February 6, 1996
Contact: Kelly C. Lockhart, (615) 322-2706
Clay works of Susan DeMay exhibited at Vanderbilt as part of
Women's History Month
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Vanderbilt University's women's center will celebrate
National Women's History Month in March with an art exhibit of clay works
created by Vanderbilt Lecturer in Fine Arts Susan DeMay. Demay's latest
works, on display at the Margaret Cuninggim Women's Center, are part of
the artist's ongoing series of wall hangings that began more than 15 years
ago. Over the years, these pieces have evolved from a functionally-derived
wall platter form to a more sculptural wall hanging. Though many works still
maintain a round or rectangular format, the new direction breaks out of
these confines to create a more dynamic edge and a unique form.
One piece in the exhibit was named after a strange occurrence in the artist's
Smithville, Tenn., studio. On the day that "Birth of Gastropods"
was to be unloaded from the kiln, the artist discovered a slug on the studio's
floor. After pitching it outside, DeMay unloaded the kiln that held the
first of this new series of work.
Upon uncovering the piece, she discovered that where two circular formations
overlapped the sculpture's shape held the same form as the creature she
just cast off. The meaning of the piece, being about the evolution of simple
lifeforms, became clear. The one spherical world on the piece's left side
represents the cosmos and the star's change in alignment, and the other
spherical shape represents Earth's oceanic world. The right conditions existed
for the emergence of lower lifeforms, hence the title, "Birth of Gastropods."
The DeMay exposition -- an extension of the center's recent "Two Artists
in Three Dimensions" exhibit - - will be on display through March 29
at the Cuninggim Center, which is located in the Franklin Building, 316
West Side Row. Center hours are Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Friday,
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call 322-4843.
For more news about Vanderbilt, visit the News and Public Affairs home page
on the World Wide Web at http://WWW.Vanderbilt.edu/news/
-VU-
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