This piece by Pamela Lanza can be seen at Reece Museum.
"The 2015 FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social & Politically Engaged Art" is on display at the Reece Museum at East Tennessee State University through Dec. 7.
Socially and politically engaged art has been integral in creative expression since the beginning of visual arts, and "The FL3TCH3R Exhibit," an international juried exhibit that explores the current trends and trajectory in this field, is in its third year.
Juror Joyce Ogden selected 65 works by 57 artists from 31 states and six countries for inclusion in the exhibit, out of 283 pieces submitted by approximately 100 artists. In addition to the United States, other nations represented in the exhibit are Andorra, Korea, Latvia, Qatar and the United Kingdom.
Ogden is an award-winning artist based in southern Indiana whose work explores sustainability, the importance of water to local agriculture, nature, time and space. She received a master of fine arts degree from the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts at Indiana University-Bloomington and has exhibited throughout the southeastern United States. She is a professor of art at Spalding University and the Kentucky College of Art in Louisville.
Ogden comes to ETSU as a visiting artist during the spring 2016 semester, sponsored by the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts.
Four main cash prizes and several honorable mentions will be given. This year, the "FL3TCH3R Exhibit" Appalachian Artist Award will be renamed the Sammie L. Nicely Appalachian Artist Award to honor the memory of the late artist who served in residence at the Reece Museum during the fall 2014 and spring 2015 semesters prior to his death.
The exhibition is in memory of former ETSU student Fletcher H. Dyer, who died in a motorcycle accident in 2009 at the age of 22. He was a senior in the department, pursuing his bachelor of fine arts degree with a concentration in graphic design. He won five ADDY awards locally and one SILVER district ADDY award.
"As an artist and graphic designer, Fletcher created works that addressed social and political issues that concerned him through visual means," said his mother, Barbara Dyer, who is directing the exhibit with her husband, M. Wayne Dyer, a professor in the Department of Art and Design. "Fletcher's work embodied a purposeful, deliberate perspective, and it was his personal endeavor to employ art as social commentary.
"The collective creative works in "The FL3TCH3R Exhibit' hopefully serve as an avenue or agent for societal transformation and exposure of social and political points of view. The goal is to recognize and advance this endeavor by providing a venue for the exhibition of socially and politically engaged art."
Proceeds from the exhibit's entry fees go toward the Fletcher H. Dyer Memorial Scholarship for ETSU Art and Design students.
For more information, call the Reece Museum, 423-439-4392.
