Dubuque High School Juried Art Show at the University of Dubuque
Jan 9, 2014 | Kristi Lynchg
Heritage Center’s Bisignano Art Gallery opens its next exhibition Dubuque High School Juried Art Show today, Thursday, January 9 from 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. The exhibition highlights works juried by the high school art teachers themselves at Dubuque Senior High School, Hempstead High School and Wahlert High School. The 16 works in the show are in various media including ceramics, painting, photography, pen and ink, multimedia, and weaving.
According to the Bisignano Art Gallery Director, Alan Garfield, the idea of a juried show – juried, that is, by the art teachers themselves - has never occurred in Dubuque. He proposed the show in fall 2013, and it was enthusiastically endorsed by all the teachers.
In a juried show, typically the juror(s) are unknown to the artists. There is a distinct desire for dispassionate distance in most juried shows. Not here. We asked the teachers themselves to choose the artwork, the teachers who instruct and meet with these students on a daily basis. We asked each teacher to operate in a different way, not in the capacity of a teacher or an advisor, but as a judge with a bit of psychical distance, if possible. “This the teachers did with admirable skill,” said Garfield. “Art teachers need to examine their own work and skills in a new light from time-to-time, just as they ask students to reflect on their work.”
According to Garfield, this show does not purport to demonstrate an aesthetic or direction in art by these 16 students in Dubuque. “How could it,” Garfield stated, “here we have different students with different teachers exploring different content within different media and skillsets. And yet we clearly see postmodern visual arts in this show - the notion of a rejection of ‘pure form’ and objective beauty, choosing instead to rely on the fusion of disparate art elements and form.”
WHAT: Opening of the Dubuque High School Juried Art Show at the University of
Dubuque’s Bisignano Art Gallery
WHEN: Thursday, January 9 – Saturday, February 1
WHERE: Bisignano Art Gallery at Heritage Center, University of Dubuque
PRICE: Free to all
The Bisignano Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. There is no charge. Further questions, contact Alan Garfield, director, at 563-589-3717
