 PCC's first juried fine arts exhibit opened this week in the Craig F. Goess Student Center. |
WINTERVILLE�Last month, Pitt Community College opened the doors to its new Craig F. Goess Student Center. This week, the sparkling new facility�s interior took on a brand new look with the opening of the school�s first juried fine arts exhibit. According to Eleanor Willard, Chair of PCC�s Visual Arts Programs and the exhibit�s coordinator, more than 80 pieces of artwork were submitted by artists throughout Eastern North Carolina. Some of those artists were PCC students�past and present�and employees, she said. Barbour Strickland, former director of the Greenville Museum of Art, served as the exhibit�s juror, and winners were announced during a reception to open the display on Tuesday. Charity Valentine took �Best of Show� honors for her alternatively-toned silver gelatin print, �Held Back and Holding On.� Richard Wilson�s pastel, �Autumn Breeze,� earned him first-place in the competition, while Alexandra Knox took second with her iron-and-steel sculpture, �Harp Abstraction #1.� Third-place went to Benjamin Lustig for his gelatin silver print, �Valley of the Gods,� and Isaac Talley earned �Best Student Entry� for his oil on linen painting, �Avian Objectivity.� Willard said future exhibits will bring new artwork to Goess each semester, starting with the school�s second fine arts exhibition this summer. That exhibit, she said, would feature the photographic work of Valentine and Lustig. Displaying art on campus is an important means of expressing ideas and beliefs, Willard said. �Throughout the ages, art has played a crucial role in life. Art is universal, and it�s wonderful with the addition of our exhibition space (in Goess) to be able to experience it on a daily basis,� she said. For those who would like to see the art at PCC firsthand, the exhibit will run until May 8. The paintings, photographs and sculptures adorn the walls of the Goess Center�s main hallway on both sides and can be viewed between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Some of the artwork on display is for sale with a portion of the proceeds going toward PCC�s Associate of Fine Arts program. |