Emmons ‘Enlightenment’ fills Fox Valley gallery

UW-Green Bay faculty artist Carol Emmons is the creator of “Enlightenment 2,” a solo exhibition on display through Dec. 4 at the Aaron Bohrod Gallery at the UW College-Fox Valley in Menasha.

Emmons is a professor of art in UW-Green Bay’s Arts and Visual Design academic unit.

The room-sized environment is intended to specifically address UW-Fox Valley as a teaching and learning environment. Emmons says the piece investigates questions about how we attempt to understand the world and how we attempt to talk to others about that understanding — which are both core elements of a university. The work also considers varied models of student-teacher interaction and conceptions of the academy itself.

The project entailed assistance from current UW-Green Bay students Kay Flick, Scott Vanidestine and Casey Early-Krueger, with audio work by Senior Media Specialist Mike Schmitt. Emmons says additional help was provided by UW-Green Bay alumnus Scott Farmer ’92, “who began his university education at UW-Fox Valley back when, as he happily notes, the state provided ashtrays in the classrooms.”

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; 10 to 7 on Tuesday and Thursday; and noon to 4 Saturday.

The text on the blackboard in the photo reads:

“In these days when slang, loud talking and freakish dressing are having an unusual vogue, it seems specially important that our teachers at least will not contribute to the general lowering of standards of good taste. — Henderson 1914”