Current News

Connecticut College Department of Art to sponsor series of events examining "Light and Image"

September 20, 2007

NEW LONDON, Conn. - Connecticut College's Department of Art is hosting a series of events, including exhibitions, lectures and classroom speakers, that will center around the theme of "Light and Image," concepts that are fundamental to visual art. These events are free and open to the public.

The "Light and Image" series is made possible by the 2007 - 2008 Dayton Visiting Artist Residency program, funded by The Oakleaf Endowment Trust for Connecticut College, established by Julia Winton and Kenneth N. Dayton. The program enables students to encounter and learn from artists and performers who are not typically accessible in an academic setting, giving them the opportunity to explore a wider variety of artistic approach and techniques.

Events include:

- An exhibit of the camera obscura by photographic artist and educator Thomas Mezzanotte, Oct. 15 - Dec. 7 in the Cummings Arts Center at Connecticut College. In Gallery 66, Mezzanotte will construct a camera obscura, an early optical device used in drawing and painting that eventually led to the invention of photography, and will also exhibit photographs he made with the instrument in the Manwaring Gallery. Other early optical instruments, photographs and cameras also will be on display in the Joanne Toor Cummings Gallery. An opening reception for the exhibit is Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m. Mezzanotte will give an artist's talk Thursday, Nov. 8, at 4 p.m. As part of the residency, Mezzanotte will also conduct student workshops in the construction and use of a portable camera obscura during the academic year.

- A public lecture, "When This You See: Photography, History, Memory," by cultural critic and historian Geoffrey Batchen on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 4 p.m. in Evans Hall, Cummings Arts Center. The way history is conceived, conducted and disseminated has a long-term impact on the way we see and understand ourselves and the world around us, Batchen says, and photography has been a dominant means of representing that world for the past 200 years. During his talk, Batchen will argue that we need to develop a way of dealing with photography that acknowledges the photographer's particular qualities and characteristics.

- An exhibit by eight contemporary artists, entitled "Light and Image: The Object in View," Jan. 28 - March 1, 2008, in Cummings Arts Center. The exhibit will include photographs, installations, sculptures and films by Alida Fish, Victor Faccinto, Nissa Kubly, Kathy Goodell, Ted Victoria, Julie York, Thomas Mezzanotte and Julianne Swartz. An opening reception, which will include a one-time projection performance by Faccinto, is Friday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. At 4 p.m., art critic Jonathan Goodman will moderate a round table discussion. An illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition.

Among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 43 states and 45 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 86-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

-CC-

For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu