For Southern Adventist University's Mark Boyson, art is about exploring the space between places. And with his new exhibit, "There and Here Reprise," he does just that.
Using cartographic illustrations on paper, projection and ceramics, the assistant professor of fine art re-created his steps across Collegedale and the surrounding area over the past four years, creating artistic large-scale drawings.
"I record all my driving with a GPS app, and thinking about that movement, whether it is going to work, going to the grocery store or anything else it's kind of literal and metaphoric," he said. "[This exhibit is about] these things that are kind of considered banal, like a daily commute, and thinking about it in a more beautiful way."
For Boyson, that thinking meant looking at the four years as a whole, not as separate days, weeks and months, when creating his pieces.
"I've always been interested in maps, even as a child," he said. "It's something that kind of, for a long time, was innately part of my life. I always enjoyed taking drives and exploring. I think this is kind of an extension of that, just thinking of it in the art context. A lot of times we only think of that in wonder when we travel, but that's a very small part of the time.
"In a way, this becomes a diary of me retracing my steps - 'Oh, I remember picking up my children there' or 'I remember that hike on Monteagle.' It's an interesting juxtaposition."
"There and Here Reprise" can be found in the John C. Williams Art Gallery on the second floor of SAU's Brock Hall. The exhibit is open to the public and runs through Feb. 22.
For more information, contact the university at 236-2000.
Email Gabrielle Chevalier at gchevalier@timesfreepress.com.