Local abstract artist highlighted in GalleryOne and the Library

Addie Shrodes

Editor

A new GalleryOne exhibit titled “Jim Cogswell: Meanwhile” features the work of a local artist whose $10,000 painting was recently highlighted in the Richard W. Bailey Library. The exhibit runs Monday, Oct. 12-Friday, Dec. 11. Cogswell’s painting “Meanwhile O Reader,” an oil-on-canvas piece based on the letters in its title, was lighted as a permanent feature in the Bailey Library at Washtenaw Community College in August. The piece was commissioned by the WCC Library Art Selection Committee, which formed in 2006 and is led by Victor Liu, dean of Learning Resources. The committee issued a nationwide proposal request to explore artistic styles and mediums. After receiving more than 25 entries, the committee selected four finalists to give presentations on campus in April 2007. The commission was awarded to Cogswell, who is a professor at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design. The painting, measuring 36-feet long and five-feet high, speaks to the engagement with text, information and knowledge, which is fitting for a library, Liu said.  The painting cost $10,000, $6,000 of which was from a WCC Foundation grant. Liu pointed out that a commissioned art piece of its size and caliber would normally run closer to six figures. “In essence, this is more a labor of love on Professor Cogswell’s part for situating art in educational institutions,” Liu said. GalleryOne, in conjunction with the Bailey Library, will host a reception and lecture for Cogswell on Nov. 11, with remarks from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the Bailey Library, the lecture from 6-7 p.m. in LA 175 and the reception from 7-8 in GalleryOne, room 108 of the Student Center building. ­