Art speaks when words fail, and no place provides such a powerful voice as a gallery. ETSU’s Slocumb Galleries, since its conception, has been the campus’ premier venue for inspired thought and boundless creativity.

Named after Professor Elizabeth Slocumb, the campus’ first art professor in 1910, the gallery continues to promote diversity and critical thinking to all; as current Director Karlota Contreras-Koterbay says, “We [artists] want people to rethink the world” and to “expose students to different perspectives, teaching them not just the ‘what,’ but the ‘how’ and ‘why.’”

The latest exhibit to bear Slocumb’s torch is “Exceptional Myths” by artist Dawn Martin Dickens, whose portfolio is rich with metaphor and current affairs. The exhibit is a graphite installation depicting the common perception of the American Cowboy. To Contreras-Koterbay, the piece stands for the many “historical myths of exceptionalism, particularly in portrayals of the American West,” which not only form a misinformed public perception of that time period, but also of the ideals rooted in America’s core.

“Exceptional Myths” encourages students to “be able to reason out, be logical and be critical” with matters requiring scrutiny of the status quo or accepted generalizations. According to Contreras-Koterbay, that is at the heart of Dickens’ work. “Controversial matters are more than ever vital because we cannot simply be a polite society,” she says, “we must be a critical society, a just society.” To emphasize this, Slocumb Galleries encourages students to visit the exhibit and participate in an ‘erasure of drawing,’ immersing them in the symbolism of erasing as pristine an emblem as the American Cowboy. 

Dawn Martin Dickens will be at the Slocumb Galleries on Thursday, February 13th, from 5-7 P.M. to give an Artist’s Talk. On Friday the 14th, a Drawing Demo will be held at the galleries from 10-11:30 A.M. Both events are open to the public and free to ETSU students. 



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