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“Construction Time Again” Group Art Exhibition at Bucks County Community College
The artists and architects in the exhibition, “Construction Time Again," on view from January 19 - March 8, 2024, in Hicks Art Center Gallery creatively respond to social, cultural, architectural, ecological, and environmental sustainability in urban and rural environments through their projects. Named after the title of the 1983 studio album by Depeche Mode of the same name, the participating artists, and architects in “Construction Time Again” employ diverse materials, subjects and medias to address the impacts of construction and demolition on buildings, lands and people over periods of time in numerous locales. As the lyrics of Depeche Mode’s song, “The Landscape Is Changing” decry, “Now we’re re- arranging, There’s no use denying, Mountains and valleys, can’t you hear them sighing,” the objects and works in the exhibition challenge us to evaluate our collective responses and responsibilities to outcomes of our presence on Earth and to seek new ways of sustainable resourcefulness.
As a basis to the exhibition, seeing through filters of air, water and traceries of building sites is vital to interpreting what is constantly changing in the environments that surround us. But what are the nuances of perspective when atmosphere, distance and other phenomena are constantly mediating our vision both indoors and outside? Gwen Kerber’s floor installation serves as a launchpad to visualize how we perceive not only the natural world, but also built environments. Using grids, color and vantage, Kerber’s “Wading; Field of Vision Looking Down at a 45 Degree Angle from About Two Feet Away” brings us closer to our bodies’ limits, depths, and confines.
Arden Bendler Browning’s AR video/painting works collide gestural, seemingly abstract paintings with buildings and landscapes that take the viewer on mesmerizing journeys through moving colors overlayed on and woven through familiar and wild sites. Like Kerber, Bendler Browning uses vision and sight as tools to convince us that the act of observing is imperative to comprehending movements of our surroundings that could be life-threatening or affirming.
With Kerber’s and Bendler Browning’s works addressing the tasks of perception acknowledging change, Diane Burko’s diptych, “Deforestation 1 and Deforestation 2” confronts the fact of the Amazon’s rapidly diminishing natural filter that prolongs life on earth head on. With the encircled word “DEFORESTATION” on one fiery panel hung next to another depicting a cropped map of South America with the Amazon outlined in the same white as the circle on the opposite panel, the viewer has no escape from being implicated as holding great responsibility to environmental cataclysm through the proliferation of fossil fuels and corporate greed.
Borrowed from the Museum for Art in Wood, Jean-François Delorme’s mixed media sculpture “Broken” is the artist’s personal narrative of his body suffering a fall and a material also breaking apart but still maintaining perfection. In the exhibition context, the upturned crutches and breaking sphere represent the Earth being barely held up in space while breaking apart—a macabre warning.
Around 358,500 accidental fires in urban areas occur every year. The aftermath is not always documented or publicized. After a fire destroyed property that her father owns, Deborah Riccardi’s family banded together to fight the local government that surreptitiously issued eminent domain over the valuable building and land in Ambler. Deborah and her sister photographed her father in the devasted buildings along with the surrounding property and some of the images are on view in the exhibition. The Riccardi’s meticulously sorted the debris and recycled as much as they possibly could, reducing the environmental impact on not only the immediate vicinity but in the local landfill.
Architects are essential to make new and renovated buildings environmentally sustainable while using building materials that do not add as much greenhouse gas emissions or use an overabundance of water such as the production of concrete. One highly revered architectural firm that believes in designing buildings that are not only beautifully designed for public interaction but also demonstrations of sustainability is Frederick Fisher and Partners. Videos and printed plans documenting several of their exemplary projects such as the renovation and rebuilding of the Santa Monica City Hall and the rehabilitation of Guyot Hall at Princeton University are featured in the exhibition.
As discreet objects, Soo Kim’s sliced and cut image constructions simultaneously obliterate and piece together land and cityscapes that conflate what we imagine to be real or built through our memory and historical events. In “Construction Time Again,” Kim’s works call attention to the Western influence of the master planned city of Chandigarh by Le Corbusier onto a newly post-colonial society striving to remain independent.
Another artist in the exhibition addressing architecture, however from a more localized sociological and historical lens, is Nicolo Gentile. Parts of his sculptures were fabricated using melted down metals from a building, now demolished, that once housed the 12th Street Gym in Philadelphia, which was vital to the gay community as a hub promoting health and well-being. Now, Gentile’s sculptures are almost all that is left as physical memories of an important community gathering spot.
Depletion of natural resources is one of the central themes in Kristen Neville Taylor’s recent body of work “End of Days.” With personal ties to glass production and installation, her father worked as a glazier, Taylor’s pate de verre’s, videos, and sculptures reveal myths and lore around the evolution of the sand mines of the New Jersey Pine Barrens that are mostly vanished except for massive lakes of blue water that appear to be natural.
The Bucks County Historic Association’s Mercer Museum generously allowed Hicks Art Center Gallery to borrow two objects that were once used to pump and to channel water: one from the earth and one from a barrel. From a curatorial perspective, it is important to include such objects in an exhibition such as this to historicize the industrialization of the extraction of natural resources, especially water.
