Spring Break
Professors display art, citing muses from everyday life
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: News
10/31/08 - As Napoleon Bonaparte, once said, "a picture is worth a thousand words."
Starting yesterday, seven University of Rhode Island professors began to display their photography, paintings, sculptings, drawings and other artistic works for public viewing at an event called "Hybrid."
Included in the show are professors Bob Dilworth, Ron Hutt, William Klenk, Jerry Mischak, Brian O'Malley, Gary Richman and Zoey Stites.
URI professors Stites, O'Malley and Mischak spent the afternoon finalizing the setup of their artwork in the Main Gallery in the Fine Arts Center. Overhead, lights cast bright highlights upon each artistic piece.
O'Malley, a professor of foundation studies at the university, said his drawings are an outlook of human emotions.
His piece, "A Series of Human Activity Near the End of 2008," is composed of 150 paper squares with black and white illustrations.
Throughout October, O'Malley produced, on average, four to five squares each day. "Within an hour I could do three to four; sometimes it would take a couple of hours," he said.
His work reflects the inspirations surrounding him - people, day-to-day things, photographs that catch his attention in newspapers, the human essence and at times "just my spontaneity," he said.
"Some [squares of my artwork] have a message, some do not - some are more about energy," he said.
O'Malley said he is hoping his artwork will enable viewers to identify his drawings within their lives.
"We all have a connection to anything that is human," he said. "Each piece is a story; you have your own association with something up here."
On a personal note, O'Malley said he feels a bond with a specific piece that reminds him of a friend who recently passed away.
"There's a connection to the spirituality," he remarked. "The one that I can connect to the most right now, when I look up there."
Inspired by various uncommon materials, Mischak, a professor of sculpture at URI, created two artistic sculptures. His work, placed in the center of the gallery, has many potential interpretations.
Starting yesterday, seven University of Rhode Island professors began to display their photography, paintings, sculptings, drawings and other artistic works for public viewing at an event called "Hybrid."
Included in the show are professors Bob Dilworth, Ron Hutt, William Klenk, Jerry Mischak, Brian O'Malley, Gary Richman and Zoey Stites.
URI professors Stites, O'Malley and Mischak spent the afternoon finalizing the setup of their artwork in the Main Gallery in the Fine Arts Center. Overhead, lights cast bright highlights upon each artistic piece.
O'Malley, a professor of foundation studies at the university, said his drawings are an outlook of human emotions.
His piece, "A Series of Human Activity Near the End of 2008," is composed of 150 paper squares with black and white illustrations.
Throughout October, O'Malley produced, on average, four to five squares each day. "Within an hour I could do three to four; sometimes it would take a couple of hours," he said.
His work reflects the inspirations surrounding him - people, day-to-day things, photographs that catch his attention in newspapers, the human essence and at times "just my spontaneity," he said.
"Some [squares of my artwork] have a message, some do not - some are more about energy," he said.
O'Malley said he is hoping his artwork will enable viewers to identify his drawings within their lives.
"We all have a connection to anything that is human," he said. "Each piece is a story; you have your own association with something up here."
On a personal note, O'Malley said he feels a bond with a specific piece that reminds him of a friend who recently passed away.
"There's a connection to the spirituality," he remarked. "The one that I can connect to the most right now, when I look up there."
Inspired by various uncommon materials, Mischak, a professor of sculpture at URI, created two artistic sculptures. His work, placed in the center of the gallery, has many potential interpretations.
