Negative Measure

By Laine Walston

The evening of September 6 was the opening reception for Professor Brittany Søndberg’s new exhibit titled “Negative Measure.” Professor Søndberg spoke with The Collegian about her work and the interpretations she would hope viewers might take away.

“The work on display was created at different times for a variety of group and/or public exhibitions, though five of the works were created just for Negative Measure,” Søndberg said about the purpose of creating these sculpures. “As a visual artist, images and ideas form in my head regularly, but often and especially in the creation of larger works, an opportunity to exhibit them is what actually gets me to produce.”

She said that, while creating, she didn’t intend for viewers to feel or gather anything too specific.

“I am more interested in the viewer gleaning their own understanding from the abstract forms,” Søndberg said. “Everyone perceives visual art, or really the world in general for that matter, through a lens which is informed by their own personal experience. So the forms I imagine and create may or may not trigger certain thoughts or images in their mind’s eye and it is this unique difference of interpretation I’m interested in stimulating.”

“This collection of sculpture is rooted in a similar interest,” Søndberg said of the exhibit. “These works attempt to trace or externalize internal processes; feelings and impressions of things which don’t exist in physical form, such as the bonds we experience in personal relationships, our impression of sensation, memory, etc. There is no way (and there will likely never be a way) to compare or genuinely share these internal experiences with others. In a way, I consider material form to be like a memory which recreates itself each time it is called to experience, so I am making with my hands a visual and physical manifestation of the idea of memory and perception.”

Professor Søndberg teaches a variety of 3D classes, all of which are open to non-majors, though some have prerequisites. Some courses she teaches include: Women’s Art History, 3D Foundations, Ceramics I-III, Sculpture, Contemporary Practices and Contemporary Crafts (which will be offered for the first time in Spring 2018, and will include metal-smithing, jewelry design, spoon carving and functional ceramics).

If you are looking to take an art class for fun or for your major, please contact Professor Søndberg with any questions you may have. And definitely check out her new show in the Irene Cullis and Anne Rudd Galyon Galleries in Cowan.

https://thegccollegian.com/2017/10/09/professor-brittany-sondbergs-negative-measure/