Third Street Gallery archive: 2007 Exhibitions: The Vanishing Point: Paintings and Photographs by Erin Whitman

Humboldt State University’s First Street Gallery is pleased to present The Vanishing Point: Paintings by Erin Whitman on exhibition from August 24, 2007 through November 4, 2007.  This exhibition features paintings and photographs from Whitman’s series, The Vanishing Point.

At the core of this exhibition, are four paintings, which were previously part of a complex installation composed of paintings, tableaux and three-dimensional objects. Using herself as a model, each painting depicts the artist in multiple poses occupying a dizzying, maze-like architectural setting—a brick labyrinth of rooms, alleys and courtyards set in a winter’s landscape. Her imagery is reminiscent of the dreamlike settings for Jean Cocteau’s “La Belle et la bête”, or Lewis Carroll’s,  “Alice in Wonderland”. Her intention is to create a compound self-portrait, the permutations of her psyche and memories registered in the twisting architecture of her art. Through these multiple depictions of herself, Whitman achieves a self-portrait, decidedly unique, and outside of normal pictorial conventions.

Whitman was born and raised in San Diego, California and came to HSU in 1997 to pursue her undergraduate degree.  She graduated in 2003 with a double major in Studio Art and Art History.  Whitman then attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art near Detroit, Michigan and in 2006 received her Master of Fine Arts in painting.  She returned to HSU in January of this year to teach painting and drawing as a lecturer in the Art Department.

A reception for the artist will be held during Arts Alive! on Saturday, September 1st.  Humboldt State University First Street Gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. and is located at 422 First Street, Eureka, California.  Admission is free.  Those planning group tours are encouraged to call ahead. For more information call 707-826-3424.