From left to right: "High Stakes" by Julie Dummermuth, "Talisman" by Lauren Winnen and "Fertility Figure: Things That Get You Up, Things That Get You Down" by Tom Bartel. These and other works can be seen at the School of Art's faculty show at the Kennedy Museum of Art through March 21, 2010. Photos by Sean Work for Speakeasy.

Varying from whimsical to deviant, the current exhibitions at the Kennedy Museum take their spectators on a viewing roller coaster. In addition to the permanent collection, the historic Kennedy Museum currently features two intensely contrasting exhibitions: “The Necessary Friction of the Machine” by sculptor Dan Price and the “School of Art Faculty Exhibition.”

The “School of Art Faculty Exhibition” is a porthole into the minds and inspirations of the pioneers of Ohio University’s art department. The biennial presentation exposes the talents and wide range of specializations within the university.

Sculpture professor Marilyn Poeppelmeyer’s piece, “We Can Neither Compare or Perfect,” leaves its spectators swimming in a sea of infinite graphite lines on canvas. Located nearby is an unexpected piece created by Aaron Hill and Joshua Kranyik of the engineering and technology department. This piece explores the treatment of “yellowboy.” The product of acid mine drainage, this is a yellow-orange precipitate that pollutes many streams and bodies of water.

The exhibition also includes “Love Story,” a sound recording by Laura Larson. This recording provides an intimate glimpse into the inherently complicated inner workings of relationships and the memories they generate.

The exhibition’s setup creates interesting and unexpected juxtapositions. For example, “Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form,” a colorful mixed-media piece by Robert Peppers, stands tall near the deviant ceramic figure entitled “Things that get you Up, Things that get you Down” by Tom Bartel. The figure’s dismembered limbs and somnolent expression cultivate feelings of both discomfort and intrigue within its observers.

Another piece, Julie Dummermuth’s intentionally over-the-top, life-size canvas, depicts American holidays through beading, glitter, multicolored patterns and shapes simultaneously. On a nearby wall is a black-and-white avant-garde painting by longtime Ohio professor Aethelred Eldridge. His enormous mural on Siegfried Hall makes this image recognizable to Athens students regardless of familiarity with the art school.

For the short time remaining, the Kennedy Museum will also display “The Necessary Friction of the Machine” by Dan Price. This installation highlights the sculptor’s experiences with jobless union-affiliated autoworkers from Detroit and emphasizes the challenging nature of the labor management hierarchy. The exhibit includes drawings and a video interview with General Motors workers who recall their experiences on the assembly line. The workers used the drawings as the inspiration and layout of the paper sculpture.

“The Necessary Friction of the Machine” by Dan Price will be exhibited until January 24th.

“School of Art Faculty Exhibition” will be exhibited until March 21st.

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