By Lori Dugan/EAC
THATCHER — Eastern Arizona College’s Art Department will present a solo art exhibition by student artist Tabris Williams, titled “Shuttershutting,” Feb. 2-17, in the Activities Center Lobby.
A reception will be held Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 5-7 p.m. The exhibition and reception are open to the public.
Williams, who began attending EA to pursue an Associate of Arts degree, said the collection reflects a personal process of exploring emotions, memory, and meaning through visual language.
“I have here a collection of art that I made with the hopes of dredging up and solidifying some emotions for me,” Williams said. “I generally have a pretty wobbly memory, so these drawings were made in an attempt to bookmark the feelings or concepts that had stuck in my head at the time.”
Williams said the work often centers on clusters of ideas and recurring symbolic “frameworks” that function like language.
“I tend to get obsessed with clusters of ideas and ‘frameworks’ of symbols that act as language,” Williams said.
EA art professor Holt Brasher said Williams’ work stands out for its depth, originality, and emotional impact.
“I am elated that Tabris is allowing the community a peek into a strange and wonderful mind,” Brasher said. “Tabris came into the visual arts program a few years ago and made a big splash with artworks that would have stunned students at a graduate school level.”
Brasher said the work often includes high-level concepts connected to memory, nostalgia, emotions, identity, and growing up in the area.
“The works often have high concepts that worm in and out of memories, nostalgia, emotions, and life growing up in this area,” Brasher said. “The pieces are dense and visually appealing, and make you want to learn and decode their meanings.”
Brasher also recognized Williams’ impact on the EA visual arts program and student community.
“As a student and a former art assistant, Tabris has been integral in helping the art program to grow and has been a valuable asset in our arts community,” Brasher said. “
Brasher said the exhibition reflects the type of creative opportunity EA hopes to provide to the community.
“I am proud that we are able to provide the community with an art exhibition like what Tabris has created,” Brasher said. “We hope that by highlighting artworks like Tabris’ it allows those in the community, and at the college, to see what art can be, and how the visual arts can be pushed.”
Brasher said the Art Department hopes the exhibition encourages future artists and arts supporters to engage with the program.
“Between Professor Jeff Henley and me, we hope this encourages young artists in this area to throw their hat into the program and see what they might create,” Brasher said.
For more information about the exhibition, contact Brasher at holt.brasher@eac.edu.
