Coker College's Senior Art Majors to have work showcased in April

Coker College’s Senior Art Exhibits for Spring of 2012

April 9^th – 13^th ~ Aliese Gregory, photography

(opening reception April 9^th  from 6-7pm)

April 16^th – 20^th ~ Seth Johnson, painting & video

(opening reception April 16^th from 7-8pm)

April 23th – 27^th ~ Danielle Wallace, installation sculpture 

(opening reception April 23^rd from 7-8pm)

Senior exhibitions are required of Coker’s art majors and represent the culmination of four years of study. At the same time, these shows offer the student an opportunity to share their work with the Coker and Hartsville communities, as well as friends and family.

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus in downtown Hartsville, SC.

Coker College upholds and defends the intellectual and artistic freedom of its faculty and students as they study and create art through which they explore the full spectrum of human experience. The college considers such pursuits central to the spirit of inquiry and thoughtful discussion, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

Check back with Pee Dee Arts for more information about these shows as their openings approach.

To have your event, program or project promoted by Pee Dee Arts, send complete information to peedeearts@gmail.com.  

March 12th at Coker College: Enoch Arden - Unique Student-Faculty Collaboration Blends Classical and Modern Forms

A novel performance of “Enoch Arden,” a musical work by Richard Strauss based on Lord Alfred Tennyson’s narrative poem, will be presented by collaborating artists Assistant Professor of Music Jun Matsuo, Associate Professor of Music Graham Wood and senior art and communication double-major Seth Johnson at 7:30 p.m. March 12 in the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center’s Watson Theater.

For more than a century, Tennyson’s classic poem “Enoch Arden” has been performed as a narrative (both in the original English and in German) set toan 1897 underscore by Strauss. In this month’s presentation at Coker, however, viewers will see a live performance involving piano, narration and a large-scale projected video.

Early last semester, Matsuo, who has collaborated with visual artists in the past, and Professor of Communication George Lellis approached Johnson, of Hartsville, with the idea of creating a video projection to accompany Strauss’ melodrama.

“It piqued my interest,” said Johnson. “It reminded me of the video work of Robin Rhode and Tal Rosner, who have also done large-scale projected video collaborations with composers. These artists have influenced my own work, and I saw this as an exciting opportunity to explore my favorite medium, video, in a totally different way.”

While the speaker, Wood, and pianist, Matsuo, will be visible during the performance, the large screen for the video will be the visual focal point for the production. 

“Presenting this enhanced version of ‘Enoch Arden’ as a live performance presents unique challenges,” explained Wood.  “Rehearsals are often like choreography as we try to match certain moments in the poetry and music with specific images in the video. The collaborative process necessitates a little give and take from all of us as we work together to tell this tragic story of love, loss and sacrifice.”

“This is an epic that has endured over the years,” said Johnson, “But, still, it is dated, and the question for me was how to present this old tale in a new way.

“My goal wasn’t to illustrate the tale, as the words alone could do that. I had to offer another lyrical element, an enhancement that would bolster both the mood and energy of the poetic text and music.”

Endeavoring to reconfigure the past, Johnson’s video dwells in contrasts, offering images of antiquity and contemporary abstractions that move and flow through one another to create a visual harmony intended to compliment the text and music.

The performance is free and open to the public.  For more information, contact Wood at gwood@coker.edu.