IU Fine Arts faculty flaunts its stuff

It's time for the faculty of the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts to show its students what it can do. \nFor the next five weeks, the faculty's work will be the focus of "A Bloomington Biennial: Faculty Artists from IU's Hope School of Fine Arts" at the IU Art Museum.\nIn conjunction with Bloomington's ArtsWeek "Technology and the Arts" theme, many of the exhibit's pieces deal with the interaction of art and technology. However, the event organizer, Jenny McComas, who is also the IU Art Museum's curator of Western art after 1800, does not want people to enter the exhibit with a narrow mind.\n"There is a subtle connection with Bloomington ArtsWeek," McComas said. "But I don't want that to color visitors' perceptions; there is a wide variety of styles and media on display."\nThirty-one artists contributed to the gallery, according to a press release from the IU Art Museum. Each artist is either a current or retired full-time faculty member from the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts.\n"The faculty exhibit is a fun way to see the creative research of some of the most talented artists that live here," Margaret Dolinsky, a current faculty member who contributed "Hello World (An Illuminated Manuscript)," which is a rotating collection of her artwork projected onto a screen, said in an e-mail. \nDolinsky uses the capabilities of digital art to tackle metaphors, but some of the other featured artists find motivation in more conventional themes and media.\n"The exhibit shows the variety of inspiration that motivates our teachers here at IU," said Carol Arnold, a docent for the IU Art Museum. "I like to see what people are doing in traditional genres," Arnold said. "But I also like to expand my mind by looking at different media."\nWalking through the halls of the IU Art Museum's first floor Special Exhibitions Gallery, visitors will encounter an assortment of paintings, sculptures, film and just about everything in-between. The diversity of media and style also impressed students visiting the gallery.\n"I think the exhibit is more interesting than the others because there is a lot more abstract artwork," said Ashley Rosati, a freshman studying business.\nThe exhibit certainly offers ample opportunity for expansion of the mind. From Caleb Weintraub's colorful oil-on-wood painting "Ashes, Ashes, Splashes, Splashes" to Stephanie Dotson's sculpture "Lane Fire," there is plenty in the gallery to challenge visitors' perspectives.\n"It's a cool setup," said sophomore Jackie Rowley, an interior design major. "Some of the paintings are real trippy-looking."\nThe Biennial Faculty Exhibit is free and open to the public until March 11. Art aficionados and ignoramuses alike can find something fascinating in the exhibit. \n"I probably would not have come to this if I didn't have to for class," Rowley said. "But I'm glad I was exposed to this, it's a new insight into our teachers' work"