Essays 2007-2008

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Essays 2007-2008
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jim Park's Exhibition in President's Gallery
Ran Li

The exhibition for Jim Park’s works started on February 11 in President’s Gallery and will end on April 11.The exhibition title is "A Stillness in the Land". Jim Park got his Bachelor degree of Fine Arts in Brigham Young University in 1995 and then he got his Master degree of Fine Arts in Northern Illinois University. From 1998 to 1999, Jim Park was a substitute teacher in Milton School District. Now he is an assistant professor of Department of Art and Design in Minnesota State University Moorhead.2000 to present, he is an active member of Department committees. Jim Park has a lot of publications.


The paintings in the exhibition are of two very different mediums and experiences. The oil paintings are of Jim’s hometown (Driggs, Idaho) and memories of Teton Valley and the oil pastel paintings are of abstract landscapes and imaginary settings.


The oil paintings were created from Jim's desire to capture some of the visual beauty of Teton Valley before it is altered forever, due to growth. Several views that Jim has chosen to display in the exhibition are from specific locations where he would spend his leisure time as a youth-such as Teton Creek and Teton River where he has done a lot of fishing. Some of the places where his friends, family and he would venture to are gone, yet many are still as he remembers them as a boy. The other old paintings are scenes demonstrating the grandeur and beauty of that special part of Idaho that will always be his home.


"During the spring of 2005, with the help of a Minnesota State University Moorhead Faculty Development Grant, and Lakes Region Arts Council-McKnight Foundation Career Development Grant, I was able to spend three weeks in and around Driggs, documenting my memories of the beauty of this valley.” Jim said,” One hope I have is to continue this personally work because I feel much of the beauty of this landscape will be taken away from future generations to visually enjoy if it's not recorded."


The other group of paintings in this show is a collection of imaginary scenes and abstract compositions created in oil pastels-the medium of Jim's art training. His intent with that body of work is to provide an opportunity to convey an evolving awareness and comprehension of the importance of our relationships one with another the places we find ourselves within. Jim has chosen the symbolic shapes of trees, buildings, walls and shadows and their relationship to one another to achieve a subtle spiritual narrative and a powerful visual impact. Atmosphere and mood create the psychological isolation associated within those compositions and enhance optimistic feelings of a world rich with beauty, warmth, comfort and opportunity.


"To me, these oil pastel paintings are more about mood and surface characteristics than the image itself. I want each painting to be visually stimulating from a distance, but as you move in for closer observation you discover the coloration of layers, scratches and marks within the surface that it becomes more engaging.” Jim said,” My painting technique creates a sense of rhythm, variety and interest, which remind me of life with its constant changes, gains and losses."

In a dramatic setting of no particular place, those images are rich in color, texture and surface and have an intimacy and luminosity that invite the viewer into Jim's paintings toward stability, optimism, light, and hope.


This exhibition gives students majoring in art a good chance to learn from other people’s works. It also brings both visual and spiritual enjoyment to people.


P.S. reporter: Ran Li