Weber State University Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities to Host World Renowned Salt Artist, Motoi Yamamoto

OGDEN, Utah, Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Weber State University's Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities (http://www.weber.edu/cah), today announced the opening of a new exhibit in the Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery by contemporary Japanese artist, Motoi Yamamoto. This exhibition will feature the artist, creating a salt installation—a piece named, "Return to the Sea: Saltworks by Motoi Yamamoto - Floating Garden—along with a series of recent drawings, photography, sketchbooks, a video about the artist, and a 170-page color catalogue documenting fourteen years of the artist's saltworks around the world. Attendees will have an opportunity to see Yamamoto in the gallery from February 24 through March 6, 2014. An opening night reception is scheduled for March 7 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. In addition, a live video stream is available at (http://www.weber.edu/cah/motoiexhibit.html) to anyone around the world desiring to view the artist in action.

"Motoi is an internationally acclaimed artist and we are thrilled to host him not only here at Weber State University but in Utah where he will be able to find inspiration from the magnificent landscape and the Great Salt Lake," said Madonne Miner, Dean of the Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities. "We invite and encourage visitors to see the artist at work and participate in the unique events and activities we have planned."

Weber State University Department of Visual Arts collaborated with architecture students at the University of Utah (www.utah.edu) to design and create a special viewing platform which will enable those who visit the gallery to see the artist from multiple vantage points. In addition, Yamamoto will be in residence at Westminster College where he will also be creating a smaller installation.

"The Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery space is the perfect site to showcase the work and creativity of 'site-specific art,'" said Matthew Choberka, Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Weber State University. "There are several key ideas emerging in contemporary art in terms of working in natural materials, control of lines and weights and how art becomes part of a much larger expression. The Weber State University Department of Visual Arts is at the forefront of providing opportunities for not only our students but Utahans to experience art in new and innovative ways. We invite the public to see not only Yamamoto in action, but explore how art can become a part of their daily life."

An opening night reception for the completed exhibit is scheduled for March 7, 2014 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery. In addition, a special panel discussion featuring thought leaders in the scientific, culinary, spiritual and economic roles of salt is scheduled for Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. in the Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery. The exhibition will also culminate in a community salt gathering and celebration on April 12, 2014, starting at 10 a.m. in the gallery. The community is invited to come help gather the salt used in the exhibition and travel to the Spiral Jetty to return it to the Great Salt Lake.

For more information and an updated list of activities and event involving this exhibit, please visit: http://weber-edu-dova.org/shawgallery/.

About the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities

The Weber State University Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities teaches students to excel as they seek, understand, question and express complexities critical to the experience of being human. The Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities offers five degree programs in the following areas: Communication, English, Foreign Language, Performing Arts and Visual Arts. Master's degrees also are offered in Communication and English. The college serves nearly 2,000 undergraduate majors and 200 graduate students. The Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities is the Western region's foremost institution for student-centered teaching and research that investigates the human experience and aims to educate global citizens who are responsible, creative and critical artists, performers and communicators. For more information please visit (www.weber.edu/cah) or online at (www.facebook.com/WSUartsandhumanities).

Contact:
Christie Denniston, APR
Director of Marketing of Marketing and PR
Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities
Weber State University
Phone: 801-626-6431
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Weber State University, Lindquist College of Arts and Humanities