Students walk through an abstract “Collage City” at new exhibit

By: Abigail Nawrot

Staff writer

Peter Dudek and Susan Meyer revealed their most recent art installation, Collage City, in the Administration Building’s Teaching Gallery on Thursday, Sept. 19. 

The event was preceded by Dudek’s speech in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium. The talk was accompanied by a crowd of Hudson Valley Community College students.

Collage City’s other featured artist, Susan Meyer, will also give a speech at the same location on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The event is free and open to the public. 

A number of years ago, Dudek was trying to diversify his art. He was starting to show print, digital media and drawings.

“I was basically known as a sculptor, and at the same time, I noticed artists were painting on photographs,” Dudek said.

Soon after this, Dudek tried his hand at white out work.

Using white paint on photographs of his work, Dudek erases what draws attention away from the original purpose of his pieces. He uses his sculptures to make a collage of different work, hence the name “Collage City”.

According to fine arts major Victoria Jochnowitz, one of Dudek’s catalogue pieces portrayed the idea of being able to find or make art anywhere, by putting your own perception into it. 

“I wouldn’t say this changed my idea of art, but I did learn something… to be more observational,” Jochnowitz said.

The piece in question was created when Dudek was scanning the pages of a sculptural art catalogue. He said that the pages were thin enough for the scanner to pick up the next few pages. 

Dudek said he found it funny how the catalogue was contradicting itself, rather than the idea of being realistic. 

“It’s like the pages were saying ‘we want to be abstract’,” Dudek explained. 

Those exact catalogue pages are displayed in Dudek’s installation.

According to digital media major and portrait photographer Dan Shapiro, the meaning in Dudek’s white out photography is gone. 

“The subliminal meaning in photography isn’t there anymore, now it’s about how it looks,” Shapiro said. “Does it look good, is it properly exposed?” he continued. “Now we have postmodern ideals.” 

He went on to say that Dudek provided him with ideas on how to use third party objects in his photography.

“I’m biased, I don’t particularly like other forms of art, but it definitely made me want to get more creative with my presentation,” Shapiro explained.

Maya Porter, a digital media major, found Dudek’s speech both inspiring and educational.

 “Art is expression, and he really captured that,” Porter said. “There’s this balance of who’s an artist and who’s not,” she continued. “Art is life.”

“I felt happy, seeing that people are finding new ways to create art. It makes me feel ambitious, and more willing to venture outside the box.” said a fine arts major who preferred to stay anonymous

“Collage City” will be displayed in the Administration Building’s Teaching Gallery until Saturday, Oct. 26.