Mackenzie McGrath, Campus Carrier asst. arts and living editor

The subjectiveness of physical and digital art is truly something that people find fascinating. One thing that the art program here at Berry is excellent at is bringing in art from all walks of life to give all students a new perspective. To kick off the semester, the Moon Gallery has brought in the work of Douglas Barrett, print-maker and professor at the University of Alabama, entitled, “The Vanishing Point of Our Frontier.” 

Nancy Daniel, a Junior Art major, has worked in the Moon Building and alongside this new exhibit as well as many others before. “The new exhibit is by Douglas Barrett, a printmaker, and he does prints that focus on layering colors on top of each other. Some of his works are portraits, some of them are places, but a lot of them are gas stations.” Daniel said Barrett’s prints are blown up so big in the studio that you can see every individual color layered to create the piece. While this project was created and designed by Barrett, BLOOM studio owner, the exhibit would not be possible without the collaboration of the art students who are in the Moon Building day in and day-out. “[Professor of Art Brad Adams] runs the show and he is in charge of putting up the gallery and the artist comes and goes every week.” Daniel said, “But there’s also a few student helpers and student workers who help him put up the show, so it’s a collaborative effort.”

It is no lie that art is meant to be seen and perceived, and this isn’t exclusive to just outsiders who know nothing about art. The students who work in the Moon building can learn from guest artists too. “[Professor Adams] does well at getting a good mix of different types of artists, he doesn’t just choose painters or drawers. I’m in printmaking, so this exhibit for me was really exciting to go see and get ideas.” This specific art gallery shows the importance of audiences witnessing more than just the general paintings of nature and presidential portraits. Daniel said, “Letting other people see what else is out there. I feel like when people think about what happens in the Moon Gallery, it’s very limited to drawing and ceramics, but there are so many more specific works like printmaking, works on paper and light media. These are certain fields of art that don’t get talked about in visual arts, I think it brought attention to that.” 

Douglas Barrett is an esteemed graphic artist, native to the South. He received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Florida and his master’s degree from the University of Florida, both in Graphic Design. His work is well-renowned for roadside culture, such as gas stations and post offices buildings that the everyday eye would ignore as “just a building.” Barrett explores the idea of something “taking up space.” especially in towns with only a few hundred residents. The truth that Barrett reveals in his work is that, just like the color he layers to create it, roadside typography aids in the creation of culture. Douglas Barrett will be providing an Artist Talk on Feb. 5th from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. in the McAllister Auditorium.  

“I think everyone should at least go by and see the exhibit, even every time there’s a new one,” Daniel said. “It is a small gallery, it doesn’t take an hour to walk through it. It’s really interesting for different people to see it and just appreciate how much is out there in the visual art world.” Art is not only for artists but for the consumption of every mind that views it. All mediums of art are meant to be perceived and thought about uniquely by every person. The piece that could stick with someone could be the simple print of a gas station that has brought the lives of small-town people together. Barrett’s exhibit will be open to the public for the remainder of January into the beginning of February, every weekday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Moon Gallery.