The art department hosted an artist lecture from their own Professor Angela D. Lee in the Penick Academic Complex on Thursday, Jan. 30, for the closing of her gallery exhibition.
Lee spoke on her show titled “Be Still and Know,” which was located at the Art Gallery over the course of January. The professor also provided an overview of her career in graphic design, video art and university-level teaching.
The exhibit featured five video art displays, four screens and one projection, each with symbolism and storytelling meaningful to Lee concerning culture in the American South. The title of the show is derived from a passage of Psalm 46, specifically verse 10: “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’” (English Standard Version).
Lee has worked as a graphic designer for 27 years and teaches graphic design classes at Union.
“Professor Lee tends to use actual experience to back up her work, and so the story really establishes where the work comes from,” Abby Thomas, a junior graphic design major, said.
Aaron French, a senior graphic design major, agreed.
“After the lecture, I think it really helped me understand what the work is about,” French said.
Both French and Thomas stated that the lecture helped show them the genuine depth of the exhibition.
The art department schedules gallery exhibits two years in advance, inviting many artists to submit work to Paige Moore, assistant professor of art and the gallery coordinator. A committee reviews and determines which options would provide students with the greatest educational value. Part of this process includes presenting Union professors’ work as well.
“We want students to actually see what we are doing professionally as artists, and interact with us and our studio practice,” Christopher Nadaskay, chair of the art department, said.
“I’ve taught a lot of different places over 20 years,” Lee said. “It’s not common, in my experience, to have the chance to show in the gallery on the campus where I teach. So I really appreciate that, I don’t take that for granted.”
Lee has presented elements of the “Be Still and Know” exhibition at Union previously. In August 2013, Lee presented “Stories Beneath the Water,” an exhibit that reflected on underwater graves and ancestry in Middle Tennessee. One video found in “Be Still” was used in the earlier “Stories” exhibit, with the other four videos being sourced from Lee’s career since her graduate studies at Azusa Pacific University.
During the questions and answers period, a student asked Lee how she approaches the difficulties of maintaining video art long-term, considering technological progression. The artist responded by referencing a theme of her lecture: impermanence and rest. Being present in that moment with the art is important, she explained.
“If it’s meant to go away, it will go away,” Lee said.
