“Field of Life: Monumental Structures” is an exhibit currently at the Reece Museum until March 19. This exhibit provides a recollective series of works by Professor Emeritus M. Wayne Dyer, a recently retired faculty member.

“I approached them about doing the exhibit,” Dyer said. “What I wanted to do was an exhibit of my work, a retrospective.”

“Field of Life” also has a companion exhibit at the Reece Museum, entitled “Depth of Fields”. This exhibition is a collection of art from Dyer’s students and alumni at ETSU. “Depth of Field” is available for viewing until March 26.

Professor Emeritus M. Wayne Dyer, College of Arts and Sciences. (Contributed/ETSU)

“One of the things I’m most interested the way hatred is so present,” Dyer said. “All of my works, as a rule, are derived after my personal experiences with issues such as bigotry and hatred, and different aspects of life; everything from death to life.”

“Field of Life” reflects upon not only Dyer’s life but events he has lived through or reflected upon. “Wyoming” is a mixed media painting in the exhibit that reflects upon the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay man studying at the University of Wyoming.

With other pieces with titles such as “Lie Still and They Won’t Bite” (2001), “Victim Hunter” (1998), and “Freedom is Only Skin Deep” (1989), the thread of offering a retrospective on hatred and the struggles of life is seen throughout Dyer’s art in a beautifully tragic way.

“I’ve always done work where I’m doing things that are important to me and are important to express,” Dyer said. “Everything is inspired by experiences and my perception of those experiences.”

Dyer is able to take his perspectives and experiences and turn them into art that can help the viewer process their own thoughts and feelings about the world around them.

“The population generally has a limited understanding of what the arts are about,” Dyer said. “Everything was that was done in the arts, what was treated like what we do when we watch television now, art were meant to say something that people couldn’t understand by the events [themselves]. That’s what I’ve been more interested in, works that do that kind of thing.”

“Field of Life” can be viewed at the Reece Museum Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To view more of Dyer’s works, visit http://mwaynedyer.com/index.html.