Kellogg Community College will exhibit nearly two dozen experimental works by alumna and current KCC Art Professor Heather Stratton through mid-December on campus in Battle Creek.
The exhibit, titled “Lunatic Fringe: Moon Studies,” opened Oct. 28 and will run through Dec. 14 in the Davidson Visual and Performing Arts Center’s Eleanor R. and Robert A. DeVries Gallery, on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek.
The exhibit is free and open to the public during regular gallery hours, which are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays.
An opening reception with the artist – also free and open to the public – will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in the gallery, with an Artist Talk beginning at 4:30 p.m.
In an artist’s statement, Stratton says the exhibit – which includes video as well as photography – blends old and new techniques “to reimagine the cosmos.”
“Using traditional darkroom methods, I create images from chemicals, light and various materials. These analog creations are digitally combined with public domain celestial images from the Hubble and James Webb telescopes,” Stratton says. “This fusion of analog and digital technologies reflects my concern about the decline in scientific research and understanding.”
Stratton uses chemical- and light-based techniques including chemigram and darkroom solarization to create “otherworldy scenes” exploring how humans might “depict the unknown beyond our horizons without absolute knowledge.”
“While scientific images of the universe are digitally enhanced, my work embraces the unpredictable nature of the manipulated chemical process. Accidental details, like bubbles from solarization, inspire the experimental approach of this series,” Stratton says. “Ultimately, these photographs are handmade interpretations of extraterrestrial landscapes and celestial bodies, bridging the gap between scientific imagery and artistic imagination.”
Stratton is an artist-educator whose practice spans 2D mixed-media, photography, video and sound design, always initially driven by an idea. Stratton’s art is both confessional and conceptual, delving into themes of superstition, ritual, the cosmos and various myths. All of this fosters an experimental, process-oriented approach that adapts to ever-shifting concepts.
A graduate of Western Michigan University’s Gwen Frostic School of Art and the Maryland Institute College of Art, Stratton has garnered national and international recognition through exhibitions and guest speaking engagements. Currently, Stratton has the privilege to share her expertise as a fine arts instructor at KCC, another alma mater.
For more information about the exhibit or other KCC arts events and initiatives, contact KCC’s Arts and Communication Office at 269-965-4126.
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