SOUTHERN MISS ART FACULTY TO SHOW OWN WORKS

HATTIESBURG - The University of Southern Mississippi Department of Art will present its biannual Art Faculty Exhibition Nov. 13-28 at the university's Museum of Art. An opening reception will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Nov. 13 and is free and open to the public.

The exhibition will feature recent works created by full-time and adjunct Southern Miss art professors.

Taking part in the show are sculptors Skip Van Houten, Jennifer Torres, Laura Prange, Elizabeth Leal, Durant Thompson, and Dan Askew; ceramic artist Barbara-Ann Carver-Hunt; painters Jim Meade, Harry Ward, and Traci Stover; and graphic artists DeAnna Douglas, William Baggett, and John House. The exhibit also features photographs by Betty Press and examples of Web design by Jason Montgomery.

Douglas said this exhibit was mainly for the students' benefit. Feeling strongly about the importance of the faculty show, she kept back some of her works that were invited to be part of a traveling exhibition to have them available for the Southern Miss exhibition.

"We are always judging our students' works," Douglas said. "As faculty, we need to let them see our work through an exhibition like this - it's important in their educational process."

Several members of the Department of Art faculty have been active in recent exhibitions and workshops across the United States. Van Houten demonstrated and lectured about iron pouring in Alabama, Kentucky, and Minnesota. Torres, also chair of the department, recently exhibited an installation at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson.

During the 2003 fall semester, Baggett completed a mural commission for the Jule Collins Museum of Art at Auburn, Ala. Douglas has shown in juried exhibitions in Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, and Colorado. Ward recently took part in exhibitions in Nebraska, North Carolina, and New York, and Meade had a solo exhibition at the Meridian Museum of Art.

The department offers undergraduate and graduate emphasis areas in drawing, painting, graphic communication, and three-dimensional design. Course offerings also include metal casting, traditional and computer aided graphic design, ceramic sculpture, art education, Web design, museum studies, photography, and art history. Currently, the department boasts more than 230 art majors working toward a B.F.A., B.A., M.A.E.A., or M.F.A. in nine distinct programs.

The Museum of Art at Southern Miss is located in the Fine Arts Building at the southwest corner of the Hattiesburg campus. Admission is free, and hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m-5 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. School and community groups are welcome to attend. With advance notice, the museum is generally available to offer a program. For more information, call (601) 266-5200.

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