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FEATURE: Ortlip Gallery Features Husband-and-Wife Artist Duo

By Rylee Archambault (’23)

The Ortlip Art Gallery at Houghton is now presenting ‘Side by Side’, a series by Amanda Parry Oglesbee and Brian Oglesbee, an artistic husband and wife duo. She’s a painter and he is a photographer; can I make it any more obvious? The Oglesbees met at the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1970s and have been “side by side” ever since. 

This is a show that needs to be seen in-person. While Brian Oglesbee’s photographs look like they are photoshopped, there is no post-production done on his work. They are all exactly what the camera sees. Along with this, Amanda Parry Oglesbee displays her latest series, titled ‘Beings,’ which consists of large paintings of trees in an editorial style.

Her artist statement:

“I am moved by the beauty and courage of all things that grow on earth. As I paint trees and flowers they become portraits of beings compelled to grow and survive. Some of my paintings are made directly observing nature.  My work is sometimes influenced by historical art and other times built entirely from my imagination allowing the piece to grow organically with an equal combination of intent and acceptance. Most of my paintings are a combination of these different approaches.”

His artist statement:

“My photographs are very ‘straight;’ in other words, the camera simply records what was in front of it. What is seen in the print is what was presented to the camera; (with the exception of one of the ‘Tangles,’ which features stitched exposures, and the early multi-media works) there is no subsequent manipulation of the image after the initial single exposure.”

This exhibition will be on display through December 18th. A reception for the artists will be held on Friday, December 3rd, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm, at the Ortlip Gallery.

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Stories In Focus

Cinephiles Rejoice, The Oscars are Here

There is a magical day near the beginning of February when all of America comes together to sit in front of the TV and eat chicken wings and bean dip until their guts burst. It is a day for greasy fingers, team sweatshirts, and high adrenaline. Most families gear up for this; they throw parties, check stats, and dedicate a Pinterest board to cakes shaped like footballs. But for some reason this was never a “thing” in my family. While the rest of the country hummed to the tune of (hopefully) witty commercials we largely took this as a day to run numbers, read reviews, watch the main completion, and prepare for our main event: The Academy Awards.

Courtesy of facebook.com
Courtesy of facebook.com

Ah, the Academy Awards. The event that fuels the two dreary months after Christmas. It is just an awards show, of course. It is flawed and any real critic will roll their eyes at you if your only citation as to why a film is great is “it won an Oscar.” But behind all the bureaucracy, the politics, and the movie money machine, the Oscars remain the only place where real Hollywood glamour still exists.

The Academy Awards made their debut in 1929 at a closed, invitation-only event costing those present $5 a head. Their intention was simple: to recognize and award those in the film industry who were exceptional at their craft. It began with directors, writers, producers, and the cast and as its popularity grew so did the award list. By the time it was aired on television in 1953 the Academy Awards had achieved the pinnacle status for any person in the American film industry to achieve. To win an Academy Award was beyond words. As Audrey Hepburn stated in her win for Roman Holiday that first televised year, “I am just so… terribly happy.”

Now, at the 86th Academy Awards, despite cynicism and an over-abundance of hipster film buffs, the Oscars are still the crowning night for American film. There will be no half naked Miley Cyrus, there will be no Madonna in white spandex (there will be a fabulous Ellen DeGeneres with all her wit and blue eyes rockin’ the MC however). No, instead there will tuxes and gowns as far as the eye can see. And America will get to wallow in some beautiful people that are honestly really just damn good at what they do.

This year the star of Hollywood is undeniably Cate Blanchet and heavens is it her time for a leading lady Oscar. The Australian actress was robbed in 1998 by Gwyneth Paltrow, and although she has one truly earned Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for playing the legend Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator, she should rightly have a few more alongside it (she played BOB DYLAN in I’m Not There for pete’s sake!). Her (fingers crossed!) award this year would be for her lead in Woody Allen’s somewhat mediocre film Blue Jasmine for her stunning performance of a woman on the edge of a post-marital mental breakdown.

The 86th Academy Awards,  hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday March 2nd, live on ABC.

 

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Stories In Focus

Jillian Sokso Attains Competitive Artist Residency

Professor Jillian Sokso, Associate Professor of Art, has recently returned from a two week residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). With the help of the faculty development committee Sokso was able to achieve the great honor of attending the VCCA.

For over forty years, the VCCA has supported the work of about 350 artists, painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers; composers and writers. Typically there are 23 fellows in residency at one time. This includes anyone from a renowned artist to an eager young artist at the beginning of their professional career. Sokso, ever so humbly, said “I am still baffled I was able to get in, it was gratifying being among that caliber of people” as she reminisced about her time at VCCA.

SoksoThe VCCA provides artists with their own bedroom, three meals a day, and a private studio allowing for the artists to work for hours, days, or weeks completely uninterrupted. “My studio was 700 square feet, had large windows and a skylight,” said Sokso. The VCCA is also surrounded by 400 acres of rolling Blue Ridge farmland, a view Sokso was able to enjoy from her studio.

Artist who have done a residency at VCCA say they were able to accomplish more work there in a matter of weeks than they would have in a year at home. “Time. Time was the most precious commodity and richest blessing,” said Sokso. The VCCA provides a quiet and creative environment for the artists, allowing them to get away from everything as well as giving them the opportunity to be surrounded by more than 20 other highly talented artists which allows for in-depth discussions and new ideas for artists to ponder. “Writers would host readings in their studios and visual artists would invite the fellows to their studio for art critiques,” said Sokso. Along with completing sculptures, an artist book, and a series of 24 drawings, Sokso was also able to trade prints with a printmaker from Virginia.

Past fellows of VCCA include recipients of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Academy in Rome, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, as well as winners of National Book Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and MacArthur genius awards. Due to the great accomplishments of past fellows, VCCA has become a highly desired residency, making admissions extremely competitive. According to one of their fellows, the VCAA is “one of the most important sources of art in the world.”

Despite her talent and amazing accomplishment of being accepted into the VCCA, Sokso was nothing but humble throughout the interview. She continually expressed her gratitude to the faculty development committee who made it financially possible for her to attend, as well as the Dean’s office that helped provide a stand-in instructor for her students.

Sokso has now set her sights on VCCA’s satellite program in France which requires fellows to have first been to VCCA. “I would like to apply to the program in France, it’s more of a narrow pool and would be a challenge to get in.”