As part of Grand Valley State University’s 50th Anniversary celebration, both the Multimedia and Communications departments have embarked on a two-part art exhibition entitled “MULTiMEDiA.” The MULTiMEDiA exhibition includes more than 60 new, diverse works by 28 tenure track faculty members.

“The MULTiMEDiA exhibition effectively marks not only the varied expertise and exceptional talents of the participating faculty members and alumni, but it also represents the commitment Grand Valley has made to the visual arts since its institutional beginnings,” said Vice President for Student and Academic Affairs Gayle Davis.

Davis said she believes this exhibition will continue to follow a decade-long tradition, which presents a “campus as a gallery” atmosphere by emphasizing the works created by students and faculty alike.

The first exhibition, emphasizing Multimedia I, will open with a reception on Sept. 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will run until Oct. 1. To be held in the GVSU Art Gallery in the Performance Arts Center, the reception is free and open to the public.

Animation, metals, painting, installation, photography, printmaking, textiles, sculpture and various works on paper are a few of the mediums that are to be explored during the exhibition.

“There’s a wide variety of materials and mediums used to express conceptual and visual ideas in this exhibit,” said exhibit coordinator Paris Tennenhouse. “The subject matter ranges from human experiences that explore the nature of relationship, social commentary, history and the construct of community.”

As part of this theme, professor Kim Roberts is re-acquainting the public with a previous work “Focus on the Family,” which is meant to be a double entendre in that the radical Christian organization that goes by the same name promotes negative attitudes toward homosexuals, often leading to hate crime.

“My intention is to actually focus on the family’s pain caused by the spewing of condemning language, actions and attitudes toward homosexuals in the name of Christianity,” Roberts said. “This does not align in any way with the message of Jesus.”

The work is presented in an interactive video installation in which a viewer is clothed with a heavy faux sheep skin cloak while standing in front of a mirror and spreading his or her arms to create a projection surface. The interviews of victim’s family members are projected upon the viewer through a set of headphones.

Roberts said the display was intentionally made to reach viewers on a much more empathetic level.

“Because it’s difficult to hold up ones arms for too long, especially with a heavy fabric, it becomes physically painful as well as emotionally painful to participate in this interactive video installation.”

Robert’s installation will be in the Multimedia II portion of this series, debuting on Oct. 14 and running through Nov. 19.

“Grand Valley’s celebration of 50 years is a significant milestone, and I’m proud to have been a small piece of that history as I move into my 14th year here,” Roberts said.

In the meantime, a virtual book featuring several essays, a short biography of each faculty artist participating in MultiMedia I and II and a statement about their work, complete with photos, will be available for online viewing and for purchase as a hard-copy book in mid-September. For more information, visit the Art Gallery’s Web site at http://www.gvsu.edu/artgallery.

nmartin@lanthorn.com