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Dawn Hunter
SPectacle Spectacular, ART Department



Art Department has been my most poplar artwork - a biographical work that through metaphor and symbolism fuses pictorially my real life experiences as a student and (later) as a faculty member in art school programs. Reception of the work exceeded expectations & it struck a poignant chord with audiences in all disciplines w/in academia. Many thanks to the drawing center, New York, NY, College of Charleston crazy horse literary journal, university of South Carolina College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Carolina School of Visual Art and Design, The Delaware Contemporary Art Center, The Kansas City Art Institute, Ithaca college, Whittier college, Leedy Voulkos Art center, The Vermont Studio Center, and KCAI Foundation Department for their support, Encouragement & exhibiting the work.



I teach at a public university where I am an Associate Professor and the Foundations Coordinator. My job allows me to be continually in conversation about art with my students and colleagues. Since my teaching is specifically focused in the area of foundations (introductory classes that address the elements and principles of 2-D and 3-D design), I find that not only am I often preoccupied with the signifying power of abstract or representational forms within their given context, but also with the internal mechanics of art and object creation.


The works on this page are biographically inspired by my collegial life in the department in which I work. In my experience, within an art department, one finds highly creative and competitive individuals who attempt to function as a productive collective. Everyday actions can be read as political and posturing gestures. Sometimes there are veiled jealousies. And often the agendas of each individual are highly impassioned endeavors, which makes identifying any central aim within the department “swamp” difficult. Faculty retreats intended to define and create a mission statement can feel like “herding cats.”


“Are we building something or tearing something down?” is the question asked in my large orange painting Art Department. The figures are composed as a group that is not whole or together. Instead of straightforward portraiture, the figures and their gestures function as symbolic forms with regard to their identities and their meaning to me: friend, foe, or bystander. The process of creating such works has been cathartic, and they express my feelings as these relate to the jealousy, competition, and power within a group dynamic of artists who are also professors and administrators.


It should be noted that I have experienced copyright infringement with this artwork by the website: Wall of Celebrities. Without my consent or permission, that website erroneously features my artwork and attributes authorship to an actress by the same name. It is appalling that after they have been notified, that they continue to misrepresent my identity as an artist and authorship of my work.


Read more about this copyright infringement here

Dawn Hunter



Art Department on the cover of literary journal, Crazy Horse.



Dawn Hunter



Detail of the painting.

This is a detail of artist and UofSC professor Dawn Hunter's painting "Art Department." Art Department has been exhibited at the Drawing Center, Ithaca College, Whittier College and featured on the cover of the literary journal Crazy Horse. A detail of this work has been erroneously featured (without permission) as a singular and complete work in and of itself and incorrectly attributed to an actress (also named Dawn Hunter, no association) on the website Wall of Celebrities. Despite copyright infringement and notification of this breach and erroneous authorship attribution, Wall of Celebrities has yet to take it down and correct this gross and negligent oversight.


Read more about this copyright infringement here

Dawn Hunter



Art Department, acrylic and ink on paper, 60" x 80", 2009



Dawn Hunter



Exhibition installation shot, Day Job exhibition, New York, NY.



Dawn Hunter



Detail of the painting.



Dawn Hunter



Detail of the painting.



Dawn Hunter



A Touch of the Lesbian, ink and acrylic on paper, 12" x 18", 2005



DAWN HUNTER



Work in progress during a summer residency at the Vermont Studio
Center



COPYRIGHT 1999-2022 - FOR CITATION: HUNTER, DAWN. [TITLE OF WEBPAGE FEATURE], Dawn Hunter Art : Gallery , 15/03/2021. WWW.DAWNHUNTERGALLERY.COM