The Collegian

Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Annie Douglass Students Ariele Elia '08, Gianna Henke '09, and Tiffany Warner '10 join artist Debra Coppman at the opening celebration for the new Hearst Art Gallery exhibit Paper Cuts. The exhibit shows many pieces of art that are all made from paper and is open until April 29.

Paper. It is used every day, yet is rarely given a second thought. For the next month in the Hearst Art Gallery, however, paper will be getting more than a second thought; it will be the center of attention. The Gallery is displaying "Paper Cuts: The Art of Contemporary Paper," an exhibit featuring paper being used artistically in a myriad of ways until April 29.

One of the most common ways paper is turned into art in the exhibit is through, what would probably best be called, sculpture. For instance, there are two baskets from Patti Quinn Hill's Fire on the Mountains series (2001) that are woven from cotton archival paper and painted on both sides. She gives her baskets an extra dimension and greater texture by embellishing them with curls on the outside, which gives them the illusion of movement. The warm colors are, according to the artist, inspired by the fires in the Smokey Mountains around her home in North Carolina.

Baskets are not the only pieces, of course, and neither is Patti Quinn Hill the only featured artist. Another artist featured in the exhibit is Ron Chespak, whose work is less crafty and more ornamental. His pieces are particularly interesting for their simplicity. One of his featured pieces is The Gift (1984), a white paper package tied up with paper ribbon. This piece's simple white paper composition and long straight lines are set off only by the loops and curls of beige paper comprising the bow, which cannot be followed by the eye. Another one of his simplistic pieces is Purple Orchid (2004). This white paper flower is made interesting by its three bursts of color surrounded by white petals. These yellow and purple spots give the piece a vibrancy and warmth it would otherwise lack.

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