The Lane Community College Art Gallery is proud to present the sabbatical
exhibition, Psyche by art faculty, JS
Bird.
JS Bird is a painting instructor for
the Department of Art and Applied Design at Lane Community College. Following a
recent sabbatical, JS has been producing a new body of work exploring the myth
of Psyche and Eros…using “iconographic
female images of Pop culture to cast in the role of Psyche, famous women who
are culturally associated with beauty and sexuality. While these icons are associated with
sexuality and fantasy, there actually is no relationship between the icon and
the viewer, except what lives inside the viewers head.”
In discussing
his art as it relates to his audience, JS states, ”In most cases art is neutral, it is an
object, (objectified) yet the viewer creates a relationship with the art only
by looking at it. While adopting pop
culture’s pictorial conventions of sexuality, I am relying on context to
transform the images into a form that transcends the very conventions
utilized. Such an overt, embellished
fantasy, perhaps, holds within it, the capacity to force the viewer to confront,
rather than indulge in, ones desire, or rejection, of the image.”
The show runs from November
13th through December 6th. A sabbatical talk and closing
reception will take place on Thursday, November 29th, beginning at 4:00
pm with a reception immediately following at 5:00. The lecture and reception
are free and open to the public. The gallery is located in building 11 on the main
campus, 4000 E. 30th Avenue. There is no charge for admission. The Art and
Applied Design Department phone number is 541-463-5409.
Image top: Psyche Received Persephone's Potion
Image middle: Psyche West Wind
Image bottom: Psyche's Dilemma (detail)
