The Clatsop Community College Royal Nebeker Art Gallery will open this year’s exhibition season with a show celebrating in-person engagement with visual art. Entitled Being Moved: Paintings by Richard Motchman and Into a Study by Paul X Rutz and Developmental Psychologist Jennifer Drake, the show will run from November 1st through January 10th, with a reception and artist talk scheduled for Thursday, November 4th at 6:00 p.m. The gallery reception and exhibit are free and open to the public. As a thank you for participating in the study conducted by Rutz and Drake, the first 100 respondents will receive a signed, numbered print of one of the paintings in this show.
Canadian Richard Motchman will exhibit life-size figurative paintings featuring movable parts. The artist explains that the viewer’s physical interaction with his work “is at the heart of my art practice and is meant to expand the definition of painting.” His work is designed to spark “engagement on the part of the viewer as they make choices about how the imagery of the painting is seen.” Also exhibited in this show will be “Fragment Studies” of the human form.
Motchman was born in 1960 in Mombasa, Kenya, and emigrated at age three with his family to Penticton, B.C., Canada. He earned a B.F.A from the University of Victoria, B.C. in 1982, and spent the following six months traveling and studying art in Europe. In 1986, he continued those studies throughout North America, gaining significant influence from New York museums and galleries. In 1983, Motchman joined Xchanges and has been involved with the artist co-operative ever since. He created his first interactive paintings in 1998 and has practiced this approach in various forms ever since. His paintings have been shown in solo exhibitions in Canada and group exhibitions in both Canada and the US. They reside in private collections in Canada, the US and England. For more information about Richard Motchman, please visit his website at www.motchman-art.com.
Paired with Motchman’s work is a group of paintings designed to advance the science of art: INTO A STUDY, a collaboration between artist Paul X Rutz and developmental psychologist Jennifer Drake. This collection of never-before-seen paintings doubles as a science experiment about how viewers perceive and understand art.
Using a smartphone or tablet, viewers (age 18 and up) may scan the QR code provided and follow the directions to answer a few questions as they look at each of 12 paintings in this series.
After viewers to contribute their insights about the artworks on display of art, the collaborators plan to publish this data for both the art and science communities. As mentioned above, viewers who participate in the study will receive a signed, numbered print from Rutz and Drake while supplies last.
Paul Xavier Rutz is a painter and installation artist. Born and raised in rural Minnesota, he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2001, serving on the aircraft carrier USS Kennedy (CV-67) until 2004. He studied ballet for 10 years and wrote for Pentagon’s Press Service before earning a Ph.D. in Visual Culture from Purdue University in 2011, when he relocated to Portland, OR, to pursue a painting career. In 2018, Rutz studied under painter and printmaker Sigfrido Oliva in Italy, then returned to Purdue for an artist residency in early 2020. He has held solo shows at the Oregon Military Museum and several academic galleries, as well as group shows at Mark Woolley Gallery and the Smithsonian Institution. As an art writer he has contributed to Huffington Post, Modern Fiction Studies, The Smart Set, and Cincinnati Review, among others. For more information about Paul Rutz, please visit his website at https://paulrutz.com/.
Jennifer Drake is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her research focuses on the psychology of the visual arts, including the cognitive, perceptual and emotional processes underlying involved in graphic representation. Her research has been funded by grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Imagination Institute supported by the John Templeton Foundation, and PSC-CUNY and featured in Scientific American Mind, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, The New York Times, and on National Public Radio. She was named a 2015 “Rising Star” by the Association for Psychological Science and an outstanding early career scholar in 2018 by the American Psychological Association for her work on the emotion regulation benefits of everyday art-making.
In conjunction with this show, Motchman and Paul Rutz will team up to lead a workshop entitled Playing with the Picture Plane scheduled for Friday, November 5, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a half-hour break for lunch.
