Parallel Lives in Art: Ben and Brooke Cameron
CMU’s Ashby-Hodge Gallery to Feature Art of Well-Known Columbia Couple,
Art Educators Ben and Brooke Cameron Present Contrasting Styles of Art
FAYETTE, Mo. – The Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art at Central
Methodist University will host a new exhibition March 28 through May 11.
Titled “Parallel Lives in Art: Ben and Brooke Cameron,” the show
features the works of this husband and wife
team, both of whom are long-time art educators and residents of
Columbia.
A reception for the artists will be held from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., April
2. Gallery hours are from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Sunday. The gallery is physically impaired accessible. For
more information or to arrange special tours, contact Dr. Joe Geist at
(660) 248-6304 or by e-mail at: jegeist@sbcglobal.net.
Thirty-three pieces comprise the “Parallel Lives” exhibition, which
includes oils, acrylics, intaglio/photo intaglio, watercolors,
lithographs and charcoal drawings. In intaglio printmaking a line is
incised into the surface with various tools or with acid. Then the whole
plate is coated with ink. After the plate is wiped clean, the ink
remains only in the incised areas. The print is produced by pressing a
dampened paper against the plate.
Large-scale, brightly colored portraits of famous entertainers such as
dancer Carmen Miranda and actresses Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and
Tallulah Bankhead showcase major works by Ben Cameron, and a number of
photo intaglio/intaglio works and lithographs represent key pieces by
his wife, Brooke Bulovsky Cameron. The latter
include social and political “statement” pieces such as “June 4, 1989,
Tianamen Square,” “Refused Cubans” and “Worker’s Farewell.”
Other pieces include a watercolor landscape of Oregon’s scenic north
coast, “View from Ecola,” and a whimsical photo intaglio/intaglio, “What
Will We Do When They Drain the Pool,” both by Brooke Cameron, and a
charcoal drawing of playwright Eugene O’Neill and large oil on canvas of
a provocatively dressed and posed woman titled “The Stripper,” both by
Ben Cameron.
The styles of the two artists present a remarkable contrast in
approaches to art and a wide range of art mediums perfected to
very high
levels. Brooke Cameron is a professor of art at the University of
Missouri-Columbia, where she has been teaching printmaking (relief,
intaglio and lithography) and drawing since 1967. Ben Cameron is a
professor of art at Columbia College, where he has been teaching art in
a number of mediums since 1974.
In addition to holding undergraduate and graduate degrees in art, both
Brooke and Ben Cameron are well-known Missouri artists who have
exhibited throughout the country and as well as internationally and have
been widely honored by the art community.
