hands because of the expressive and intimate nature of their identity. I first began sketching them in order to study the human form and in preparation to animate them. The fascination did not stop there as I am now composing photographs of hands, not just to study them but to communicate as well. These photographs are here for the viewer to identify with the gestures and to appreciate the importance of nonverbal communication within our lives."

Emily Ahrens
Archival Inkjet Prints

Marianist

2007-08-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

"Each intimate detail of nature found within this space mirrors the intimate details of this University. The flowers, leaves, and trees belong to a beautiful little spot of land located in Beavercreek Ohio, known as Mount St. John. It is here that many UD Marianist Brothers, Sisters, Laity, and other contributors strive to find and express the beauty of nature while holding onto the hope that its magnificence and importance can be sustained. Little is known of the work and dedication that goes into growing and caring for these native trees, plants, wildflowers, etc., but the voice of the Mount St. John family resonates from the intricate and abstracted images of their gardens, forest, meadows, and prairie. They are not just beautiful for their face value, but beneath the colors, textures, and petals lies a spirituality and message that pleads to be heard. Through these photographs my hope is to bring to light Mount St. John and the need they are trying to convey…for environmental sustainability."

"When you think you know a place like the back of your hand, look up, look to the corners. Suddenly you’re transported to a world unknown and fantastical with its colored light, rich textures, and quiet beauty. Familiarity and atmosphere can change so quickly with the investigation of the unnoticed details in a space. Something mundane and ugly can become unique and beautiful merely by looking closely and finding the character lurking within shadows and nooks. To some the University of Dayton is a brand new place, to others it has become home…do you recognize these places; can you discover what intimate details lurk in your most frequented spaces?"

Julie Jones
Archival Inkjet Prints

ArtStreet

2007-08-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

"In this space, my intent has been to create an atmosphere, a sense of life, beyond the stairwell’s simple means as a transitional passage. I have attempted to assemble larger curved forms in a way that will generate interaction and life between the elements of the hallway. This interaction has taken rise in several aspects: through the play of shadows across the forms and the wall, through natural and fabricated shifts in value, through the points of connection between forms. Each one of the forms has been constructed through spandex stretched across welded steel and subsequently painted.
Due to my purpose with this space, the meaning of the installation is mostly aesthetic. As I wanted the focus to be on various visual aspects of the space, during much of the process of creation I considered more how forms would come together and look rather than what meaning might be taken from this space. In working stretching and painting the forms, I found myself repeatedly considering the lyrical delicacy of the unprimed forms and a sense of spiritual calm in the smooth application of the paint. For me, the whole installation has become a scene of personal reflection and peace."

Ben Norton
Acrylic on Spandex on Steel

Campus South

2007-08-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

"The Conference Room installation began as a general idea branching from the use of wire and geometric forms. The process of building these shapes led into the idea of creating an illusion of space and form through the use of light and shadow. In addition to the wire pieces I wanted to use color so that the room would feel like one single body of work. With color I was able to create a different feeling in both sections of the room by using warm and cool hues. This work is meant to change one’s perspective of how you look at art and how it can change the atmosphere of a space."

Mark O'Brien
Wire, Acrylic Paint

"The goal of this installation of ceramic plates was to create an aesthetic environment for the residents of Campus South. The ceramic disk forms that have been placed on the wall are meant to bring the students into the space, to invite them into the pool room. Also the forms are meant to invite viewers to come up close and examine each one, for no two forms are the same. Each form is special in its own unique way, from the texture to the different glazing treatments which makes each piece equally essential to the space. This piece was meant to fill a large space and to be viewed from far away as well as up close. This piece was also intended to get students excited about ceramics as a medium of expression and to show them that wheel thrown objects do not have to be limited to only functionality."

Pat Kelly
Porcelain