Brandstater Gallery opens season with “Resonance”

It was a quest for meaning, for resonance, which La Sierra University Assistant Art Professor Terrill Thomas undertook during his recent graduate studies at the Vermont College of Fine Art, an exploration of identity using art and graphic design as research tools.

On Sun., Oct. 5 Thomas will unveil an interactive light sculpture exhibit at La Sierra’s Brandstater Gallery that draws upon this quest. Titled “Resonance,” the show seeks to create an experience that causes viewers to reflect on their own identity and the lights that guide them through life’s journey.

“Resonance” opens the gallery’s exhibit season with an artist’s reception on Oct. 5 from 6 – 8 p.m. Thomas’ works will be on display through Thurs., Oct. 30. Gallery hours are Mon. – Thurs., 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.

“Resonance” creates an installation space that encourages reflection through lights, translucent sculpture, concrete blocks and willow branches. Viewers are invited to interact with the light sculptures by changing the color through remote controls and find a visual experience that resonates with them.

Each of the light sculptures is formed out of translucent layers of material overlaid onto a framework of metal wires that provides support. “This light tower is a metaphor for how our beliefs are formed and shaped. The metal rods represent our core beliefs, and what we value in life. These rods are embedded in us by our family, culture and religion. We wrap our identity of who we are onto this framework of understanding,” said Thomas.

Thomas, who also serves as the art department’s newly appointed chair, develops and teaches web, multimedia, video, digital photography and illustration courses. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1992 from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and worked in the technology and entertainment industries for 10 years as a digital illustrator and graphic designer. His past clients include Microsoft, Western Digital, Nokia, Swatch, Motown Records, A&M Records and Warner Brothers. Thomas maintains an active design practice serving small businesses and non-profit institutions, ensuring that La Sierra University students are being taught practices that are current with industry standards.

This year he earned a Master of Fine Arts in graphic design from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and published a book, “Graphic Design and Gardening” as a thesis project. During his research, he investigated the South Indian philosophical model of identity known as koshas which are sheaths or layers that represent different aspects of who we are.

“Resonance is when you feel something powerfully vibrate your being to the core, to the point that you are lost in it,” says Thomas. “This resonance, this vibration of intent and purpose is so powerful that others cannot help but feel it, and are either pushed away or are drawn to you. When we align ourselves with nature, the power of the natural world, the wind, the sounds, the ebb and flow of water and the feel of the earth under us speaks to us without words. If we allow nature to resonate within each of us, we will find our entire being brought back into alignment with the created world and ultimately with the inner layer of the kosha model of identity. To me this inner layer, this light is God, his creative power.”

“We move through life so rapidly, that we rarely allow ourselves the luxury to stop and listen to ourselves, to stop and wonder at the beauty of nature,” Thomas said. ‘“Resonance” seeks to create an experience that invites wonder.”