By GALEN HAWES
ADA – The East Central University Fine Arts department is hosting “Lawn Games and Other Domestic Hazards” now through March 12 in the Pogue Gallery inside the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center.
The artists behind “Lawn Games and Other Domestic Hazards” are Leticia Bajuyo and Steven Lemke. They consider the desire for domestic security as a foundational reference point for their investigations of traditional house forms and yardscapes to include questions of indoor and outdoor living, home ownership and land use.
“It’s nice for students to be able to hear from educators and artists that they would not otherwise hear from,” said Dr. Brad Jessop, director of ECU’s School of Fine Arts.
Bajuyo, an associate professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, transforms suburban stereotypes into symbols and visual markers that delight while spurring a critical stance as she crafts an irony-inflected dystopian vision of the suburban fantasy.
Lemke, a visiting assistant professor of Sculpture from Auburn University, examines the relationship between place and identity within residential space, contextualized in an era of domestic life increasingly defined by isolation, uncertainty and precariousness. His interest in these topics has led him to sites of class divide and sprawl throughout the U.S. and Europe.
ECU’s Pogue Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Admission to the exhibit is free. In keeping with Covid-19 safety protocols, only four patrons will be allowed in the gallery at a time.
To virtually explore the artwork of Bajuyo and Lemke, please visit their respective websites at www.leticiabajuyo.com and www.stevenlemke.com.
Cutline: This is a photograph of Leticia Bajuyo’s creation “Tighten Your Belt: Ranch” made of cast iron, Styrofoam, artificial grass, steel and adhesive. Bajuyo and fellow artist Steven Lemke are exhibiting in East Central University’s Pogue Gallery through March 12. (Leticia Bajuyo/www.leticiabajuyo.com)
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