Teh Nowcasting Now Open at Sewanee University Gallery

http://news.sewanee.edu/events/2009/10/23/nowcasting-at-the-university-gallery-artists-talk-oct-23.362
Nowcasting" at the University Gallery, artists' talk Oct. 23

Sewanee’s University Art Gallery presents Nowcasting, an installation created by the collaborative group TEH, from Oct. 9 through Nov. 22. An artists’ talk in Convocation Hall at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, will be followed by a reception.

Visitors to Nowcasting will experience the building of a digitized storm in the confines of the gallery. Like TEH’s other works, this installation is intended to “challenge the senses through the use of simulation, and present weather/environment through mediated, virtual and physical processes.” Entering a gallery space transformed by sound, visitors will question the reality of what their senses tell them about the surrounding environment.


TEH includes the artists Phillip Andrew Lewis, Adam Trowbridge, and Jessica Westbrook. They named their collaboration TEH after a mistake commonly made when using a keyboard—typing “teh” instead of “the.” This name represents the group’s interest in how an actively participating audience can be a factor in the meaning of an artwork. Individuals have unintended and surprising effects on the messages they create and receive. This name also represents the group’s interest in the difficulties of communication. Messages are often scrambled, or mean different things to different people. Representations intended to simulate reality can never be exactly the same thing. The group’s current focus is on the intersection of technology with weather and specific physical sites.


Phillip Andrew Lewis often explores the viewer’s navigation of mental and physical environments in his work. He received his MFA from the Memphis College of Art. In 2005 Lewis established Medicine Factory, a contemporary art space in downtown Memphis, and he has exhibited nationally and internationally.


Adam Trowbridge uses a variety of approaches and media, including performance, video and computer-driven installations, to explore the connections, and the gaps, between what we experience and what we understand. Trowbridge received his MFA in Electronic Visualization / Responsive Art from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and his work has been featured nationally and internationally.


Jessica Westbrook works with photography, video, language, and information design. In her work she explores subjective and often contradictory responses to anything from cultural artifacts to extreme situations. Westbrook received her MFA from the Tyler School of Art. In 2005 she established the artist’s collective SEED in Chattanooga, and has exhibited nationally and internationally.


Sewanee’s University Art Gallery is located on Georgia Avenue on the campus of the University of the South. The gallery is free, accessible, and open to the public. Hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon – 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Call 931.598.1223 for more information, or visit the gallery Web site.