A Plein Aire painter, a Fulbright Scholar, a bookmaker and others are at Ball State this week for "Six Visiting Contemporary Painters," a colloquium presented by the art department.
Ball State Assistant Professor of Art Scott Anderson, who helped organize the event, said it is a big deal for the Atrium Gallery.
"We've wanted to have this show for a long time," Anderson said. "There are six artists here, it's a big show for our gallery."
Anderson said the artists were selected for the show because of their diverse styles and singular passion for painting.
"Painting and the arts have always been a reflection of society and the times," Anderson said. "These painters have unique views of their times; three of the painters are internationally known."
One of those well known artists, Julie Heffernan, spoke Tuesday in AJ 175 about the importance of memory in painting.
Heffernan, a Fulbright Scholar, said painting is a way of putting things in perspective.
"Through painting, my life slowly starts to make sense to me over time," she said.
Heffernan, who earned her MFA from Yale University, said one way she helps her students find inspiration is to have them recall their first visual childhood memory.
Heffernan's first memory took place in San Francisco in 1967 when her family was on a picnic in Golden Gate Park.
"It was that whole summer of love time," she said. "We were sitting there, eating our bologna sandwiches when out of the trees came this group of beautiful long-haired men wearing nothing but capes and jock straps."
Heffernan said as soon as she saw the semi-nude men, her mother rushed over and shielded her from the sight by dumping out a picnic basket, turning it upside-down and placing it on her head.
Years later, Hefernan said she used the upside-down picnic basket as inspiration for her painting "Self Portrait as Infanta Dreaming Madame de Sade."
Another artist, Kenneth Schnall, who specializes in bookmaking, will speak today at 2 p.m. in the Atrium Gallery.
Schnall's books include "Lucia, (Wall Book)" and "Orpheo Book."
"Orpheo Book" is a non-verbal, non-linear interpretation of the classical Orpheus and Eurydice legend, according to Schnall's Web site.
In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a musician who went into the land of the dead to rescue Eurydice, his wife, from Hades, the dark lord of the nether realm.
Art doesn't always have to be classically themed and lofty, Faculty Professor of Studio Art at Washtenaw Community College Elaine Wilson said.
Wilson taught a workshop at Ball State Tuesday about the Plein Aire (which is French for "open air") style of painting.
Wilson said she spends her time outdoors painting landscapes and tends to focus her attention on light and color more than on symbolism.
"I'm very interested in how landscapes have been changed by humans," Wilson said. "I've painted gravel pits, I've painted high voltage pylons."
Wilson said she isn't as intense in her painting as some other Plein Aire artists such as Gretna Campbell and Claude Monet. Monet, for example used to take his canvas out and paint landscapes in the middle of a rain storm, Wilson said.
"I don't do much painting in the rain anymore, but I do know the strategies to make it work," she said.
The events kick off today at 9 a.m. with painting critiques by Robert Birmelin and Chris Hocking. The presentation will conclude with a panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. in AJ 175.
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