BRIEF: New exhibit on display in Philo gallery

The exhibit's artist, Fine Arts student Jeremy Sigler, said this week that the exhibit has been controversial because of the unusual presentation. "There was a real controversy as to whether these were 'art,' or scribbles," said Sigler. In a written statement accompanying the exhibit, Sigler explained, "The ambiguity and mystery inherent in these drawings, which continues to ask questions of me, are what keep them alive and critical." "I draw in search of a kind of freedom," the artist's statement reads. "Yet I am in many ways caging myself in the mere impulse of such an act." The exhibit has drawn much attention from viewers. "I was really pleased with the response," said College senior Jessica Cooperman, the director of the gallery. "People were asking a lot of questions." Although the gallery has exhibited professional work in the past, the space is now exclusively for student work. Because the gallery has been condemned by the University for structural problems, only three people are allowed inside at a time. The drawings are based on lines, such as branches, the alphabet, cages, telegraph wires, and human forms, Sigler said. Sigler said he would not like to say too much about the exhibit's meaning. "It's not like I started with an idea and then illustrated it," he explained. "Through drawing something comes out. People should walk up to the drawing with their own mind . . . I don't want to give them too many words to rely on." "Drawings," will be on display through February 13. To see the exhibit, call the Philomathean Society at 898-8907 for an appointment. -- Patty Chang

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