Press Release:
Color is the cultural bridge that connects us all. With this idea in mind, Professor Heather Jones created an entire proposal and submitted it to the Fulbright Scholarship program, which centered around color in our daily lives.
She has been a Professor of Fine Arts at Genesee Community College since 2008 and has conducted many study-abroad trips over the years.
Through the Garcia Robles Fulbright Scholarship, Professor Jones has been collaborating with Professor Jose Luis Gonzalez-Cabrero and the Industrial Design Department at Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi in Mexico.
There she has been teaching classes on color theory and photography while implanting the same curriculum with her online GCC students. The students were asked to photograph a specific color in their daily lives for a week while uploading the images to the class forums to facilitate discussion. The final product of the project is a combined photography exhibit featuring the color photographs the students have taken this semester.
The exhibit of over 200 student photographs, titled, "Color Connection", is being presented from March 25 - April 11, at both UASLP and GCC's Roz Steiner Art Gallery, simultaneously. Two receptions will be held on April 4. The afternoon reception will take place from 12:30 - 2 p.m., with the evening reception being hosted from 5 - 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
The gallery will remain open in between receptions. There will be a Fulbright presentation by Professor Heather Jones on April 4 at 12:30 p.m. in the gallery.
Color is a beacon to build a sense of connection and empathy. Literally, through color photography, we are placing the viewer into another person's point of view. Allowing a moment, to see the similarities and beautiful differences between two cultures.
Color is a powerful vehicle to articulate this intimate and expressive vision, showing the best of cultural diversity. The motive for the exhibit is to utilize the creative process as a bridge to connect with people geographically far away and gain an understanding of their culture and daily lives.
The goal is to promote a sense of empathy for diverse cultures by highlighting our similar views and connections to color. Hopefully, on a deeper level, we can make connections vs barriers between these two cultures.
The use of color is deeply knitted in our point of view to contemplate the world. (St Clair, 2017) In this exhibit, we explore a cultural color study between Batavia, New York, and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Embracing the student's perspective, the exhibit is student-driven and the results are authentically their expressive narrative on the meaning of color related to their own sense of place and culture.
The focal point of color is the expressive catalyst to develop a sense of connection and empathy among people engaging in the project. Through photography, the artists are placing viewers into another person's point of perspective. Allowing a moment, to see the similarities and beautiful differences between two cultures.
Graphic designer Lance Wyman said, "Color could turn into a cultural bridge to connect territory and people." (King, 2014). The Color Connection exhibit actively explores this concept with a socially creative collection of artwork categorized by color.
At the conclusion of the UASLP portion of the exhibit, the Fulbright program will sponsor Color Connection and tour it to different cities in Mexico. The hope is that the show will inspire compassion and unity in a time when differences try to divide us.
Follow the Roz Steiner Art Gallery on Facebook and Instagram to get to know some of the students participating in this exhibit.
For more information contact Vice President, Development and External Affairs Justin Johnston at (585) 345-6809, or via email: jmjohnston@genesee.edu.
A preview of some of the photographs, courtesy of Genesee Community College.
