IN THIS LIFE: REFLECTIONS ON WAR AND POLITICS

In This Life is an exhibition with a collection of paintings on the subject of war and politics. You may visit this exhibition in the Fort Collins Museum Of Contemporary Arts between September 25, 2007 and December 08, 2007. The three featured artists in this exhibition are Felipe Echevarria, Miguel Tio, and Kumiko S Mckee. Through their paintings, these three artists reflect on the events of 9/11 and the war in Iraq. The experience of war and destruction as a component of the human condition is said to be central to Echevarria's work. In his work titled My God Is Not Your God, he paints a wide and calm blue sky with bombs falling down in it. Taking a different approach is Miguel Tio who was born in the Dominican Republic and currently lives in New York City. He was living in New York City at the time of the attacks on the World Trade Center, which is where he drew his inspiration from to paint The Journey After. In this oil work he paints classical nude figures as angels with wings flying in a clear blue sky around the World Trade Center towers in a beautifully dynamic composition. Tio handles the human skin on the angels fantastically with such a sense of control and a knowledge of color pallette. His brush strokes are smooth and his representation of the World Trade Center is executed to perfection, which is why I made this painting my favorite pick in the museum's exhibition. Miguel Tio says he paints "not through eyes that are merely temporal, but through eyes which serve a higher purpose: as the windows of the soul". Echevarria, Tio, and McKee together show in their works political issues that are a reality to us all. The three artists all seem to understand that humanity is capable of dangerous actions, such as destruction, war and revenge.

Sculpture Works by Colorado State University students

Some say sculpture lives all around us, in our surroundings from day to day lives. Even the most anatomical parts of us can be turned into beautiful artwork. Students enrolled in Colorado State University's sculpting class have turned to studying body parts and body form for these next group of sculpture works they've created. A foot, a hand, a person laying down, a human form dancing, and many more can all be found in sculpted pieces of cardboard here in the Visual Arts building hallway. Yup, it's pretty amazing what you can do with recycled cardboard. What most would consider pieces of trash, others can find masterpieces in the making. I also noticed a wide variety of color choices which was a decision each individual artist had to come to. As I walked through the bunch, I found myself not just thinking of what it is exactly I am looking at, but the form it took and the presence it possessed in the dark lonely hallway. Some pieces demanded from its passer-byers the attention it deserved, screaming for someone to take a second, if not a minute of their precious time to gander at the sculpture someone had worked so hard on. Sculpture takes not only great talent and skill, but great patience as well.

Defining and Discovering Personal Culture In the Context of a Mixed America

This exhibition consists of works created by Elizabeth Bartlett. She is a student at Colorado State University and this gallery contains her graduating thesis works. These are works she has made over the past several years from her beginning experiences with art up to her most recent works. The exhibition will be open October 5-9 and is located in the Mini Gallery in the Visual Arts building. I really appreciate the work and hard efforts she put forth in putting this gallery exhibition together. I was pleased to see such a wide variety of multiple media works such as sculpture, painted canvas, painted fiber, illustration, clothing, and even a functional hat piece was in the mix. The show won't be up long so please come visit.