The Herberger College of Fine Arts is getting into the festive homecoming tradition by hosting the Herberger Art Walk on Saturday at the ASU Alumni Lawn in front of Old Main.
Lasting from 10 a.m. to sunset, the Art Walk will be the only festivity that will last the entire length of Homecoming Day. The event will feature 35 artists, all of whom are either ASU alumni or graduate students. Work will range from a wide variety of fine art and crafts, including ceramics, fiber art, jewelry, mixed media, paintings and photography. Each of the artists will have a specific tent, available for purchase, to showcase his or her artwork.
The intention of the Art Walk is to become an annual event and grow over several years.
"We wanted to be an active participant in this revamped homecoming," says Stacey Shaw, director of the Communications Group of the Herberger College of Fine Arts. "This is something we had been considering for a while because we are proud of our alumni. It is an opportunity to support not only the university, but also to showcase the talent we have in fine arts."
Applicants had to submit artwork to a selection committee that chose the final participants for the juried exhibition.
"We wanted to make sure we had a wide breadth of arts and crafts at the Art Walk that showed a nice representation of the work of the college," Shaw explains.
One of the artists that will be showcasing his work is 1980 ASU graduate Craig Cheply. Cheply graduated from the University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design and currently designs and paints murals for various buildings around the Valley, including part of the 10,000 square-foot mural at Bank One Ballpark.
Although Cheply does a lot of commercial and design work, he also concentrates on his smaller paintings, which he will display at the Art Walk. Most of his paintings, however, currently are being shown at the Mesa Southwest Museum in an exhibit called "Dawn to Dawn: Past, Present, Possible Futures."
Cheply's painting style can be considered "photorealism" or "hyper-realism." The artwork is a surreal take on Southwestern landscapes. The painting "X Marks the Spot" is a striking representation of this style, showing plants crossing each other with raindrops magnifying areas of the plant.
"I see things in the Southwest, and I comment on them visually," Cheply explains. "We still live in the Southwest and not in some gigantic metropolitan area, and I like to remind people of that fact."
Although Cheply will be the lone representative from the 1980 class at the event, he is happy about the increased involvement ASU is having in the fine arts.
"It is interesting [that this event hasn't been done before]," Cheply says. "It's nice exposure, and I would like to see it continue."
Herberger Art Walk at ASU Alumni Lawn in front of Old Main at ASU Main campus Saturday, 10 a.m. to sunset. Free. For more details, visit the web site.
The Herberger Art Walk will not only feature various works from artists but also will include undergraduate and graduate dancers and musicians who will perform throughout the course of the day. An African drum band and a mariachi band will be featured in the event.
"Certainly the focus of the day is on the athletic competition, but this is a great opportunity to experience the full flavor of a university of this size," Shaw explains. "This event is a different way to experience Homecoming."
Reach the reporter at steven.ganczaruk@asu.edu.