The UM art faculty research a wide range of ideas. In their work, some artists deal overtly with meaning - making statements about mothers and daughters, memory, autobiography, recycling, pollution, domestic violence. Some investigate the formal concerns of the fine arts-composition, balance, color. Some explore where new technology can take their work. All grapple with the philosophical, emotional, and technical concerns of the various worlds of the arts, the university, and beyond.
Art is a synthetic process.
These forces may manifest themselves in the sciences. For example, Pointillism and Impressionism were investigations of the perception of color and light, and coincided with scientific investigations of the same, he says. Or artists' explorations may stem from social turmoil. Today's ferment over issues of race, class, and gender is evident in current art making. Visualization provides a way to demonstrate an idea so that it becomes understandable, embraceable.