Anyone who tried to get a child to sit tight or stand still for a picture knows how much of a herculean feat that can be.
But try doing it once a day every day over the summer period with the same child. That’s what University of Maryland Eastern Shore photography professor Jesse Halpern did as he documented his children through a variety of photos.
“’You know the saying ‘they grow up so fast?’ This one came about as I was sitting around with my kids just realizing how quickly they were growing up,” Halpern said. “First, I thought of a timelapse that would document over a certain period of time and then splice those images together. Then I thought, what if I set up a studio and have them just sit every day as part of a practice and see what happens.”
“It was challenging definitely to get young kids to sit every day, but I think the effects are very interesting when you look at the beginning and end of the project.”
Halpern’s work, along with many of his department of fine arts colleagues, was on display at the Mosely Gallery as part of an exhibition featuring an eclectic array of art modalities including sculptures, paintings, illustrations, and graphic designs.
“The students are impressed and they really get an idea of the diverse expression of art in the faculty,” said Susan Holt, a faculty member, and Mosely Gallery director. “I think they really gain an appreciation of the fact that we are working artists and we are working in the field.”
Halpern added that having the exhibition is a great way for the art students to see the work their instructors do throughout the year.
“I think it’s really important because the students don’t often know about the dual life we live as working artists and creative professionals as well as being full-time professors,” he said. “So, it’s a nice chance for them to see ‘oh, this is what they do with their own art’ or professionally and it’s a good opportunity to get to know them in a different way.”
Holt said the faculty exhibition is just one of several showcases the Mosely Gallery hosts throughout the school year, including art exhibitions featuring graduating seniors in the winter and spring semesters, displays from visiting artists, an underclassman art show, and a high school student show.
Holt said the high school art exhibition has been a great recruiting tool for local young artists.
“That has been a great way to introduce them to our facilities and also a wonderful way to showcase their talent,” she said. “When some of our students see what the high school students are doing, they can be very impressed as well.”
Christopher Harrington, the chair of the department of fine arts, said when it comes to what he chooses to put on display for the exhibition, he chooses based on projects he’s given his class.
“For my painting class, I give them an assignment of copying an old master painting and so I’m a big advocate of never giving busy work,” he said. “I’d only give them an assignment that I’d want to do myself and so to prove it, I do it.”
Halpern said that the events at the gallery are a great way to reach out to the campus community, which could lead to future collaborations.
“I think this a really wonderful spot for students of all majors to kind of convene,” he said. “We’re constantly trying to spread the word to other schools and other departments just because it is a nice thing for an engineering student to take the afternoon off and come over here and experience some art from the faculty and I think it’s a nice way to collaborate across the university.”
For more information on the exhibits scheduled at the Mosely Gallery, go to http://www.moselygallery.com/.