While all the artists, architects and museum as well as their objects and projects in “Construction Time Again” are very different in appearance, each are examples showing us what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen to our environment in a collective effort to help all to see how we can keep our Earth a place that is habitable for many generations to come—not just a few.
All are welcome to the opening reception on Wednesday, January 24 from 4:30 – 7 p.m. at the Hicks Art Center Gallery on Bucks County Community College’s Newtown Campus (275 Swamp Road, Newtown, PA 18940).
Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturdays from noon – 4 p.m.
For more information, please visit the Hicks Art Center Gallery website and follow on Instagram @bcccartscomm.
Image credit:Kristen Neville Taylor“End-of-Days and Workers Wake Up” installation viewpate de verre (cast glass)2022
Learn ‘History of the Holocaust’ with New Spring Course at BCCC
Bucks County Community College, which has been responding to residents’ educational needs since its founding nearly sixty years ago, introduces History of the Holocaust, a three-credit course offered for the first time in the spring semester.
In addition, later in the spring, the College is hosting a panel discussion with the author of the book, Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project, which tells the story of a Polish woman who saved several hundred Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto.
Professor Paula Raimondo, who first proposed the new course last summer, says students will explore the history of the Holocaust through multiple perspectives, and as a framework for interpreting modern genocide.
“Studying the Holocaust is a starting point for looking at such a broad range of human behavior,” said Raimondo, who is a Ph.D. candidate in Holocaust and Genocide studies at Gratz College. “For instance, think about all of the human rights and the democratic institutions that we take for granted, how fragile they are, and how important it is to protect them.”
Some of the topics to be discussed are the motivations, roles, and responsibilities of individuals, groups, and governments when confronted with civil and human rights violations, war crimes and genocide.
“What you stand to learn in a class like this is so much more than history,” added Raimondo. “You’ll learn critical thinking skills and information literacy skills. You will really start to build a framework for interpreting the world and how we should treat other people.”
The course comes at the right moment, amid a rise in antisemitism in our country, according to Kevin Antoine, J.D., the College’s Associate Vice President for External Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer.
“For some historians, the 2020s are echoing themes that started the rise of antisemitism in the 1920s,” Antoine noted. “In this course, students will be exposed to the brutality of falsehoods that led to the genocide of a people. The course will examine how to prevent the Holocaust from happening again, and how to build trust and civility between people of faith who worship differently.”
History of the Holocaust will meet from 10:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting January 18 and concluding May 9 (no classes during spring break, March 19 and 21). Tuition is $165 a credit for Bucks County residents, plus additional fees. The course is open to guest students, so no prerequisite or placement testing is required. To register, visit Spring 2024 and look for course number HIST 133.
Meanwhile, Raimondo says the public is invited to a free panel discussion April 16 with Jack Mayer, author of Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project.
As part of a secret World War II organization called Żegota, Irena Sendler (1910–2008) rescued several hundred Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto — providing false identities and hiding places in orphanages, convents, and private homes. Mayer’s book weaves Sendler’s story with that of the Kansas students who helped tell it to the world.
“We will unpack what it means to resist, rescue, and build community in times of war and conflict with the panelists,” Raimondo said.
In addition to author Jack Mayer, the panel will feature:
Rabbi Anna Boswell-Levy of Kol Emet, Yardley;
Barbara Simmons, Adjunct Professor, International Peace and Conflict Resolution, Arcadia University, and Executive Board of NAACP, Bucks County Chapter; and
Nancy Isserman, Co-Director, Transcending Trauma Project, Director, Operation Home and Healing, Council for Relationships and Faculty, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Gratz College.
“Life in a Jar” panel discussion takes place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, in the Zlock Performing Arts Center on the Newtown Campus of Bucks County Community College, 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, Pa. Admission and parking are free.
To learn more about the History of the Holocaust course or the April 16 panel discussion, contact the Department of Social and Behavioral Science at sb@bucks.edu or 215-968-8270.
Celebrate the Magic of Christmas with Keith Spencer and Friends in Concert
Two performances are available on Friday, December 15 at the Zlock Performing Arts Center in Newtown Two performances are available on Friday, December 15 at the Zlock Performing Arts Center in Newtown
The Zlock Performing Arts Center at Bucks County Community College is proud to present a unique performance of holiday music with Bucks County’s own Keith Spencer and his friends within this original holiday special concert, Friday, December 15 with performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Embrace the festive spirit and immerse yourself in the enchanting sounds of the holiday season as Keith Spencer, accompanied by his wife Amy, and special guests Jessica Edwards and John D. Smitherman, take center stage in a Christmas concert like no other. This musical celebration will be backed by the incomparable Sounds of the Season Trio, promising an evening filled with joy, nostalgia, and the timeless melodies of your favorite Christmas classics.
The Zlock Performing Arts Center will be transformed into a winter wonderland, providing the perfect setting for an evening of festive cheer and musical delight. Keith Spencer and his talented friends will serenade the audience with a selection of beloved Christmas favorites ranging from cherished classics to contemporary holiday tunes, creating an atmosphere that captures the magic of the season.
