The campus’s galleries and museums open the new academic year with exhibitions of “big” drawings, printmaking as personal album and as a powerful tool of communication in California’s Latina culture, and a photographic essay.
Out of Line: A Show of Extended Drawing Practices — Drawing, one of the oldest art forms, continues to evolve — as shown by eight artists who have extended the medium to the very large scale. Sept. 27-Dec. 16. Opening reception 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27. Regular hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and Saturday-Sunday, and Friday by appointment. Nelson Hall.
The artists include two alumni: Julia Haft-Candell, Los Angeles, who plans to show two ceramic and mixed media sculptures based on improvisation with line; and Hong Chun Zhang, of Kansas, giant drawings of her hair (recently exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution).
Haft-Candall graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art and international relations, while Zhang received a Master of Fine Arts in 2004.
The other artists include Jeff Eisenberg of San Francisco, who uses pencil to create 6-foot-long drawings of imaginary architecture, and Carol Bernard of Davis, abstracted landscape pen-and-ink drawings of that same scale.
Also: Bette Burgoyne, Seattle, a very long, white pencil drawing of organic shapes gathered on a spool of black paper, along with a video of the drawing being unrolled; Jim Denevan, Santa Cruz, beach drawings that can literally be measured in miles; and Jim Melchert, Oakland, two ceramic sculptures with jagged painted lines.
And Larry Cressman of Michigan has built a site-specific wall installation of black sticks — referring to the line, and thus having to do with drawing. Which is exactly what he calls his work.
Farm to School Across the Lifespan — Photo essay by Craft Center volunteer Julia Luckenbill, infant-toddler program coordinator and demonstration lecturer at UC Davis’ Center for Child and Family Studies. Oct. 1-Nov. 2. Reception for the artist, 5-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6. Regular hours: 12:30-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 12:30-7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. South Silo.
Luckenbill has assembled some 50 photos from a project she began three to four years ago at the Early Childhood School Lab (part of the Center for Child and Family Services) and continued in other settings, exploring education efforts in sustainable gardening and farming — for audiences of all ages.
Salt-Bitter-Edge-Red Streak into the = Water Girl: Works of Melanie Yazzie — In this printmaking series, the Navajo artist considers her experiences since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She reflects upon her life today, developing new ways of living in Denver, while she remembers the events and people of her childhood and home on the Navajo Nation. Oct. 2-Dec. 7. Artist talk and reception, 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20. Regular hours: noon-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. 1316 Hart Hall.
Serigrafía — An exhibition of information design in printmaking, a traditional and powerful communication tool in California’s Latino culture. Oct. 8-Dec. 7. Regular hours: noon-4 p.m. Monday, 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Cruess Hall.
Seven curators, including Carlos Jackson of the UC Davis faculty, have assembled 30 silkscreen prints and posters from collections and artists statewide — works that best demonstrate effective and moving communication and artistry, while capturing cultural essence and meaning.
Jackson is an assistant professor in the Department of Chicana/o Studies and director of TANA, or Taller Arte del Nuevo Amancer (Art Workshop of the New Dawn), conceived and operated by the Department of Chicana/o Studies.
The TANA community workshop, located in Woodland, teaches silkscreen printing — and part of the Serigrafía exhibition will highlight the work of TANA.
Another of the curators, Carol Wells, executive director of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles, wrote in a 2007 essay, “Have Posters, Will Travel”:
“The best posters are powerful and influential. The worst quickly forgotten. Their history is as varied as their messages, traveling from demonstrations to trash bins and occasionally to museum walls.”
Serigrafía is from Exhibit Envoy, which provides traveling exhibitions and professional services to museums throughout California. The James Irvine Foundation provided funding for this particular exhibition.
Media Resources
Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu