August 8, 2003

Three newly minted master's of fine arts degree recipients from SFSU's Art Department are getting exposure at "Introductions South," an annual San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art exhibition that showcases the work of emerging Bay Area artists.

"I'm the Pretty One," a video installation by Kerry Loewen, features a series of women looking into the camera and repeating the line "I am the pretty one." Collected during television commercial auditions when Loewen was a casting director in Seattle, the words and gestures create uncomfortable repetitions that are intended to question the role of beauty, competition and self-image in western culture. The screen is mounted vertically to appear as if it were a full-length mirror. "I'm the Pretty One" appears in the institute's front window as part of its new media installation series, "Night Moves." It can also be viewed online on Loewen's Web site.

"I'm trying to show the absurdity of what advertising does and the messages it portrays," said the 45-year-old Loewen, whose photography was recently on display at the Muni platform in front of campus at 19th and Holloway avenues.

"Morphosis," a sculpture by Andrew Chung, is a 16-foot-tall, foam-cored and resin-coated white plastic fork suspended inside a near-transparent cocoon. The piece, which was first seen at this year's MFA graduate exhibition at the SFSU Fine Arts Gallery, is intended to provoke thought on the similarities and differences between mass-produced and organically produced foods.

"Genetic engineering can make such amazing things possible. [This sculpture] is a humorous take on what we can do with technology," said the 42-year-old Chung, who also earned his bachelor's degree in art from SFSU. "It takes a fork, an everyday item, and grows it organically."

Matthew Moore's "The Frontier" is an installation made of wheat and wood that hangs from the ceiling. It focuses on a parcel of land near Phoenix that his family has been farming for nearly 100 years. Development recently has begun to infringe upon the area. Moore, 27, incorporates elements of this agrarian landscape in his work to document the history of the land.

"Introductions South" is on display through Sept. 20. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, and noon – 5 p.m. Saturday.

The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art is located at 451 South First St. in San Jose. Admission is free.

For details, visit the exhibit's Web site or call (408) 283-8155.

-- Matt Itelson

1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132    (415) 338-1111
Last modified August 8, 2003, by the Office of Public Affairs