by Ashton Collett,
Felicia Martinez and
Vincent Fronczek
The CMU Art Gallery is currently hosting “The Two of Us,” an art exhibit by internationally renowned artists James Surls and Charmaine Locke. If you are feeling artsy, having a night out on the town with some friends or trying to impress a hot date, come check out new exhibits on the first Friday of every month. “The Two of Us” will still be at the CMU Art Gallery until Sept. 23 and the gallery is open 12-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat.
For students who don’t know, the CMU Art Gallery moved from the University Center to the downtown location two years ago. This move increased the available space as well as providing more community access to the gallery. The gallery has been able to host some really incredible artists, including our very own B.F.A. student shows every spring semester. The next exhibit for the CMU Art Gallery this semester will be the faculty show.
Walking in on the opening reception of Sept. 2, we immediately noticed the life size figures towards the front of the gallery. There are three of these female forms that were made out of bronze and each had six arms, three stacked heads and various objects in the figure’s hands. These pieces, called “Open Book,” were made by Locke and accompanied by Surls’ “Rough God” in the center of the many faced women.
During the artist talk, Locke talked about how her sculptures related to nurturing and reflected on her experiences as a mother. This can be seen in the objects that the women hold, a book, an empty bowl, a fish, a lotus flower, a ring and an egg. These objects are all symbolic; the ring represents time/infinity, the book represents knowledge, etc. According to Locke, these items are regarded as universal symbols and can be understood in any language.
The other noticeable feature would be the five bronze ‘ribbons’ incorporated on the figures torsos. The ribbons read “Why can’t we find the path to peace when it is right in front of our eyes?”
These words are written vertically on each ribbon in English, Spanish, French, Chinese and Vietnamese (one language on each ribbon). Locke expressed this was a subtle way to react to the world around her which reflects on the world she’s raising her children in. In our opinion, if the sculptures had better overhead lighting, the words on the ribbon would have been easier to read and would have added a sense of drama; although the artists might not agree with us.
As for Surls work, “Rough God,” he brought up in his artist talk that adding the word ‘God’ to any title gives the piece authority. The shining steel twists and turns with protruding sharp spikes that resemble thorns. Having this sculpture in the middle of Locke’s peaceful women alludes to the idea that women can calm the roughness that God imbues in humanity.
We found that Surls’ thorns were effective at getting the idea of roughness across, but worried for the safety of the children running around the gallery. Surls has three other wood sculptures that are the opposite of his metal “Rough God.” They are all part of one piece titled “All I Ever Really Wanted Was to Go Home with You.” This work consists of three solid wood sculptures, one of the graphite works displayed and a smaller steel thorn form. The meaning of the collection of work was pretty clear: love and home becomes synonymous with infinity and unity.
Courtesy photo from coloradomesa.edu