This workshop will offer participants the hands-on opportunity to learn the history of painting on three dimensional surfaces, consider the inherent challenges of working within the limitations of the picture plane, and explore various creative strategies in their own work with the help of these two experts. Students enrolled at CCC may take the workshop free of charge, and members of the community may participate for a $25 fee if space is available. Enrollment is limited and pre-registration is required. For further details about the workshop, a materials list, and to register, contact Kristin Shauck by phone (503-338-2472) or e-mail kshauck@clatsopcc.edu.
The CCC Royal Nebeker Gallery, located at 1799 Lexington Avenue in Astoria, is ADA accessible. The gallery hours are from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and on weekends and holidays by appointment only. For more information, please contact Kristin Shauck by phone (503-338-2472) or e-mail kshauck@clatsopcc.edu.
All employees, students, and visitors at Clatsop Community College are required to comply with the CCC COVID-19 Response Plan, which includes the requirement to wear face coverings when inside buildings on CCC campuses, regardless of vaccination status. The COVID-19 Response Plan may be viewed on the CCC website on the Campus Safety page.
Non-Discrimination Declaration
It is the policy of Clatsop Community College that there will be no discrimination or harassment on the grounds of race, color, sex, gender, marital status, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or disability in any educational programs, activities, or employment. Questions or complaints should be directed to Desiree Noah, Affirmative Action/Gender Equity (Title IX) Officer, Lower Library, Suite 103, dnoah@clatsopcc.edu 503-338- 2450; TDD 503-338-2468. The Director of Student Access Services, Helen Fleming, is in Columbia Hall, Suite 115, hfleming@clatsopcc.edu 503-338-2474.
Accommodations
Persons having questions about or a request for classroom accommodations should contact Helen Fleming Director of Student Access Services, at Clatsop Community College, 1651 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, Oregon 97103, Columbia 115, hfleming@clatsopcc.edu, Phone (503) 338-2393 or TDD (503) 338-2468.
Persons having questions about or a request for special needs and accommodation should contact Shaun Martin, Interim Physical Plant Director, at Clatsop Community College, 1651 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, Oregon 97103, Alder Hall, smartin@clatsopcc.edu , Phone (503) 338-2393 or TDD (503) 338-2468. Please send special needs and accommodations requests here. Contact should be made at least two business days in advance of the event.
Declaración de no-discriminación
Es la política de Clatsop Community College que no habrá ningún tipo de discriminación o acoso por razón de raza, color, sexo, género, estado civil, religión, origen nacional, edad, orientación sexual, identidad de género o expresióno discapacidad en los programas educativos, actividades o en la contratación. Preguntas o quejas deben ser dirigidas al Desiree Noah, Oficial de Acción Afirmativa / Título IX localizado en Library número 103 dnoah@clatsopcc.edu número de teléfono 503-338-2450, TDD (discapacidad auditiva) 503-338-2468. Director de Servicios de acceso para estudiantes, Helen Fleming, se encuentra en Columbia Hall, numero 115, hfleming@clatsopcc.edu número de teléfono 503-338-2474. Para ADA y otras peticiones de servicios llame al 503-338-2474 o para TDD (discapacidad auditiva) 503-338-2468.
Ayuda a personas discapacitadas
Las personas que tengan preguntas o una solicitud de adaptaciones en el aula deben comunicarse con Helen Fleming Directora de Servicios de Acceso para Estudiantes, en Clatsop Community College, 1651 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, Oregon 97103, Columbia 115, hfleming@clatsopcc.edu, teléfono (503) 338-2393 o TDD (503) 338-2468.
En cuanto a las personas discapacitadas, se les pide que se comuniquen con Shaun Martin, Director de instalaciones en Clatsop Community College, 1651 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, Oregon 97103, Alder Hall, smartin@clatsopcc.edu número teléfonico (503) 338-2421 o a TDD (503) 338-2468. Haga el favor de notificar a la oficina para que se le pueda proporcionar apoyo. La comunicación debe tomar lugar por lo menos dos días de trabajo antes del evento por el cual se requiera tal ayuda. Para más información, vea la página Web de Clatsop Community College bajo Información en Español.
