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Exhibition 'Pink' Slated for Fine Arts Center Gallery

08/29/2018

JONESBORO – "Pink" is a multi-media group exhibition opening Tuesday, Sept. 4, and continuing through Oct. 10 in the Fine Arts Center Art Gallery on the campus of Arkansas State University.

Featuring the work of a broad, international group of artists, "Pink" is an exhibition that serves to address the implications and form of the color itself, according to Melissa Wilkinson, associate professor of art, who curated the exhibition.

Traditionally associated with the feminine domestic, the color pink is considered dainty or childishly gendered in the west. One rarely finds pink in nature and it is not part of the visible color spectrum.

Today the color is culturally contentious and paradoxical, being reclaimed by nonconforming men and often rejected by feminists for its constricting “princess” associations. At home in both high and low culture, pink is historically rich in tradition, associated with elements diverse as slain samurai in Japan to the fashion trends of the 18th-century European bourgeoisie; Nazis used pink to mark homosexuals in World War II, and women’s rights marchers knit pink woolen hats to wear while protesting.

"Pink" seeks to emancipate the color from traditional gender associations by exploring each artist’s interpretation, reclaiming its place in a refreshed conversation.

In conjunction with the "Pink" exhibition, a diverse selection of participants will hold a PechaKucha event during a reception on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 3 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center Recital Hall.

Eight participants will present on the show’s topic in a style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (six minutes and 40 seconds in total per presenter.) The format, which keeps presentations concise and fast-paced, encourages a creative interpretation to public speaking that can range in the form of the instructive, the poetic or the performative. Refreshments will be served.

The gallery is open daily, 8-5, in the Fine Arts Center (GPS: 2412 Quapaw Way).  Admission is free.

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candy kisses image
Melissa Wilkinson
Candy Kisses
watercolor on paper
30"x 40"
2018​