"Call and Response: Parallel Lives" returns for Fall for the Book

Parallel Lives involves students in call and response between the mediums (photo by John Irwin).

The Johnson Center’s Gallery 123 contributes art and poetry to the upcoming “Fall for the Books” excitement. 

“Parallel Lives,” a returning exhibit featuring fourteen collaborative works from Mason students and faculty members, is on display from Sept. 16-27in the Johnson Center Gallery 123. 

Randomly selected visual artists and writers answered the “Call and Response” challenge. 

The challenge was led by professors Helen Frederick and Susan Tichy, in which one artist “calls” with a work and one responds, by pairing together to address the title of the program.  

What was initially intended to be pairs of works with the same theme resulted mostly in single works as participants found intersecting sub-themes.  The artists also had to curate the gallery and agree on how to use the space to effectively translate their Parallel Lives.

Professor Frederick explained that visual artists and writers do not usually work together.  This project afforded the artists the opportunity to reach outside of their comfort zones to be able to communicate their message through their chosen medium.  

Some of the works invite the use of touch and manipulation by guests.  “Inter[per]ception” draws inspiration from the recent rulings in the Trayvon Martin case.  Spheres containing opinion pieces from Washington Post columnists encourage students to move the sphere “in an attempt to find a conclusion that remains elusive.”  

Other works in the exhibit feature personal issues that target their student audiences. “Conversion” employs the theme of spiritual awakening, and Duality delves into the thoughts of two veterans returning to school and “their individual relationships with the institution of ‘university.’”

The exhibit differs this year in that it will last for two weeks instead of just one, affording the opportunity for a more widespread audience.  For further insight into the exhibit, students can attend a panel discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. in the gallery.