Faculty flaunt artwork at campus gallery

The UCF Art Gallery, located in the Visual Arts Building, is hosting the UCF Annual Faculty Exhibit 2011.

Open to the public, the opening reception was last Thursday, where food, beverages and live music awaited those eager to see what UCF's very own professors have been up to.

UCF art student Beckie Gilbert especially enjoyed the gallery and found it extremely "cool."

"We get to see our art teacher's work instead of it being the other way around," first-time visitor Gilbert said.

Joseph Keebler, an experienced guitarist who has played since the age of 9, performed the live music during opening night, hitting a wide range of music including blues, American and European jazz, and classical music.

The gallery displays all different kinds of artwork from sculptures and paintings to drawings and even art affiliated with sound.

Hadi Abbas teaches ceramics and has taught design classes in the past.

"I enjoy working with the process of clay," Abbas said.

Having worked with clay for 25 years, Abbas truly takes his work to heart.

"Clay is more than throwing, glazing and firing," his artist statement reads. "It possesses a mysterious energy that puts us in touch with our past. Clay reflects the maker's attitudes and spirit."

Abbas's artwork, a bronze platter, is displayed in the gallery.

A different and very unique artist, Scott F. Hall concentrates more on art with sound. He collaborates with an animator and creates one to three or four minute animations containing images that sync with music. His work is shown all around the world in film festivals and theaters.

"I feel that there's no reason to limit visual art in a scene," Hall said. "Putting sound to art gives a piece an entirely new and different aspect."

At the exhibit, his work is displayed on a projector screen, and complimentary CDs are available.

Meanwhile, Jason Burrell's work is more geared toward painting and drawing person. Burrell teaches art design and human interface at UCF. Displayed in the gallery is his art created with graphite and acrylic on paper. Both pieces are untitled.

"I'm not a writer. My art is more than what I have words for," said Burrell, when asked about the absence of titles. "For me, my paintings mean several things. If I give it a title, it will limit and contradict a viewer's experience."

Bonnie Santos, a UCF senior, has been coming to the event for the past two years and is in the visual arts and emerging media management program, which just started last fall. This year, her favorite pieces were by Professor Dennis Ahearn.

"His work is very professional and intricate," Santos said. "I really like the minimal colors used along with extreme detail – it gives you something to just look at."

UCF Art Gallery Coordinator Diane Daugherty helped keep the exhibit put together and organized by arranging the show and layout.

Kevin Haran, who helped arrange the show, has worked with gallery staff and has his own artwork in the gallery. It's a green army truck called "Halftrack," made from foam board and cardboard. He also submitted a few drawings illustrating toys.

The UCF Annual Faculty Exhibit will run Oct. 13 through Nov. 13. The gallery hours are Tuesday – Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and admission is free.