The University of South Florida's Oliver Gallery may be unremarkable in its unadorned form — a voluminous white box where art students exhibit their work — but for the month of August it becomes a stage for eye-popping experiments uniting art and architecture. Under the tutelage of artist and professor Elisabeth Condon, 14 USF students spent four weeks earlier this summer visiting a variety of natural and man-made landscapes — USF's library, botanical gardens and University Mall — then reinterpreted what they saw into fantastical artistic landscapes.
As a result, such sights as a flock of birds in flight (a beautiful mobile) or a video of bacteria projected on a trompe l'oeil painting of a grotto have replaced the Oliver's blank walls with a richly imagined world. Review a play-by-play of the class's progress, including pictures, on their blog at buildinglandscape.blogspot.com. Visit the gallery Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at 3801 Holly Drive on the USF Tampa campus, or call 813-974-2360 for an appointment to view the exhibit outside regular hours.
Ordinarily I'm skeptical of fundraising auctions of fine art — often artists are taken advantage of by being asked to donate their work, and the artworks up for grabs can be all over the map. The Gasparilla International Film Festival, however, has embarked on an unusual partnership with 15 local artists for a GIFF fundraiser at the Don Vincente de Ybor Historic Inn on Fri., Aug. 15, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Each artist has responded to a particular independent film by creating a unique painting, print or other piece: See Chad Cardoza's take on Basquiat, Brandon Dunlap's insight into Memento or Jason Fondren's stab at Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Half of all proceeds go to the artist, while the other half benefits GIFF, Tampa's growing independent film festival. Attendees can enjoy a "groovy cat" lounge with a DJ and free drinks and bites for the first hour. Admission is free. For more information, go to gasparillafilmfestival.com.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2008.
