Doug Auld, "Brian" (det.), 2005

STARING

October 16 - December 9, 2009

October 15, 7 - 9 P.M., opening reception, Katherine and Tom Belk Visual Arts Center
October 29, 7 - 8 P.M., artist-talk by Doug Auld and lecture by Dr. Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Semans Lecture Auditorium inside the Katherine and Tom Belk Visual Arts Center

Co-curated by Jessica Cooley, Assistant Curator for the Van Every/Smith Galleries, and Dr. Ann M. Fox, Associate Professor of English at Davidson College

The Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College are pleased to announce the exhibitions, STARING. Inspired by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson's (Professor of Women's Studies at Emory University) latest book Staring: How We Look, STARING extends Garland-Thomson's novel exploration into the valuable possibilities of the complicated, and often forbidden, act of staring.
This exhibition renders visible the visual dialogue between starer and staree that occurs in both art and in life by broadly asking ‘why do we stare?'; ‘why are some places, people, and events considered appropriate to stare at, and others not?'; ‘what role does staring play in the visual arts?'; and ‘what are the implications of staring from the perspective of the person receiving the stare (the staree)?' STARING ultimately introduces the possibility that through the act of staring, we gain insight into the unfamiliar; dignify the existence of a place, person, or event through visual recognition; and can come to a more profound understanding of, and respect for, our diverse and ever-changing world.
STARING includes paintings and drawings by Doug Auld and Chris Rush, and the photographs of Weegee, Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, and additional artists.

October 29, 7 - 8 P.M., in conjunction with the exhibition STARING the Van Every/Smith Galleries presents an artist-talk by Doug Auld and lecture by Dr. Rosemarie Garland-Thomson.

Doug Auld will discuss his series of paintings entitled State of Grace: The Burn Survivor Series, about which he says, "My motivation to paint [burn survivors] is rooted in the desire to explore the parameters of beauty in our society. These paintings document their visual facts while interpreting the less tangible aspects of inner beauty and personal character."

Rosemarie Garland-Thomson will discuss her latest book Staring: How We Look which is described as "...tackling a basic human interaction which has remained curiously unexplored, the human stare. In the first book of its kind, Garland-Thomson defines staring, explores the factors that motivate it, and considers the targets and the effects of the stare. While borrowing from psychology and biology to help explain why the impulse to stare is so powerful, she also enlarges and complicates these formulations with examples from the realm of imaginative culture." Rosemarie Garland-Thomson is Professor of Women's Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Her fields of study are feminist theory, American literature, and disability studies. Her scholarly and professional activities are devoted to developing the field of disability studies in the humanities and in women's studies.

This lecture is FREE. For more information on this event or on the Van Every/Smith Gallery contact Jessica Cooley at jecooley@davidson.edu