What is art? At the VU Brauer Museum it’s all about variety
By Amy Lavalley Post-Tribune correspondent January 13, 2012 12:32PM
Ron Villani (b. 1939) Mad Dog, 2011 Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches Collection of the Artist | Provided Photo~Sun-Times Media
If you go
The four exhibits and related events at the Brauer Museum of Art are free and open to the public.
The museum is in the
Valparaiso University
Center for the Arts,
1709 Chapel Drive.
Hours at the museum are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday;
10 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday; and noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The events tied to the
current exhibits are:
A gallery talk with Claudette Roper, 2:30 p.m. Jan. 16.
A gallery talk with Ron Villani, 7 p.m. Jan. 17.
A student coffee hour with Brian Knep, 7 p.m. Feb. 1.
Article Extras
Updated: February 16, 2012 8:03AM
VALPARAISO — The Brauer Museum of Art has on display four diverse exhibits that tackle a wide array of media, from paintings that touch on science fiction and social commentary, to an interactive, pulsating light display.
“It’s really just about circumstance and the way things worked out, but really, the theme becomes variety,” said Gregg Hertzlieb, the museum’s art director. He curated or helped curate two of the four exhibits now at the museum. “As you go through, we’re just trying to give you a varied perspective of what art is.”
A rundown of the exhibits, which are on display until March 18:
“Mindless Mayhem: The Art of Ron Villani” features about 80 of Villani’s works, mostly paintings. “There’s some social commentary in there but it’s also fun,” Hertzlieb said. He said the science fiction aspect of Villani’s work is new for the museum. That exhibit is in the Wehling and McGill Galleries.
“Healing Pool: An Installation by Brian Knep” occupies the West Gallery, and uses custom algorithms to create shifting, organic light patterns on the floor, which break apart when a person walks across them. “It’s really unusual. I’ve not seen anything like that before,” Hertzlieb said.
“The Art of Jeanette Pasin Sloan” occupies the Ferguson Galleries. All of the pieces on exhibit are part of the museum’s permanent collection, because she donated her complete archives to the museum.
Her detailed, brightly colored lithographs are startlingly true to life. “People do refer to her as a photo realist,” Hertzlieb said.
“Other State: Claudette Roper Video Installation” is in the Education Room. The video installation examines racism through filmed interviews with 40 African-Americans of various ages. “It’s all mouths, talking about what it’s like to be black,” Hertzlieb said.
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