Keep Your Face to the Sun

An online exhibition beginning July 1st, 2020

Helen Keller stated, “Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” The American author, educator and crusader who was blind and deaf was the first person with these disabilities to earn an Arts Degree - her education and accomplishments representing an extraordinary triumph over her adversity.

In recent months we have experienced numerous challenges, touching all of humanity and the world in which we live. We’re still here. And we must now move forward with hope for the future. To create is to build and our creative community has been creating and making and sharing ideas, generating space for change and innovative thinking. Let us now face the sun together.

Keep Your Face to the Sun is a curated exhibition of artwork from the students, alumni and community of the College of DuPage. We will begin posting submitted work here from Wednesday July 1st, on a rolling basis until October 31st, 2020.

Image from the COD Art Collection: Joan Truckenbrod, *Kinetic Discharge* (1 of 10), 1991, Computer generated print, 20" x 24"

Londa Castanon

Admiring the beauty and tranquility of our surroundings, hoping that one day life would be back to be normal again where people can enjoy the company of others in different settings without anxiety and confusion due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Blair M Douglas, *Strength & Resolve*, 2012, Gouache, 8.5” x 11”

Blair M Douglas

Artist Statements:

Strength & Resolve

The year 2020 has presented many challenges for me as well as the entire world. When I read the prompt of the submission I immediately thought of this work. Simply put, this work has always represented strength and resolve to me; possibly what the world has needed to get through these challenging times. This image for me at least; is the depiction of an unbreakable emotion that is meant to be transcended in the form of art for viewers to appreciate second-hand. It is my rock, and own personal artistic resolve, and maybe others can unlock its fortitude.

Extend a Hand

Portrayed in an odd style somewhat resembling futurism is a humanoid figure outstretching a blue hand. This painting epitomized hope to me, reaching as an artist to depict positive change to a greater audience, the figure represents the emotional response to help and to guide through the unknown.

Finding Balance

Amongst the uncertainty and chaos a humanoid figure is represented balancing on one leg, with her arms outstretched like a scale, she eludes an embracing quality about her. She stands tall and upright, triumphantly having found a harmonization with her intangible environment. Although her surroundings are challenging, the figure appears to have found balance and the resulting overall image represents uniformity in the abstract, and command over the chaotic.

Confusion & Disbelief

This piece was created to show my initial reaction to the pandemic, and all its ramifications, and consequences. At first, I was extremely confused because of all the information about the virus was very contradictory. Then, I remember beginning to not believe it since it was such an unprecedented situation for our world.

Resilience

In this piece, I am trying to portray the resiliency we need to show as people living through this pandemic. The piece begins with the dancers calmly going about their lives, as the music begins to get louder and eventually climax into a crash of thunder, which represents the onset of the virus. The dancers fold into a heap of dancers on the floor. The heap begins to swell, and eventually open as 3 dancers begin to emerge from the destruction. The dancers begin to calmly continue with their lives, and it ends with a very peaceful ending.

Hope

In this piece, I wanted to portray our hope for the future. Our hope that our lives will return to the way they were before the pandemic happened. We need to have hope, and move through this journey, as if we were moving through water.

Donna Douglas

Donna Douglas (College of DuPage Faculty Choreographer) holds a BA (1982) from Elmhurst University in Elmhurst, IL. Douglas has choreographed for 38 years within the Chicago area. She has studied ballet intensively with; Anida Sedala (Founder of the Cecchetti Ballet Method, and a Principal Ballerina of the Finnish National Ballet with the Finnish National Opera), Catherine Maydew (Duluth and Omaha Ballet Companies), Julie Fanta (Chicago City Ballet under the direction of Maria Tallchief) and Paul Abrahamson (Artistic Director of the Chicago Ballet). Douglas has continued her ballet education at the Lou Conte Dance Center/Hubbard Street Dance Company with Sarah Schaeffer (Lyric Opera Ballet of Chicago). Her training also includes several years of study in jazz, tap, musical theater and modern dance with Gary Flannery (former principal dancer with Bob Fosse) along with jazz and lyrical dance with Fletcher Nickerson (Director/Choreographer of Touch Productions in Albuquerque, Chicago and Phoenix). Douglas’ vast performance experience includes modern, ballet, tap, jazz, children’s dance theater and musical theater with the West Suburban Players, Buffalo Theater Ensemble under the direction of Timothy Troy, jazz, musical theater and ballet performances with the choreographers; Gary Flannery and Paul Abrahamson. 2020 marks Douglas’ 38th year of teaching ballet throughout the Chicago area. She founded Primadonna Dance Academie, Inc. in Naperville, IL and for 13 years held the positions of Artistic Director, ballet and tap instructor, and the ballet company’s choreographer. She also produced and directed The Nutcracker Ballet for several seasons during this time. Douglas has been a member of the dance faculty at COD since 2000.