Marc McGowan

The GSU campus is currently home to a pair of exhibitions of the work of Chicago area, mixed-media photographer, Marc McGowen. The University Atrium serves as a showcase for McGowan's exploration of Japan's public spaces while McGowan created a new series of images, especially for the university library's Research Gallery, commenting on the "screen" of human memory and its connection to the computer screens within the space.

Marc McGowann's work is the product of experimentation with altering photographic images using a series of original, unique processes. The images are printed on handmade paper and a wash is applied before they are transferred onto a surface and re-colored using acrylic paint and oil pastel. This effort results in an eerie effect evoking the feelings of memories and dreams. McGowan uses images representational of everyday life to connect with the viewer and make ordinary, mundane scenes more interesting.

Both of these exhibits are open for viewing by the public and will remain on display at least through the end of the spring/summer semester.

marc-mcgowan.com

Ethnographic Exhibits

Professor of Art History, Dr Arthur Bourgeois, recently updated the display cases in the E-Lounge just outside the Visual Arts Gallery. The three cases now contain small exhibits of artifacts from the Akon People of Ghana, the Ibo People of Southern Nigeria, and the prehispanic, Chimu Empire of Peru.

The E-Lounge also houses a semi-permanent display of Papua New Guinean artifacts, including an impressive pair of heavily decorated house posts from the Iatmul People. These selections from GSU's ethnographic collection are always available for public viewing during campus hours.

2009 Regional Art Faculty Invitational

Once again, the Visual Arts Gallery is hosting an exhibit of work by local and regional college and university art instructors.

Faculty from the College of DuPage, Governors State University, The Illinois Institute of Art, Joliet Junior College, Kankakee Community College, Lewis University, Moraine Valley Community College, Morton College, Olivet Nazarene University, Prairie State College, Saint Xavier University, South Suburban College, Trinity College, Triton College and the University of Saint Francis have been invited to participate.

This exhibit will be open for viewing from September 7-28 with a reception on Friday, September 11th from 6-9 p.m.

Undergraduate Exhibit

The Visual Arts Gallery at Governors State University is happy to present a group exhibition of three graduating students from July 27 - August 17. There will be a public reception on the evening of Friday, July 31, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. This exhibit will features a presentation of the final, senior projects of mixed media artists, Jennifer Lesch-Benedick, Rhiannon Sallas and Kristina Schmitt.

Our House (Divided)

On Sunday, August 16 the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park will host a special event juxtaposing music, commentary, and art to offer alternative interpretative experiences to works in the park.

"Our House (Divided)” is a multi-facetted program, which will touch on history, memory, division, and change, and promises to be both moving and uplifting. It includes music performed by Red Riding Hood, a string quartet comprised of Erica Lessie on cello, Jennifer Lowe and Elise Dalleska on violin, and Nora Williams on viola.

In the presence of Bruce Nauman's House Divided singer, Marshall Titus, will perform vocal selections accompanied by Red Riding Hood, and recite Abraham Lincoln’s 1858 “House Divided” speech, one of the inspirations for Nauman's sculpture.

Magda Brown, a survivor of the Birkenau concentration camp, will provide commentary on her experiences during World War II and subsequent life in the United States.

More information on this unique event can be found on the sculpture park's website.

Joyce Speechley - Eternal Spaces

Governors State University graduate student, Joyce Speechley will present "Eternal Spaces: Studies in Movement and Value," an exhibition of her recent "fumage" drawings in GSU's Gallery 1516 from August 1 through August 11, with an artist's closing reception on August 11th from 6-9 p.m.

Speechley's drawings incorporate graphite, graphite powder, and fumage, a technique created by the artist employing flame and smoke on canvas. Her work focuses on the correlation of atmospheric moisture and the changing light of day within a landscape, incorporating the reflections of diffused sunlight from the surrounding environment. Speechley's drawings place the viewer within the landscape, allowing them to become one with nature and experience a moment of complete silence and solitude.

Born on the west side of Chicago, Speechley found her passion for the arts early in life. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Northern Illinois University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Art at Governors State University. She has received numerous awards and has published books for PCI Publishing in San Antonio Texas, and Schaffer Publishing in Torrance California. Speechley shares her passion for the arts by teaching at the College of DuPage in DuPage county Illinois, where she resides with her three teenagers.