Don't miss this opportunity to experience the joy and warmth of the holiday season through the power of music. Tickets for the event can be purchased online or at the Box Office the day of the show. The Zlock Performing Arts Center is located inside the Gateway Center building on the Newtown Campus of Bucks County Community College at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, PA. Parking is free.
Tickets start at $30 and are free for current Bucks County Community College students with valid student ID. Senior discounts also available. For more information and to purchase tickets visit Zlock Performing Arts Center, or call 215-968-8469.
Follow the event on Facebook and Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and more.
Bucks Cited as Top PA Community College for Transfer-Out Rate
A recent U.S. Department of Education report highlighting the top two- and four-year colleges and universities supporting student transfer was released earlier this month with groundbreaking data. Nearly 40% of students transfer at some point during their collegiate journey, and they lose more than 40% of their credits on average when they transfer from one institution to another resulting in lost time, money and all too often, the degree or certificate they are pursuing due to never completing their graduation requirements. As a result, the U.S. Department of Education has launched its “Raise the Bar: Attaining College Excellence and Equity” initiative with the goal of improving the student transfer process to boost degree completion by working with higher education leaders across the country.
The Department of Education study looked at a substantial sample of students who began their collegiate journey in 2014. Bucks County Community College has the highest transfer-out rate (44 percent) of Title IV students among Pennsylvania community colleges. Title IV funding refers to federal financial aid such as Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grants. Of the 700 Title IV students who started a 2-year cohort in 2014, 311 of those enrolled at a 4-year institution within eight years. In addition, the Bucks County Community College and Temple University transfer partnership was recognized as having the best completion rate in the state.
“Students participating in the Temple University dual admission transfer agreement benefit from being conditionally accepted to Temple, having their application fee waived and access to merit scholarships up to $2,000 per year depending on their GPA,” according to Bucks’ Provost, Kelly Kelleway, PhD. Dr. Kelleway adds, “Bucks has dual admission agreements with 28 colleges and universities providing many options to students seeking a bachelor’s degree.” In total, the College has transfer and general articulation agreements with more than 66 institutions.
However, the Department of Education’s “Raise the Bar” initiative is not focused exclusively on four-year degree pathways. The effort involves improving access for students from all socio-economic backgrounds to succeed in whichever academic or occupational pathway they choose. In fact, the focus of the initiative in 2024 will be on improving completion rates and ensuring student outcomes lead to better employment and earnings potential.
Bucks County Community College stands ready to meet the needs of academic-minded and career-focused students alike. With 23 occupational degrees resulting in an associate degree and 27 short-term certificate programs, Bucks helps prepare students for entry-level positions in the workforce as well as career advancement in a wide gamut of professions ranging from culinary arts to diagnostic medical sonography, information technology to brewing and fermentation science, and furniture/cabinetmaking to firefighting. In total, there are more than 90 transfer and occupational majors available at Bucks. In addition, there are numerous career and technical education and training programs, many with funding provided through grants and free to eligible students.
"Skull Sessions" Group Art Exhibition Opens November 20 at BCCC
The Hicks Art Center Gallery at Bucks County Community College is pleased to announce the opening of the group art exhibition, “Skull Sessions,” on view from November 20, 2023–January 6, 2024. The Gallery is located in the Hicks Art Center building on the campus of Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
From realism to narrative installation, the artworks in the exhibition “Skull Sessions” represent a current survey of the range of genres in which artists amongst their art group peers are currently practicing.
The title of the exhibition takes its name from the strategy-building sessions that are more typically associated with athletics—especially football. In “Skull Sessions,” the art will speak for the artist with ideas shared and communicated to the viewers as if they are players on a united team. Like an art fair format, the artworks and installations in “Skull Sessions” will be arranged within the areas of Hicks Art Center designated to the following 20 different artist-run collectives and cultural organizations in the Bucks County and Philadelphia regions:
African American Museum of Bucks County
Art at Kings Oaks
Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County
ARTWRKD
Automat
fjord
Grizzly Grizzly
Newtown Historic Association
Past Present Projects
Peep Projects
Pink Noise Projects
Rush Arts Philadelphia
Space 1026
Termite TV Collective
The Upstairs Gallery of Bucks County
Vox Populi
Zach's Crab Shack
The groups will be represented by artworks or displays from their board members, curators, directors, or members at large, some of whom do not often exhibit their own works collectively. “Skull Sessions” will offer a unique opportunity for the public to see the 20 participating artist-run spaces and cultural organizations in one location together for the first time ever.
There will be an opening reception on December 6, 2023, from 4–7:30 p.m. at Hicks Art Center. All are invited and welcome to meet the artists and cultural organizations’ members. Free and open to the public.
Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and Saturdays from 12–4 p.m. Please note that the gallery will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday November 22–November 25. For winter break, the gallery will be closed from December 22, 2023–January 2, 2024.
For more information, please visit Hicks Art Center Gallery or call 215-968-8425.
[Image: Avtomat, Death Buy Adidas, digital print on acrylic, dimensions variable, 2010 courtesy of Rush Arts Philadelphia]
