“Ekphrasis: Word and Image Beyond Ode and Urn,” is the University of Maine at Farmington Art Gallery’s opening exhibit for the academic year. This show is free and open to the public and runs from Thursday, Sept. 3 to Thursday, Sept. 24. An opening reception will be held from 5 – 7 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 10, with readings and artist talks beginning at 5:30 p.m.
This exhibition looks at the interface of word and image in the 21st century and includes works by Jeffrey Thomson, poet; Christopher Lavery, installation/sound artist; Krista Connerly, new-media artist and sociographer; Stuart Kestenbaum, poet; Susan Webster, printmaker; and Dudley Zopp, installation artist and painter.
In this unique show, Thomson and Lavery create a collaborative visual and sound environment as they respond to each other’s work. Connerly maps online her journeys through the cityscape, building stories around the strangers she encounters as she invites viewers to participate with their own narratives. Kestenbaum and Webster build dynamic compositions in which the poet’s words create a complex dialogue amidst dense visual forms. And Zopp presents lyrical sequences in which images act as poetic form and structure.
The UMF Art Gallery is a nonprofit professional art space dedicated to bringing contemporary art and artists to campus and the regional community. In its dedication to new art, the gallery reinforces the vision of the UMF Department of Sound, Performance, and Visual Inquiry in celebrating art as a powerful agent of social and cultural change, and artists as generators of community and cultural identity. The gallery works with local schools to integrate arts programming into their curricula and opens its space to community events and gatherings.
The gallery is located at 246 Main St., Farmington. It is open noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, during the academic year and by appointment. “Ekphrasis: Word and Image Beyond Ode and Urn,” is sponsored by the UMF Department of Sound, Performance and Visual Inquiry.
