Photo by Bryan Cole / The Collegian

Artist Murleen Ray gives the past a voice

Skulls, cave paintings and Darwin̢۪s classic evolutionary image of the progression of man are the fundamental elements of pieces currently on display in the Dean̢۪s Gallery.

Artist Murleen Ray combined her own etchings of these images with poetry to create “Remnants: Conversations with the Past.â€Â

Ray, a graduate student pursuing an M.A. in art and possibly an M.F.A. in creative writing, said that for her honors project she wanted to do something unique—a memento mori, a piece of artwork that reminds people of their mortality.

To accomplish this, Ray used images she felt everyone could relate to.

“I used the skull image in one piece because it’s universally human,” Ray said. “When you look at it you don’t see gender, race, or class, so anyone can look at it and find meaning.â€Â

Ray also used images of controversy to grab people̢۪s attention and make them think.

“The evolutionary image has strong emotional baggage attached to it because people have mixed feelings about evolution versus creation, and this is the reason I wanted to revisit it in my art,â€Â Ray said.

Conversation pieces

Ray created and re-created these images using an ancient printing technique—intaglio printing, where an image is drawn on top of a plate. She also used stone lithography to print her poems.

“It’s not that different from lithography,â€Â Ray said. “It’s just done on a big rock.â€Â

Ray also displayed her etchings and poetry in three different ways.

“I presented my artwork in three forms,â€Â Ray said. “On the wall, in a handmade book and as an interactive sculpture where it doesn’t matter where you start or end.â€Â

The addition of poetry to the art is the thing that most separates Ray̢۪s work from others. Each piece of art was combined with two poems to create a conversation.

“The goal of the poetry was to enter a conversation with each piece of art in two ways,â€Â Ray said. “With one poem I approached the piece as a modern person talking to the image, in the other I wrote as if I was communicating something from the past.â€Â

One of Ray̢۪s etchings models the cave paintings at Chauvet Cave in France which displays a series of horses drawn next to one another over time.

“The cave paintings reminded me of drawings my father made when he was showing me how to draw a horse as a kid,â€Â Ray said. “It made me ask whether the drawings were done by a young person learning to draw over time or by individual artists; that question inspired the poetry that goes with this piece.â€Â

English Professor Connie Hales, who mentored Ray on her poetry, said that mixing Ray̢۪s poetry and artwork wasn̢۪t easy, but because of Ray̢۪s determination was successful.

“What I admire most about Murleen’s project is how she set out to create an ambitious, difficult, mixed media exhibit, and didn’t settle for anything less,â€Â Hales said.

Thoughtful art

Ray didn̢۪t scrimp on anything and that every decision she made, right down to the paper she printed the poems on, had artistic significance.

“Everything I used has meaning; the poetry for example has a light transitory feel, almost like it could fly away, where it’s just floating over the parchment,â€Â Ray said. “Even the use of shadow boxes has meaning because I wanted to echo the aspect of vitrines which were traditionally used to hold artifacts.â€Â

Ray̢۪s goal with these details is that when people see her work they will learn something.

“In the past I made artwork to please myself, but when I started the honors program I wanted to create something for public consumption,â€Â Ray said. “Something that people can look at and be inspired by or learn something from.”

“If I just open the door a little bit, I feel like I’ve succeeded in what I wanted to do.â€Â

Visit the Gallery

Ray’s “Remnants: Conversations with the Past” is on display in the Dean’s Gallery, located in the music building, now through Feb. 4.