Lauren Davis, Campus Carrier asst. arts and living editor
Berry’s campus is currently hosting a invitational art exhibition titled “Embodiment III” featuring the talents of artists from outside the college community. This exhibition brings to Berry’s grounds a diverse range of artworks created by artists. The walls of The Moon Gallery are now filled with cyanotypes, comics, naturalistic drawings and ceramics that reflect the theme of the human figure. “Embodiment III” provides a compelling exploration of the human form, offering various perspectives on this subject.
The art exhibition features 4 artists all who work with different mediums and styles. Phillip Fleming, Jillian Marie Browning, Jessica Burke, and Jennifer D. Martin all have their works displayed inside the Moon Gallery. Both Fleming and Browning have given artist talks as Cultural Events credits for Berry’s students.
Jillian Marie Browning is a interdisciplinary artist who is pursuing themes of feminism, identity and the contemporary black experience. Browning received a Bachelor of Science degree in Photography from the University of Central Florida in 2012 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art from Florida State University in 2015. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Browning’s piece of artwork displayed in the exhibition is called “Matriarchal Line” (2018). According to Browning, she used cyanotype as her medium for that particular piece Cyanotype is a camera-less technique that involves laying an object on a sensitized piece of paper, and then laying it out in the sun to create vibrant white and blue images. In this exhibit Browning used embroidery hoops and the hair of herself, her mom, and her sisters. Browning states that to create “Matriarchal Line” she asked for a piece of hair from each family member to represent the natural hair of black women.
“For me it’s really important to make art that a certain sector of people can relate to,” Browning said. “I see this piece of art to be self portraiture, because they are my direct bloodline and are the reason I am the person I am today.”
Graphic novelist Phillip Fleming also has his art on display in the “Embodiment III” exhibition. Fleming constructs graphic novels inspired by the histories of African and Caribbean cultures, using themes of slavery, vampires, pandemics and war. Covers and selected pages from three of his novels are displayed in The Moon Gallery. The three novels include “Rooted”, “Bloods and Irons” and his latest comic “Black Ghost”.
Jessica Burke is a figurative artist and an art professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. She has five drawings displayed in the “Embodiment III” exhibit. Her drawings are from two series, “Dressed up Bones” and “Sugar Rush.” The “Dressed up Bones” series shows skeletons dressed in popular culture inspired outfits. Her series illustrates themes such as death, identity, childhood fantasies and adult realities.
Lastly, Ceramist Jennifer D. Martin created five ceramic utilitarian forms to be displayed in the exhibition: a plate, a bottle, a flask and a tile. They are meant to serve as metaphors for the human body such as the imperfections and curvature of the clay. The Moon Gallery writes, “The imperfections of the clay body mirror those that mark human forms and serve as reminders of experience.”
Sophomore art major Nancy Daniel went to see the exhibition and enjoyed it thoroughly. She said that when she heard about the exhibition being displayed she was excited to see Jessica Burke’s skeleton drawings because she was currently learning to draw skeletons in her Figure Drawing class. According to Daniel, Burke’s drawings were high in detail and good inspiration for not just her but for everyone in her figure drawing class. She found the skeleton dressed like Snow White to be thought provoking, saying that it could be interpreted in a darker or light hearted manner.
“I feel like that’s the beauty of it,” Daniel said. “I just like to sit in there because it’s quiet and it’s honestly kind of peaceful, it’s like a mini museum.”
“Embodiment III” is free and open to the public in The Moon Gallery from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The exhibit closes on Oct. 19.