College of Fine and Applied Arts

Broken Distinction Between Art and Life, featuring works by Nicola Mousa Bajalia II is the first abstract painting exhibition at the Robert F. Gilley Recording Studio Gallery in the Hayes School of Music building. The exhibition opened Nov. 16 and continues through Feb. 12, 2010.

Nicola Mousa Bajalia II works with a wide variety of mediums including paint, steel, wood and a multitude of mixed media. In Broken Distinction Between Art and Life, Bajalia focuses his efforts on abstract paintings that directly involve the subconscious. By acting out his feelings onto the canvas, Bajalia practices action painting, a popular term used by Abstract Expressionist artists. However Bajalia’s paintings are not a reaction to the Abstract Expressionist movement from the 1950’s, but are similar in process and content. With the removal of the figure and any recognizable imagery, Bajalia encourages viewers to recall past thoughts, experiences, and feelings to understand the abstraction in his art. He hopes to transcend the representational by expressing what is intangible, ephemeral, and transient through the act of painting. For Bajalia the final product is not as important as the process in making the work. We should then think of each work as an event, that the artist has performed for us and its end result is what is left for us to analyze.

Kyle Fisher, the curator of the exhibition, is interested in the “performance” between Bajalia and his paintings. An art history student at Appalachian State University, Fisher gained gallery experience at both the Catherine J. Smith Gallery and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. This is the first occasion where Fisher exhibits his skills as a curator at the Robert F. Gilley Recording Studio Gallery. Fisher’s main intentions for this exhibition are to help generate a discussion about abstract expression and encourage viewers to better experience Nicola Mousa Bajalia’ II series of work.

Jessica Meyer, My Life, My Love, and My Lady is the Sea, Lithographic Tattoo. Photo by Michael Gilchrist.

The Catherine J. Smith Gallery at Appalachian State University is pleased to announce a lithographic tattoo workshop and showcase by Jessica Meyer.

Artist Jessica Meyer will be on campus from Nov. 9 through 13 for a week-long workshop that culminates in a public event. This event includes an artist talk and tattoo showcase at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, in the Catherine J. Smith Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

Printmaking becomes performance and intersects with popular culture as artist Jessica Meyer (a.k.a. Tattoo Jessica) guides students through the process of making skin transferable lithography. Informed by the historical and cultural roles of the tattoo, workshop participants will create a variety of prints that will be worn on the skin. At the end of this week-long workshop, students will display their tattoos and invite their audience to participate in a living picture gallery of illustrated flesh. Tattoo will also be available for visitors who are interested in wearing one of these unique works.

All programs take place in the Catherine J. Smith Gallery on the Appalachian State University campus unless otherwise noted. The Gallery is located in Farthing Auditorium at 733 Rivers Street, Boone, NC. Hours are Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission is free for all events. For information, please call 828-262-7338 or email servonjm@appstate.edu

Art faculty member, Ali Raza, is currently on a yearlong leave of absence in Pakistan. An article featuring his show at the Asia Society in New York, “Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan” Sept. 10 through Jan. 3 appeared in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/arts/design/03fire.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2.

In the past few months, Gayle Marie Weitz’s “Humanimals” have been selected for inclusion in several exhibitions around the country: Pen and Brush in New York City; K-Space Contemporary in Corpus Christi, Texas; Center for the Living Arts in Mobile, Alabama; Lexington Art League in Lexington, Kentucky; University Galleries at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky; and the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah, Kentucky. In addition, they will be included in the fall issue of “Direct Art Magazine.” Weitz is a member of the Art faculty.

Art faculty member, David Modler, participated in the art project, Variable, in Asheville on Aug. 29. On Oct. 2, his solo exhibition, Tangential Information, opens at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and from Oct. 22 to 25 Modler will present at the North Carolina Art Education Association Conference in Winston-Salem. From Nov. 15 to 19 Modler will facilitate a seminar on Visual Journals at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching in Cullowhee, and he will present at the National Art Education Association Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, April 14 to 18. He also co-authored the book “Journal Junkies Workshop: Ammunition for the Art Addict,” due to be released May 20, 2010, and published by North light Books, Cincinnati, OH.