Faculty to display wide-ranging talent in Brandstater art show

By Katie Pershing

Intricate woodcuts that echo the balance in nature. Mixed media paintings that lay open the trauma of displaced populations. Elegant, mystical figure drawings, hand-painted photographs that draw viewers into another time, intriguing sculptures that provoke questions.

These works and others will be on display during the La Sierra University Art Department Faculty Show, Feb. 14 - March 3. The exhibit will be held in La Sierra's Brandstater Gallery and celebrated with a show opening on Feb. 14 from 6 - 8 p.m. Admission is free. Gallery hours are Mon. - Thurs., 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sun., 2 - 5 p.m. For further information call 951-785-2170. Click here for a campus map: https://lasierra.edu/index.php?id=981.

Assistant Art Professor Timothy Musso is presenting two different bodies of work in this year's show. Having a great passion for process-based artwork, particularly print making, he has created a moderately abstract collection of woodcuts that deal with symmetry and balance in nature. He is also displaying a number of self initiated graphic design works in the form of a photo journal of his experiences hiking the Washington section of the Pacific Crest Trail, and a book that he has been working on for three years. In the latter work he chronicles the history of the Musso family through 1850.

Musso sees a strong connection between being an artist and being a teacher. He says that art is about sharing, and to be specific, sharing in a non-violent way. And this is why he chose to be a college art professor. Originally he was completely averse to becoming a teacher. He explained that he had hated the idea of using force, and felt that force was interwoven with teaching. However, he now looks on education as sharing. He sees education, and sharing that education to be the most valuable and important concepts humans can conceive. Art can be a term that encompasses the finer things in life, which is embracing the best of humanity, says Musso.

Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein, art department chair and associate art professor, found art to be her favorite medium of communication as well. Though early in life she worked primarily in music, she says she has always had passion for the fine arts, and particularly painting, always feeling it was so approachable and an immediate method of expression.

Most of Mejia-Krumbein's pieces deal with the myriad issues confronting humanity. Due to her experiences in the many and various places she has lived, she has a great heart for world plights. Her artwork deals with feelings of displacement, separation and identity.
She will present two large-scale mixed media paintings, and two mono-prints dealing with displacement, and a photography group inspired by the Berlin Wall. Both bodies of work were inspired during her last visit to Berlin in summer 2008.

Assistant Art Professor Terrill Thomas looks at the life of the artist as another perspective on the world. Being quite involved in the graphic design world, he walks the line between this and his love for the fine arts, particularly figure drawing and illustration. His work in this exhibit shows his ability in both areas.

Associate Art Professor Susan Patt continues her exploration in digital photography transfers. She will present a series of photos based on common places and objects. After the transfer process and hand painted mixed media manipulation, these prints acquire a rich painterly quality.

Susan Elizalde-Holler, adjunct art professor of ceramics, explains that her intention is to engage the viewer. She holds observation and reflection as important tools to maintaining a fresh and creative mind. In her classes she tries to encourage personal works, void of force, and promotes possible methods to find inspiration in anything. Personally, she draws inspiration from life in general. In fact, she would say she never looked at life hoping to be an artist, but art became the form of communication she was drawn to and still continues to explore. She will be exhibiting sculptures of constructed situations that address the relationship between an individual and his environment. The work is meant to leave questions in the viewers' minds. She intends to have people engage in a thought process that makes them look inward at their own experiences in order to interpret what they see.

Claudett Champbrun Goux, adjunct professor for art history, has a passion for photography. She has extensively exhibited her work.

Each art faculty has amazing stories, methods, and expressions connecting them to the art they produce. Whether it is a means of sharing beauty in this world, provoking thought and introspection, or providing a window to other places and cultures, art is philosophy and a lifestyle. Each professor brings a new point of view to the department and those effects are seen in the students by the broadening their perspectives, producing thought-filled artwork and ambitious goals.

PR Contact: Larry Becker

Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
951.785.2460 (voice)