Augusta State University PR » RG Brown

RG Brown III exhibit

Tunisia Williams — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:15:16 +0000

How can something be considered a work of art when it cannot be seen or touched? This is a question one art professor has found a way to answer. And he has agreed to use Augusta State University as his canvas.

As part of the city’s first Westobou Festival, ASU will be a venue for several art exhibits, one of which will display the “invisible art form” of University of Georgia Associate Professor of Art RG Brown III.

Mr. Brown creates artworks that involve burying forms under the earth, scanning the buried objects with sonar equipment, and then using that imagery as documentation for gallery-based artworks.

Earlier this month, a hole was excavated on campus, and Mr. Brown, with the assistance of several art students, constructed a foam boat and placed it underground. For three days (Aug. 29-Sept.1), surveys and scans of the area were conducted to create digital images. These digital works of art will be on display during the Westobou Festival (Sept.18-27) and at an exhibition being held in the New Space Galley in Washington Hall in October. On Friday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m., Mr. Brown will give an artist talk, which will be held in 170 University Hall.

Also on display will be four traditional African canoes, two dug out and two plant style, that were commissioned as part of a Fulbright project the artist did in West Africa. Two will be placed in front of the Maxwell Theatre, and two in front of Washington Hall. The boats will be on display from Friday, Sept. 11, until Friday, Nov. 7.

###

Two Westobou art exhibits displayed at ASU

Tunisia Williams — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:54:16 +0000

Augusta State University will be one of the venues for the celebration of the city’s first Westobou Festival, and on campus, the festival kicks off with two art exhibitions.

The first exhibition, co-sponsored by the Clay Artists of the Southeast (CASE) and installed under the guidance of Jackson Cheatham, ASU’s gallery director, will be titled Inviting the Stars – An Exhibition of Local and National Ceramic Art, which opens Aug. 28 and runs through Oct. 2.

Seventeen CASE ceramic artists, among other faculty members, have submitted more than 34 pieces of artwork. Also included in this exhibition will be works by Don Reitz, who is considered to be one among the most important and influential ceramic artists of this century. The diversity of work in the exhibition exemplifies the broad range of contemporary ceramic art produced throughout America. On Saturday, Sept. 27 from 9 a.m.– noon and Sunday, Sept. 29, 2p.m., Mr. Reitz will conduct ceramic workshops in the Jaguar Student Activities Center Ballroom.

The second exhibition will feature works by RG Brown, III, a University of Georgia associate professor of art, who creates artworks that involve burying forms under the earth, scanning the buried objects with sonar equipment, and then using that imagery as documentation for gallery-based artworks. On Friday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m., Mr. Brown will give an artist talk about his work in 170 University Hall.

On the exhibition, a total of four traditional African canoes, two dugout and two plank style, will be on display at ASU’s Maxwell Theatre and Washington Hall. This exhibit is also a part of a Fulbright project in West Africa which was commissioned by Mr. Brown. Earlier this month, a hole was evacuated, and Mr. Brown,

along with several art students, constructed a foam boat. Sonar scans of the boat will be performed Aug. 29 through Sept. 1, after which the scans will then be turned into digital images.

The exhibition will be held in the New Space Gallery in Washington Hall in October.

For more information, contact the ASU’s art department at 706-667-4888.

Two Exhibitions Focus Attention on ASU’s Department of Art

Tunisia Williams — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:39:03 +0000

Augusta State will be one of the venues for the celebration of the city’s first Westobou Festival, and in August, will kick off two art exhibitions that have been selected to be part of the festival.

The first, cosponsored by the Clay Artists of the Southeast (C.A.S.E.) and installed under the guidance of Jackson Cheatham, ASU’s Gallery Director, will be an exhibition titled Inviting the Stars – An Exhibition of Local and National Ceramic Art, which opens Aug. 28 and runs through Oct. 2.

Seventeen C.A.S.E. ceramic artists have invited one nationally known artist each for a total of 34 pieces, plus one honorary work by Don Reitz, one of the most important and influential ceramic artists of this century. Ms. Priscilla Hollingsworth, also a member of C.A.S.E. and an associate professor of art, will also participate in the exhibition, as will ASU student Heather Gaitonde and Carissa Doying, part-time instructor of art. The diversity of work in the exhibition exemplifies the broad range of contemporary ceramic art produced throughout America.

The second exhibition is a temporary landscape-oriented project that relates archaeology to sculpture. Athens-based sculptor RG Brown was chosen by the art faculty for this exhibit because of his use of boat imagery and its connections to history and place. Displayed on the ASU campus will be a total of four traditional African canoes, two dugout and two plank style, that the artist commissioned as part of a Fulbright project in West Africa. These boats will be up during the festival and the artist’s gallery show.

RG Brown was chosen by the Department of Art because of his use of boat imagery in his sculpture. “This was seen as a good selection for the Westobou Festival, Westobou being the Native American name for the Savannah River, with its connections to history and place,” says faculty artist Brian Rust. “Also, it’s a good fit with the ASU campus, with our rich archaeological history,” he says.

Brown creates artworks that involve burying forms under the earth, having them scanned with sonar-type equipment, and then using that imagery as documentation for gallery-based artworks. The ASU project will involve these elements. On Aug. 13, Physical Plant staff excavated a hole approximately 30ft long, 12ft wide, and 3ft deep. Dr. Christopher Murphy, ASU’s resident archaeologists, suggested the best site for the digging, which is near parking lot #5. The artist, along with help from art students, formed a plywood and foam boat in the hole, which was then covered. Sonar scans will be performed Aug. 29 through Sept. 1, which will then be turned into digital images.

The end product of this will be an exhibition of the documentation in the New Space Gallery in October of 2008.

As part of the Westabou Festival, the two art exhibitions will include receptions and artists’ talks. For more information, contact the art department at 706-667-4888.