Visitors to Hillsborough Community College's Ybor Art Gallery may do a double take when they encounter Linda Armstrong's inverted tree and other simultaneously natural and alien subjects in Specimens, Observations and Drawings, on view through March 12. The delicate sapling, which hangs from the gallery ceiling and hovers above the floor, glows a ghostly white thanks to a paper coating applied by the artist. Bronze castings of mushrooms strike a similarly familiar-yet-otherworldly tone, inviting visitors to contemplate the unusual beauty of their crenellations and their centuries-old mystique (rooted in "the ancient Greek belief that they were manifestations of Zeus' lightning because they appeared after rain," according to the artist). Armstrong, a stalwart environmentalist, directs Emory University's Visual Arts Program in Atlanta. For more information, call Carolyn Kossar at 813-253-7674.
The University of Tampa's Electronics Alive, a biennial invitational of digital art, continues through March 24 with a robust slate of events in addition to a gallery exhibition and screenings of animated shorts. On Thursday, Feb. 19, Christina Hung speaks about her work with electronic and biological media. Hung, who teaches at Clemson University in Virginia, grows bacterial cultures in the shape of images — one, a double portrait of John Ashcroft and Joseph McCarthy — that allude to issues in U.S. security, trade and military dominance. On Friday, Feb. 20, UT professor and Electronics Alive founder Lew Harris and Terry Mohn collaborate to create a live performance incorporating digital imaging and music. For more information, go to ealive.utarts.com.
This article appears in Feb 18-24, 2009.