Come one, come all

April 15th. 6-7pm.

*drumroll please*

MacMurray College Senior Exhibition at Applebee Gallery

MacMurray College will hold an exhibition of the work of senior art majors Krystal Jones, Rachel Ozog, Rachel Riggle and Bret Shoopman from April 15 – May 9, 2010 in the Applebee Gallery. An opening will be held in the gallery from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 15, with artist presentations starting at 6:00. (Right before the Honors Recognition Program) Both the opening and the exhibition are free and open to the public.

Each art major has spent the last year creating a body of work that is the culmination of their work towards a Bachelor of Science in Art degree. The exhibit will feature mixed media paintings and drawings, site-specific installation of mixed media photographs, and a mixed media installation.

The gallery is located in the Putnam Center for the Arts. The hours of the gallery are 10:00-4:00 Tuesday-Friday and by appointment.

For more information or to make an appointment please contact the MacMurray College art department at (217) 479-7093.

COME OUT AND SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ART MAJORS!

They’re coming…

… but are you ready?

A Fabulous Evening

Yet another fabulous evening was had last night by the attendees of the closing reception for the Ratcliffe Exhibition, an amazing collection of modern works graciously donated to MacMurray College by MacMurray alumna Vera Maxine Ratcliffe and her husband, Albert H. Ratcliffe.

MacMurray art majors pause to discuss works by Richard Diebenkorn

Guests from the college and community were treated to a wonderfully catered spread and given the opportunity to listen to insights into the works by MacMurray art program professor Ray Yeager who discussed the variety and importance of the work in the show.

It was an educational and interesting evening for all.

Another Opportunity in the Applebee Gallery

From the Public Relations Office at MacMurray College:

Robert Sestok - "Pinewood Decal"

The Art Committee of MacMurray College in conjunction with the MacMurray College Art Department, are pleased to announce the upcoming public exhibition of the “Vera Maxine & Albert H. Ratcliffe Modern Art Collection.” This exhibition is a display of recent acquisitions to the MacMurray College’s permanent collection. The 35-piece Ratcliffe Collection is composed of abstract and expressionist artworks that explore numerous artistic directions of the 70s, 80s and 90s. The collection includes paintings, photographs, and prints by more than 20 modern artists. Some of the artists represented in the collection include Josef Albers, Robert Cottingham, Richard Diebenkorn, Leon Glob, Keiko Hara, Robert Sestok, Frank Lloyd Wright and Victor Vasarely.

Associate Professor of Art and Applebee Gallery director, Ray Yeager curated the exhibition. Yeager says, ““MacMurray College is thrilled to bring the Ratcliffe’s collection to the people of Jacksonville. This exhibition highlights many of the collection’s important works by modern masters and demonstrates the important role that the art patron plays in developing a college’s collection.”

The Ratcliffe Collection has been donated to MacMurray College and will be added to its permanent collection at the close of the exhibition.  The collection was a generous gift from 1943 MacMurray College alumna Vera Maxine Ratcliffe and her husband, Albert H. Ratcliffe.  President Colleen Hester hailed the gift, saying, “We are so pleased that Vera Maxine Ratcliffe’s MacMurray college education deepened her passion for art and culminated in her wish that this sizable modern art collection would create a sustainable legacy for students and citizens of the region.  We are grateful to Mrs. And Mr. Ratcliffe for their generosity and commitment to the MacMurray College legacy of transforming lives.”

The exhibit will run through March 25, 2010. A closing reception will be held on Thursday, March 25 at 6:00 p.m., and is free and open to the public. The gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. To 4:00 p.m. For more information, you may call 217-479-7093

Meet a Major, The Rachel Ozog Edition

We’re a crayon box that contains a whole bunch of different colored crayons in this art department, so we’re starting a new running theme on this blog – the Meet a Major post.  Every week or so we will introduce you to one of our incredible art majors and allow them to tell you a little bit about themselves by answering a series of Very Serious Questions, and by Very Serious, we mean not-very-serious.

First up, Rachel Ozog.  Take it away, Rachel.

Name:  Rachel Ozog

Hometown:   East Peoria, IL

Nickname:   Ozog

When are you graduating?   Spring 2010

What made you want to be an art major?    because i spent more time in the art building than in the other buildings i was supposed to be in

Can you remember the first piece of “art” you ever made?    i was 3 and i colored in my dads sketchbook. he made me sign my name and dated it.

What artist interests you the most?   Salvador Dali, Christian Boltanski

What project are you working on right now?   everything that i work on this semester is related to my senior show, so right now I am working with dried flowers.

If you could learn to use a new material for artistic purposes, what would it be?   Plastic

What color represents you the best?    2E8B57 (look it up)

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?   julia stiles

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?   i wanna move things with my mind and be like Jean Gray but without the evil split personality thing

If you were a type of food, what type of food would you be?    chocolate bunny

How would you describe yourself in three words?   “wear a helmet”

If you had a pet monkey, what would you name it?   Ross. unless it was a girl, then i would name it Patti the monkey.

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be?   Paris, France

What are five random things about you?   soy sauce, ugly dolls, crayons, gilmore girls, poland

Up and Running

“Life provides very interesting stories that I feel need to be told.  Sculpture has the ability to be that creative outlet for me to tell and share that story.  I believe that everyone goes through similar circumstances in life.  Through my pieces people can start to relate and understand that there are very similar circumstances among us all.”

-James Grable, artist statement for the current show in the Applebee Gallery, “The Next Chapter”