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Columbia College Invites the Public to Visit an Art Show

Peru: the Ancient, the Sacred - Architecture, Ceramics, and Textiles

Press Release

Contact: Office of the College President,
Coni Chavez, (209) 588-5115
chavezc@yosemite.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2012

Columbia College invites the public to visit the art show “Peru: the Ancient, the Sacred – Architecture, Ceramics, and Textiles—Photographic Explorations by Laurie Sylwester” on display in the Manzanita Building Rotunda, August 20, 2012 through September 28. The Rotunda is open to view the show Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. A reception for the show will be hosted in the Rotunda on September 28, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. with an artist talk beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Cedar 1. Professor and artist, Laurie Sylwester, will also speak at the Central Sierra Arts Council in Sonora on Saturday, September 29 at 2:00 p.m.

This eclectic selection of vibrant images and artifacts radiate with the colors endemic of their particular region. Many of the images are from Peru. The photographs reveal the sacred landscape and convey some sense of why this land is revered by the local culture. The images offer a glimpse into the relationship between nature and the art and architecture of the Peruvian people. These ancient places still echo the dialogue between nature and human’s emulation of its myriad forms.

Amongst Sylwester’s favorite images is that of a woman at a banyan tree. The photograph transforms the scene into a mystical creation – where the reflection of the woman dissolves into the tree, returning to the earth from which she sprang. Another evocative image is that of the hands of a Chinchero woman weaving with her back strap loom. The minute the image was captured on camera, Sylwester says she felt it was definitive. Another image that speaks to the relationship between nature and art is that of the astounding jelly fish that washed up on the shore near Pisco, Peru. Only on the shore for minutes, the jelly fish were captured on film while illuminated by the setting sun. Sylwester has paired one of the images with that of the Nasca lines, and wonders if the lines may have represented jelly fish of ancient times.

Many of the images will also be featured in Sylwester’s upcoming studio art and art history courses taught at Columbia College, as well as a good number of pieces being included in a concurrent show running at the Central Sierra Arts Council in Sonora. However, the exhibition at Columbia College includes many other images from her travels. Twenty-percent of the sales at Columbia College will be donated to the Fine Arts Support Fund at the College. For further information call Professor Sylwester at (209) 588-5341 or contact her via email at sylwesterl@yosemite.edu.

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Coni M. Chavez
Executive Assistant to the President
Columbia College
11600 Columbia College Drive
Sonora, CA 95370
(209) 588-5115 • (209) 588-5161 fax
chavezc@yosemite.edu

San Blas, Peru

Banyan Tree

Weaver