East Tennessean

Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: The Scene

Media Credit: Travis Brown The reception after the lecture gave students, and people that attended, a chance to examine the artwork. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Travis Brown Juror Pradip Malde spoke with the public after his lecture during the reception to further answer their questions. [Click to enlarge]

In recognition of the 24th annual Positive/Negative art show, Juror Pradip Malde gave a lecture in the Ball Hall auditorium on Friday, Feb. 6.
Despite economic issues, Slocomb Galleries still put on a vibrant production. The Positive/Negative show, begun in 1985, is a way of bringing "outside" art to ETSU as well as presenting art here to the outside world and is a way of promoting and appreciating visual art.
Malde was selected as a juror from several artists and is a professor of digital art and photography in the Department of Art and Art History at Sewanee: University of the South. Working mostly as a photographer, Malde has presented several shows in the UK and Scotland before he settled in Sewanee, Tenn.
In the lecture, Malde explained some of the criteria for the show and responsibilities that come with being an artist.
Malde gave a presentation open to questions and extended his gratitude toward the university. He said he believes that the shows mostly benefit the students.
It was expressed that the common attitude toward artists is that they are self-expressive, and that jurors and historians are not. However, he says he knows what it feels like from all sides of the dynamic.
In his statement, Malde said " I believe that an artist's greatest challenge and calling is to make impassioned work while being aware of the complex societal intertwining of the expressive and creative process. This kind of an approach inevitably brushes with concerns related to truth, morality and identity, of the kind that Ignatieff writes about. It places responsibility of expression not just on the artist, but also on the other players in a process that may ultimately bring any given body of work into the public realm."
He asks what is at the heart of any work, what the truth is and who the artist is or is not. Malde looked at art that was not worked on as an artist, but more as an observer, being that artists are workers of truth. This, he says, is what he based his selections on for the show.
He continued to show his personal photography and shared some philosophy behind his subjects.
An awards reception followed the lecture.
The show will continue until Feb. 20, and all students are encouraged to come and look at the artwork.
For more information on artist Pradip Malde and slides from the presentation on Friday, visit his Web site at malde.sewanee.edu.

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