Artist Brooks Dierdorff will make his Marshall University debut with an exhibition titled “Midnight Sun” this week at the Visual Arts Center.
Dierdorff has shown his work across the United States and in Canada, Germany and Italy. He said his work uses a range of media, from sculptural iterations of photographs to silver gelatin prints to video productions, but one form continues to grab his attention.
“Though I consider my artistic practice to be interdisciplinary, I have a vested interest in exploring photography’s evolving role in contemporary culture,” Dierdorff said.
Megan Schultz, Marshall University galleries director, said Dierdorff carefully considers each exhibition space in which he works, as well as each site’s particular circumstances.
“The collection of photographs video, and sculpture that make up the exhibition, ‘Midnight Sun,’ becomes more akin to an installation, unique to its place,” Schultz said. “Dierdorff’s use of a range of materials, as well as his interest in the evolution of the context of his work depending on its site, is one of several reasons why I wanted to bring his work to the Visual Arts Center.
“His recurring themes, which center on the effects of technology on our perception of nature, feel greatly relevant to young people in this region,” Schultz said.
Dierdorff will be featured at an artist talk at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in room 209 of the Visual Arts Center, which is free and open to the public. The exhibition then opens to the public with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 6, and will be on display in the Visual Arts Center gallery until Tuesday, April 7. The gallery, on the first floor of the Visual Arts Center at 927 3rd Ave. in Huntington, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information about this exhibition or the Marshall University School of Art and Design, visit www.marshall.edu/art or contact Schultz by e-mail at schultzm@marshall.edu or by phone at 304-696-4312. For more information about Dierdorff, visit www.brooksdierdorff.com.
