The “Faces” and “Abandoned in Place” art exhibits, now showing at Salt Lake Community College’s South City Campus, are both timely and timeless.
Lindsey Cowley’s “Faces” features masks, an art tradition that stretches from the Stone Age to tomorrow’s anime. The saturated colors of the masks pop against the changing colors of the undulating wall in the Edna Runswick Taylor Foyer at the east entrance.
“They [the masks] remind me of Aku, the villain of Samurai Jack,” said Derek Brice, a second-year animation student who said he enjoyed the exhibit.
Inside the George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Art Gallery, Roland Miller’s “Abandoned in Place” photography exhibit is also difficult to place in time.
Miller’s photos of facilities of the American space launch from the 1950-60s — now abandoned — shift from abstract to realistic and impressionistic documentary. The scenes have the patina of ancient ruins, yet within living memory were places of cutting-edge applied science, math and technology.
“I am drawn to abandoned buildings,” said Chris Morgan, an illustration student who stopped to take in the show.
“When I was taking a class in photography here at SLCC, I discovered I liked deserted industrial places,” Morgan said. “Nature takes over again so quickly. It reminds us [that] the place always was part of nature. It’s hard to explain.”
The photos show how quickly the new and relevant becomes the old and discarded in our society.
“The stuff we abandon says something about our values,” said Morgan.
Back at the “Faces” exhibit, Sarah Willeiter, who is majoring in visual arts and animation, said she was struck by the eyes of the masks.
Willeiter happened to be in the foyer when Cowley was setting up the exhibit. The art reminded Willeiter of smear frames used in animation to communicate movement and motion, which she mentioned to the artist.
Cowley, a local artist, explained she has a background in animation and smear frames, and it had inspired the eyes of her three-dimensional sculptures.
According to information at the gallery, the masks are layered with several faces in each. Every face communicates a different emotion, expressing how humans can experience many different feelings at the same time.
“It’s very cool. Her technique is clean. It’s hard to find imperfections,” Willeiter said.
Both exhibits are open for public viewing at South City Campus through Feb. 13.
