Peculiar Velocity

Artist Panel Discussion: January 27, 6-8 p.m.

Art and science are two forms of collected knowledge that attempt to approach and articulate the vast unknown that stands before us. In a contrapuntal manner visual art delimits the edges of the imaginary and symbolic forms of image based communication while science marks out the farthest and smallest reaches of the known universe.

This exhibition is a thought experiment that examines works of art made by students and teachers from the PAFA Certificate and MFA programs from 1992-1999, who formed an ephemeral community through complementary aesthetic concerns.

"Peculiar Velocity" is a technique that is used to determine the fluctuating edges of the known universe. Hubble’s Constant proposes that the universe is expanding in all directions and that there are dense, smaller galaxies having an increased pull of gravity which cause certain astral bodies to move at a different rate than the average rate of cosmic expansion. This change of rate is Peculiar Velocity.

Art education is situated in the broader fields of art history, the ‘art world’ and the collective imaginary. Each institution generates its own internal gravitational forces through the lived interactions of students, faculty and current events. David Dempewolf (Certificate 1998, MFA faculty 2011-present) selected the works in this exhibition from his memories of his time as a student at PAFA. Artists are constantly reconfiguring their constellations of artistic influences, and this exhibition is a means to mark out the Peculiar Velocities of the artists whose work and character effected the inner rotations of Dempewolf’s own creative development.