Governor's Gallery
David Crismon
The Light of Day
September 3 thru November 2, 2007
In his exhibit, The Light of Day, David Crismon uses painting to translate a photographed history that has become marred and transformed with the erosion of time. The subjects of his works in this exhibit came from archives of old photographs Crismon discovered at the Oklahoma Historical Society.
“I can’t exactly say why I selected these particular images and not others, I just knew this exhibit wasn’t to be the usual roster of famous Oklahoma figures and places. Perhaps it’s as simple as saying there was something intriguing about them that I was drawn to, something I wanted to recognize or remember. Something I wanted to appreciate and once again bring back into the light of day,” said Crismon.
He explained that during the last century there was a demand for portraiture, and these photographs became the memorabilia of a passing moment. Observed now in archives, old photographs become fragments of stories we would never have known. The photograph became the common visual currency of the 20th century.
Fixed in history and preserved on a fragile layer of film or a decaying document, they have become dated, discarded and filed away. Even in these frozen moments, history is not static, we sift through it, recognizing that it is in some way abstract and incomplete. We turn the page and fold the story back to darkness.
In The Light of Day, Crismon helps preserve those memories while adding his own unique perspective in his paintings.
Currently a professor of Fine Arts at Oklahoma Christian University and a lecturer at the University of Central Oklahoma, Crismon teaches art history, design history, painting and drawing. His works have been exhibited at 20 solo and 30 group exhibitions nationally including the Michael Berger Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, Texas, Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery in Norman and JRB Gallery, Oklahoma City. He earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute and a Masters of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Oklahoma where he also served as University Gallery Director.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information contact Scott Cowan at 405.521.2931 or scott@arts.ok.gov
The Governor's Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the State Capitol outside the Blue Room and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30-5:00.
Past Governor's Gallery Exhibits