Two new exhibitions open October 7 at Catapult Creative House and the River Campus Art Building.
Literary Innovations: An Exhibition Inspired by William Faulkner and Jesmyn Ward
“Literary Innovations: An Exhibition Inspired by William Faulkner and Jesmyn Ward” will be on view from October 7 through November 10 at Catapult Creative House.
This exhibition is in conjunction with the Biennial Faulkner Conference (October 20-22, 2022), hosted by the Center for Faulkner Studies at Southeast Missouri State University. It features the work of students in Blake Sanders’ printmaking class.
The theme for the exhibition is the work of Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner and National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward. Although they were born almost 80 years apart, these authors have much in common. Both are from small towns in rural Mississippi, and both write about similar issues in their novels. Although Faulkner writes from a white, male perspective, he was unafraid to tackle the serious social problems of the South and the U.S. Faulkner explores issues of identity, race and racism, gender, patriarchal power, poverty, and environmental destruction. Jesmyn Ward writes from a black, female perspective about many of the same issues albeit in a 21st century context. Her narratives present the interiority of black experience in the South and U.S. in ways that Faulkner could not. Ward’s themes include patriarchal oppression, racial prejudice, rural poverty and its effects, incarceration, family dynamics, individual identity, and the natural environment.
The opening reception is scheduled for Friday, October 7 from 5-7 p.m. in the Catapult Creative House Gallery. Attendees are welcome to tour the entire Catapult facilities including the Southeast Missouri State University Art Department students’ studios and student artist Neal X. Joiner’s solo exhibition in the Slingshot Gallery, both on the second floor.
Catapult Creative House is located at 612 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Finding My Voice, Speaking My Truth (No More Waiting for a Snow Day)
“Finding My Voice, Speaking My Truth (No More Waiting for a Snow Day)”, an exhibition of paintings by Taina Mantey will be on view Friday, October 7 through Friday, November 10 at the River Campus Art Building.
Taina Mantey is a Michigan artist born in 1966 near Detroit. After high school, she studied Fine Art at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. She eventually went on to earn a master’s degree in art education at Wayne State University. Taina started her teaching career at a small rural district in southeast Michigan. She studied Italian Renaissance art and history through the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1994. In 2002, she was selected to participate in TICA, the Teacher Institute in Contemporary Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied contemporary artists and was immersed in studio figure painting, prompting her to approach figurative work in new ways. In 2014 and 2015, she participated in week-long workshops with artists Lou Rizzolo and Linda Talbot-Rizzolo. In 2022, Taina retired from her teaching position so she can focus on her art.
This exhibition features work in response to personal challenges Taina has faced over the last decade. She states, “For years I struggled with self-doubt in different aspects of my life, especially my art making. Then I was plagued with infertility for years, intensifying my feelings of inadequacy. Sometime after I finally had my children I started to experiment with overlapping imagery. I felt that I needed to communicate multiple views or moments of a story simultaneously; experimenting with composition and imagery chosen to symbolically represent my mindset at that time. Hollyhocks in my art represent imperfect and flawed beauty; a chrysalis represents an opportunity for me to evolve to something better; and embryos became a symbol for the creative process. In the past two years I have experimented more with encaustic mediums, mixed media processes, and intuitive abstracts. After years of self-doubt and a level of fear in the art making process, I have discovered a liberation and self-trust. I relax into the process, allow things to happen, and I appreciate the beautiful things that happen when I don’t try to control the process.”
An opening reception for “Finding My Voice, Speaking My Truth (No More Waiting for a Snow Day)” will take place on Friday, October 7 from 5-7 p.m.
The River Campus Art Building is located at 340 South Frederick Street. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
For more information on either exhibition, contact Dr. Joni Hand at jhand@semo.edu or (573) 651-2720.