Collegiate Times

XYZ, Virginia Tech?s student-run art gallery, is hosting its first faculty art show featuring works from faculty members in the art department. The show, called ?Guilty as Charged,? has been displaying work from 13 different faculty members from the art department since last Friday, Oct. 21 through Saturday, Oct. 29 in the XYZ Art Gallery on 223 North Main Street.

Elizabeth Pacentrilli, junior fine arts major, and Heath Ballowe, a fine arts major, are co-curators of the XYZ Art Gallery and are responsible for running the art show. The show commenced with a reception last Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., where all the faculty members talked about their works.  There will also be a closing reception on today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Pacentrilli said the show features art styles such as installation pieces, sculptural pieces, classical drawings, photography, digital media, animation cells, paintings, gadgets, ceramics and even some films. There were no boundaries placed on the works, she said. Some art is new, some has already been on display in other galleries and some faculty members submitted works from their time in college.

?The title for the show, ?Guilty as Charge,? has more to do with the relationship between faculty members and students of the art department than it does with the actual show,? said Pacentrilli. ?It reflects the simple, fun and outgoing relationship among faculty and students, but it also alludes to the seriousness of education and the great responsibility all instructors have when teaching others. We wanted the theme of the show to be whimsical with an edge.?

Pacentrilli said the purpose of the show is ?to create greater awareness and interest of art in the community and to give art students a vital opportunity to exhibit their work and to experience other artists? creations.?

Meg Nugent, graphic design instructor and a visual design studio creative director, submitted some of the design pieces she has done in the past as director as well as a coffee table book on the history of Blacksburg.
Nugent said pressure from her students to see some of her design work influenced her to submit her work to the show.

?Students are always curious about the work their professors are doing but don't always have a way to see it,? Nugent said.

?As artists, we have an obligation to be aware of current events and that we can comment on them,? said Simone Paterson, art and art history professor, on his submitted computer animation and digital print work ?Oh Abu,? about the scandal at Abu Ghraib prison. ?Often these events are not pleasant but they need to be talked about; otherwise we run the risk of repeating our mistakes.?

Curiosity also generated student interest in the show.

?(Ballowe) and I are not the only two art students who are interested in seeing our professor?s works; (many students are) interested,? Pacentrilli said. ?What we (are mostly hoping) for is that the art students will take interest in this show, perhaps create a stronger student-teacher bond as well as accumulate more ambition and desire in their own artistic realm.?

?I am looking forward to seeing how our professors express themselves in their own personal art,? said sophomore art history major Megan Gilman. ?It will be a chance to see what is not shown in the classroom. I?m interested in seeing what may or may not be accepted by students.?

Pacentrilli said she hopes that this show will spark interest in the XYZ Art Gallery and for the galleries? 15 shows scheduled for the academic year.

?Preparing for the faculty show has been an event we have been working toward since the start of the semester,? Ballowe said. ?All of the other shows were, in a way, in preparation for a show of this magnitude.?

Ballowe said he and Pacentrilli spent 10 hours over the week preparing the gallery for the show with a three-man crew.

?(This) show is probably the biggest show XYZ Gallery has ever had up to this point,? he said.

Pacentrilli said he was initially cautious about the show.

?We honestly were unsure if (the idea of) hosting a faculty show would be welcome, but we have been pleased with the vast support every faculty member has given us,? Pacentrilli said. ?We appreciate all their cooperation in making this show happen.?

Nugent said student involvement was essential, despite the faculty theme for the show.

?The students at XYZ worked hard to make this show happen and did a wonderful job in presenting a wide array of works,? he said. ?I hope that our students come a way with an enhanced understanding of the research efforts being pursued by their faculty as working artists and that the larger community gains some insight into the art that is happening right here at (Virginia Tech).?