Summer Exhibit at Francis Marion's Hyman Fine Arts Center

Primitive Arts in the Modern World - Greg Pryor.“There is great wisdom in the native American proverb, ‘A man must make his own arrows.’ Beyond the metaphorical, making arrows in the modern world connects us to the primitive world of our ancestors. Working in a variety of media, I strive to use natural resources to create arrowheads, knives, and spearheads from flint, obsidian, glass, and porcelain. I manufacture and shoot arrows and atlatl darts made from these arrowheads and locally-sourced river cane, pine pitch glue, wild turkey feathers, and deer sinew. I grow, cure, and process gourds into a variety of containers, and make cordage, tools, bags, clothing, and jewelry from wild plant fibers, bone, clay, stone, sinew, rawhide, and brain-tanned hides.” Greg Pryor is an Associate Professor of Biology at Francis Marion University with a doctorate in Zoology. He is a traditional artist (working in a variety of media), carpenter, construction worker, cook, and amateur musician, and he practices primitive arts such as bow-and-drill firemaking and survival crafts. He likes to live off the land as much as possible and is a self-proclaimed "nature freak." Notes  From the Curator: Dr. Pryor double majored as an undergraduate in zoology and art.  His acrylic paintings, most often of birds, reveal animals interacting with human artifacts, sometimes using them, sometimes existing in a landscape littered by them. Pryor’s primitive crafts give us insight into the interaction of early humans with the natural world.  His crafts also give us an opportunity to consider how art crept into craft, as useful objects came to be decorated, placing the indelible stamp of the artisan on everyday objects.  The Hyman Fine Arts Center, located on the campus of Francis Marion University is open 8:30 -5:00 pm Monday through Thursdays. This exhibit runs through August 16.