I hope everyone had a chance to witness the Super Moon and eclipse that occurred on Sunday. Nature sets the bar very high, however, it also provides sublime inspiration for our own creativity; a creativity that is not bound by historical limitations.
One of the recognizable traits of art in our contemporary era is the idea of Borderless Practices. That is to say, that we see in contemporary art, a tendency in which previously discrete disciplines overlap and merge into new multi-disciplinary modes of expression. We see painters painting on things rather than painting image of things; we see sculptors using real live bodies to create spatial relationships and patterns in real time; we see dancers and choreographers collaborating with visual artists to create huge visual spectacles; we see visual artists turning to film to create expressions of rhythm, pattern and optical illusion. We see artists using visual means to illustrate psychological states and the dream-like subconscious and we see artists creating systems of language and sound scores that echo the cacophony of everyday life.
It is clear that the intermingling of disciplines in the 21st century has inexorably altered both the conditions of and understanding of art. We are lucky to be a part of an Art Department that embraces such diversity and encourages you, the students, to take risks with your creativity and to think about the possibilities of a life where such things matter.
Enjoy the fall!
Douglas Rosenberg
Chair, Art Department