Congratulations to Texas Woman’s University Alumnae, Kristina Smith and Ashley Whitt, for their group exhibition, A Certain Displacement, in Cliff Gallery at Mountain View College. The exhibition is June 15 – August 7, 2015, with a reception on June 20, 2015, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

A Certain Displacement:
Rachel Rushing, Kristina Smith, and Ashley Whitt

Exhibition: June 15 – August 7, 2015

Reception: Saturday June 20, 2015 | 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

A Certain Displacement is a collaborative project between three emerging North Texas artists: Rachel Rushing, Kristina Smith, and Ashley Whitt. Each artist explores transitory states of being related to their shared experiences of commuting, collaborating, working, and living across multiple social geographies. Through the investigation of place and identity, this project encompasses video and a combination of historical and contemporary photographic processes to create installations that invite viewers to become immersed in surreal, disorienting environments.

The title specifically references the experience of being an adjunct instructor in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. Contemporary higher education is undergoing great scrutiny, in part due to the still-recent economic recession of 2008. With external pressures pushing against rising tuition costs, much of America is now re-examining the value of higher education and the cost of attendance. As a result of this examination, new light is being shed on those in instructional positions. According to the American Association of University Professors, as much as 76% of faculty across all types of institutions are adjunct, or contingent, faculty.

As members of the group of 76%, these three artists use a variety of photographic processes to explore their circumstances. Processes: this word refers to chemical, mechanical, or digital changes occurring. It also refers to a compulsion found in each artist to work through, to operate in a way that meets their pragmatic needs and simultaneously fulfills their personal creative practices. Processes become rituals to make sense of a lifestyle that is often overwhelming, unpredictable, and ultimately contingent.

http://www.mountainviewcollege.edu/Academics/acaddivisions/Ahss/arts/Pages/artgallery.aspx