Artwork descriptions by Janice Glowski, Ph.D. and Magda Parasidis
9i果冻制作厂Art Exhibitions Put Social Justice Issues on Display
The Otterbein聽Department of Art and Art聽History has opened the聽University鈥檚 museum and gallery聽spaces this year to the issues of聽labor justice, the poor working-class,聽immigration and systemic聽racism with three exhibitions,聽two during fall semester and one聽during spring semester.聽
According to Museum and Galleries Director Janice聽Glowski, the Department wants聽those who see the exhibits to聽ask where they see themselves聽in the art, the stories and the exhibition themes. She hopes聽they will allow themselves to聽be open to change and being聽uncomfortable because that,聽Glowski said, is when the聽greatest learning occurs.聽
鈥淧art of Otterbein鈥檚聽educational mission is to train聽students to think critically,聽clearly and in an informed way about the narratives that dominate our social discourse,鈥� said Glowski. 鈥淚mportantly, we are asking the viewer to question, to look deeper into their understandings and to ask themselves difficult and sometimes uncomfortable questions.鈥�
The three exhibitions 鈥� Magda Parasidis: Ghosts in Sunlight, 翱苍(肠)别蝉听贵辞谤驳辞迟迟别苍 and Valentino Dixon: Journey to Freedom 鈥� are challenging longheld assumptions about poverty, race and our country鈥檚 history. These exhibitions are meant to question the single narrative by directly addressing social issues through an aesthetic lens, present new voices and share often untold narratives.
鈥淲e are demonstrating that the 9i果冻制作厂community is willing to commit to doing the hard work of listening, learning, being honest and moving toward shared truths. We are willing to engage in the difficult work of healing, so we can create the possibility of jettisoning the notion that there is a hierarchy of human value,鈥� she said.
All exhibits are free and open to the public. Visit for more information on hours and location.
Kelly & Kyle Phelps
Grace
28 x 22 x 10 inches
ceramic mixed media
2020
Kelly and Kyle Phelps鈥� large-scale, wall-mounted art is arresting and relatable. Naturalistic depictions of miners, machinists and welders show poignant moments when weary laborers are on break, at shift鈥檚 end or nearly collapsed under the weight of plant closings and layoffs. Grace, like Phelps鈥� other work, is built of found objects (e.g. metal, bandana, lipstick tube) from abandoned factories across the rural Midwest.
Valentino Dixon
Hummingbird
color pencil on paper
20 x 16 inches
2015
Vibrant drawings of golf courses brought Valentino Dixon鈥檚 twenty-seven years of wrongful incarceration, and artistic talents, to the national stage. Since gaining his freedom, the artist has expanded his repertoire to include bucolic landscapes, wild animals in fantastical surroundings and imagery touched by the surreal. In Hummingbird, Dixon聽depicts a golf ball-headed bird in mid-flight and holding a fencing sword, disarming the viewer with whimsy.
Magda Parasidis
Chasm / The Distance
C-print, ink marker
24 x 36 inches
1993 鈥� 2018
The Distance, inspired by Ta-nehisi Coates鈥� Between the World and Me, reads, 鈥渢his chasm makes itself known to us in all kinds of ways,鈥� referring to the socioeconomic distance between the urban youth of the projects and their more affluent counterparts over the bridge. Parasidis explores what it might look like to use this awareness as a nutrient for the making of art and social consciousness.
Janice Glowski, Ph.D, is the museum and galleries director and teaches art history and museum studies at Otterbein. She is co-founder of the 9i果冻制作厂and the 鈥淎rts: Opening Doors to the World鈥� program.