Press

A thoughtful look at "Pathways" from the Metro Times and contributor Andrew Klein, available here:
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12584

Here's an excerpt: Pathway: Consistency and Change isn't just about how and why we make art; it makes a strong case for art as a legitimate method of communication. In the interviews, some artists aren't so eloquent and not terribly animated, but what we see and hear are honest accounts of personal growth that make for fascinating accompaniments to the displayed art. It connects the audience to the artists on a human level. ....

Some words about the show courtesy of Michael Hodges of the Detroit News, available here: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/ENT05/802210434

Thursday, February 21, 2008
Exhibit shows MFA students' growth

Michael H. Hodges / The Detroit News

Cutting-edge art from Master of Fine Arts candidates around town takes over the University of Michigan's Work:Detroit Gallery in an exhibition, through March 22, titled "Pathways -- Consistency and Change." Continuing its mission to bring the Ann Arbor and Detroit art worlds together, "Pathways" highlights 15 artists from four distinguished institutions: Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University, the Cranbrook Academy of Art and the University of Michigan.

What particularly intrigued Work:Detroit director of exhibitions Nick Sousanis was the way the artists' works morph over time.

"The whole premise was to watch people's evolution," he says, "which I think is as interesting a piece of art as the artworks themselves." To this end, Sousanis created a short video in which each artist explains, in two or three minutes, the trajectory of his or her work -- offering unexpected insight into what's on the walls or hanging from the ceiling.

Among the works is an intriguing video by Cranbrook ceramic artist Katie Caron.
Projected onto a small pool of water in a dark room, "Animation #7" -- a stop-motion animation work -- features a luminous, "creepy-crawly thing," in Sousanis' words, "that manages to be quite primordial."

Equally compelling are the family portraits by EMU's Gypsy Schindler, which are life-size and highly realistic. They are painted on suspended sheets of plastic, and encountering them is a bit like bumping into a hologram or a surprisingly vivid ghost right in the middle of the room.