A tiny Buddha statue holds a cell phone to his ear, beaming delightedly.

He and I wore the same smile as I examined the exhibits by photographer Sandra Russell Clark and Loyola’s own W. Mark Grote. The visitor’s book by the door offered a good hint of things to come. I saw the comments “good eye” and “excellent work” next to the signatures.

I began with Clark’s photographs. A former photography teacher at Loyola, her work has since been published in Vogue, Traveler, Mirabella and American Artists. Her exhibit, entitled “Juju,” dealt with objects found after Hurricane Katrina, and through those objects, the missing people who owned them. Her pictures glowed against their simple, monochromatic backgrounds.

A picture called “Big Boy” is of the familiar Shoney’s toy, dressed in red and white plaid pants. His hairstyle makes him looks like he might be related to Elvis.

A George Washington statue looks quite dignified, his regal qualities not lessened by the sphinx-like chip off his nose. Further down, a crimson-lipped baby doll with a halo of blonde hair sleeps with dirt still on her cheek.

Clark said she was “struck by what was left behind…[like] small items that seem to tell a story about their owners.” Seeing the doll invites questions about where the girl who owned her is, and who is missing their big boy.

Grote’s work was of a different, but still fascinating nature. The artist behind the Yellow Cake sculpture near Monroe Hall is a member of Loyola’s visual arts department. The list of his exhibitions spans from 1990 to 2009, and the media has documented his work since the 1980s. In “Sculpture Studies,” he showed two sculptures and nine drawings. Two of the drawings are of the sculptures.

The first sculpture was shaped like an urn, and was near waist height. Most of the body of it was wrapped in a plush cow print fabric. Brown rope coils around the base, and brown pompons adorn the top. The accompanying drawing of the sculpture looked vigorously executed.

“I think it has an interesting texture.  And I like that he used black and white. It’s simple and modern at the same time,” said Kelly James, a student from St. Louis University.

The second sculpture looked a bit like a tank or a bomb, in terms of shape. It was gray with pink raised dots. Silver wires spring out in loops and bend from the top, casting curvy shadows on the wall behind. It rested on a well-used yellow cart, the drawing of the work hanging just to the left.

Grote’s drawings are of his sculptures. The play on light and shadow was well represented.
“I think these pieces are abstract, but in a good way. It makes me wonder what inspired him to create them,” said Erica Colbenson, mass communication sophomore and Maroon staff writer.

There were three works in particular that I viewed as a group. They were comparable in terms of basic figure and style, but the similarities ended there.

The shape of the objects reminded me of something that might be found on a castle battlement. They were like turrets. One was covered in pink raised lines. Another had big blue knobs protruding from it, and the third bristled with yellow spikes.

These drawings “offer insight into the energy put forth” to create them, Grote said.
The worthwhile exhibit will be in the Diboll Art Gallery, on the 4th floor of the library, until Oct. 23.

Lora Ghawaly can be reached at [email protected]
 

(Kevin Zansler/ The Maroon)

(Kevin Zansler/ The Maroon)