Faculty Art Exhibit Continues Through Nov. 22

Phil Kesler with his work, We the People and Chief Justices. (Photo: Leslie Gober)

By Leslie Gober
JSU News Bureau

The Jacksonville State University art department opened an exhibit in Hammond Hall on November 1 which features work created by the department's faculty.

Ceramic tray by Steve Loucks. (Photo: Leslie Gober)

The works ranged from oil paintings, photography, wood carvings, ceramics, and graphic design.

Doug Clark, associate professor of art, who teaches photography is in his first year of teaching at JSU. He explained how his works are centered on nature. On display he has three photographs. Two are from his illumination series. The third one is a large panorama titled Orchid, which is from the series named Altered Landscapes.

He said he likes to look at his art from a social point of view -- how humans lived and used the land. Clark said, "I created the Orchid out of the desire to actually step into a contemporary landscape and to step away from nature for a minute."

Assistant Professor of Graphic Design Phil Kesler is fairly new to JSU. He teaches Graphic Design I and III and Web Page Design. On display he has two pieces from his thesis. One is about the Bill of Rights and the other is about the Constitution. Professor Kesler explained how his works move in a timeline. His images become blurry and hard

Lamp and Table by Carter Osterbind. (Photo: Leslie Gober)

to read, which is meant to be an expression of modern technology moving into society. He said the Constitution piece represents a million people being added into society.

Professor Kesler said, "The inspiration of these two pieces, especially the Bill of Rights, was to gain an understanding of our government and how it works." He said these particular works are more theoretical than what he normally teaches in Graphic Design.

Steve Loucks, professor of art, has been teaching ceramics at JSU for about 18 years. He teaches all levels of ceramics from beginning to advanced. Professor Loucks said, "There are two types of poetry which are utilitarian -- which is a style of poetry that is for the kitchen and can be used. The second is decorative and is normally large and can not be used for anything."

He credits his family and nature for inspiration for all of his art work.

The exhibit will continue through November 22. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free. For more information call 782-5626 or go to the http://art.jsu.edu/.

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