Museum presents faculty exhibit

In culmination of this semester's several art exhibitions, today the University Art Museum will present Long Beach '96: Faculty Biennial, an exhibition of recent works by faculty members of CSULB's Art Department and Trust: Volumes I and II, a book collaboration by artists, poets and musicians from the United States and the United Kingdom.

The showcase will feature a variety of works, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, ceramics, and illustrations.

Cal State Long Beach art professor Patricia Clark said her 1996 drawing, "Severed Cord," was inspired by her involvement in landscaping of northwestern driftwood piles.

"It is my tongue-in-cheek response to my colleagues during my tenure as chair of the Art Department," Clark said.

George Zebot, a lecturer for the department's illustration section, said his oil-on-canvas painting, "La Ruta Maya," was motivated by the indigenous people of Guatemala and Nicaragua whom he met during his travels to Central America.

Zebot's painting depicts an amalgam of ancient Olmec and Mayan relics with a more contemporary issue of the burning of the rainforest, which reveals various symbolisms and representations.

Conceived and edited by CSULB Art and Fulbright Professor Jen Grey, the creation of Trust: Volume 1 and II was inspired by the spirit of internationalism fostered by the 1994-1995 U.K./U.S.A. Fulbright Teacher Exchange Pogramme.

In addition to organizing the project, Grey has also contributed two works in the collection's two volumes.

In Volume I, Grey's work shows an oil painting of a woman and a girl balancing two distinct drinking vessels on their backs.

The girl balances a Japanese "saki" cup while the woman carries a pitcher.

Grey said she uses the vessel as a metaphor for balance.

"Human beings are similar to vessels, because we are containers of informations and emotions of love and joy," Grey said.

In Volume II, Grey shows a water color painting of an Egyptian sarcophagus with an open lid that features a floating mummy.

Above that hangs abstract that resembles ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that depict a silhouette of antler, skulls, a hawk's feather and an Irish elk which the artist claims as one of the largest deer that ever lived.

The University Art Museum is located in the North Campus Library. Gallery hours are noon to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and noon to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.