From a Parkland press release:
Parkland College Art History Instructor Laura O’Donnell and Gallery Director Lisa Costello have curated “Through the Decades: Selected Student Artwork from the Permanent Collection,” a group exhibition at Giertz Gallery at Parkland College that opens Monday, June 16 and runs through Thursday, July 24, 2014. They have selected close to 40 works from the collection that started in 1971, when Parkland College’s Fine and Applied Arts Department began purchasing several pieces of artwork from the annual Art & Design Student Juried Exhibition. This collection, which has grown and evolved over the years, consists of two-dimensional art and provides a visual history of the breadth of the Art and Design program. The exhibition will feature drawings in various materials such as ink, pastel, charcoal, and graphite; paintings in watercolor, oil and acrylic; and photographs. The selected works exemplify just a few of the many artworks that has been collected for over four decades.
In conjunction with the exhibit, an opening reception honoring the collection is scheduled for Thursday, June 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. and will feature a brief talk by Costello and O’Donnell at 7 p.m. O’Donnell said, “Our goal was to select artworks representing the breadth of the Art and Design program at Parkland College in terms of years, media, and content. It has been edifying to note the influence of various instructors over the decades and furthermore, to see students’ creative explorations and the beginnings of their individual artistic voices through the manner in which they have handled materials and ideas.” Costello elaborated, “This exhibition is evidence of our students experimenting with an assignment and developing their own voice in the process. In fact, there are many outstanding works in the Parkland Student Collection that could not be included in this show, which visitors may look for in public spaces throughout the college. They are not all on display due to conservation concerns, but we have many out there for people to enjoy.”
An additional lecture by Jennifer Hain Teper, Velde Preservation Librarian and Associate Professor, University Library from UIUC entitled “Preservation and Conservation Approaches for Historic Paper and Photograph Collections” will take place on Tuesday, June 24, at 1pm in the gallery. Costello said the exhibition provides a great opportunity for Parkland College to highlight the collection and provide an opportunity to learn more about the practice of collecting and the conservation process that is involved in caring for a collection. Costello said “We are really happy that Jennifer Hain Teper is able to talk in the gallery about conservation. It is an interesting subject and the practice of conservation has allowed many works of art to survive for future generations.”
Alumni included in “Through the Decades” are:
Muhammad Ahmad * Glenn Akers * Ray Arseneau * Jenny Barret * Chuck Beetz * Carol Beyler * Jill Bullington * Becky Byler * Kristin Cain * Gail Carson * Delphina Colby * Craig Courtney * Jon Crowder * Dayna Cummings * Jack Day * Adam Doman * Tristan Duke * Barbara England * Carmen Enriquez * Rachel Faught * Inge Fletcher * Jacob Foran * Alice Fultz * Patrick Gietl * Jessica Harbison * Alicia Henry * Bob Howard * Sandy Hynds * Paul Idleman * Sheila Isenhart * Judy Jones * Julia Jorgensen * Emily Klein * David Kreitzer * Jamie Kruidenier * Nicholas Lake * Nathan Landolt * Susan Livingston * Kim M. Martin * Elise McAuley * Brian McElwaine * Cari Molden * Patricia Monigold * Jean Nanney * Randall Plankenhorn * Dimitri Polychronopoulos * Ruta Rauber * Rebecca Renwick * Craig Ronto * Barbara Ryan * Glen Schwaiger * Martha Seif * Eric Shine * Birute Simaitis * Cynthia Ware * Sarah Watson * Corwyn Zimbleman