NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
August 14, 2008
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
MARC BARKER’S THE ILLUSION OF MATTERING
EXHIBITED AT STATE CAPITOL
Oklahoma City, OK -- Oklahoma City artist Marc Barker draws inspiration equally from his backgrounds in science and art. With more than 12 years experience in the field of interactive media and over 20 years experience in the arts, Barker feels that the horizon, sunsets, caves, as well as physics, metaphysics and solitude all provide ample inspiration for his work.
His exhibit, The Illusion of Mattering, is on display in the first floor of the East Gallery at the State Capitol through September 14th. Curated by the Oklahoma Arts Council, the East Gallery is open daily from 8:30-5:00. A reception in the East Gallery will be open to the public on Friday, July 25th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
“My art is my meditation, and my reprieve from the world of computers,” explained Barker. “Zoology and research gave me an organic appreciation of animals, man, questioning and a supreme veneration of Nature. Art encounters then led me down a parallel path to visual wonderment involving photography, graphic arts, oil painting and intaglio printmaking.”
Both seemingly disparate areas of study prepared him for his current profession in interactive media where he designs, produces and manages websites, CD-ROM and other presentation productions for local and international clients. Previously, Barker’s graduate work at the University of Central Oklahoma led him to teach Principles of Interactivity at UCO where he also was Production Supervisor for the Multimedia Technology Laboratory, and oversaw all printing of posters & collateral for the Museum of Art. Prior to that, he served as a workshop assistant at Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain and worked in printmaking for national artists in a wide variety of mediums.
Barker earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater and continued his post-graduate studies in Limnology at the University of Oklahoma, Norman.
Barker has exhibited his work internationally at the Baltic Speleological Congress in Sweden and the International Congress of Speleology in England. Recent exhibitions in Oklahoma City include the Nault Fine Art Gallery, Individual Artists of Oklahoma, City Art Center, Pickard Art Gallery, Untitled [ArtSpace], Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. His work has also been exhibited at Scribner’s Gallery in Enid as well as Suite Oklahoma II at various locations within the state.
For more information, contact Ann Dee Lee, Public Information Director, Oklahoma Arts Council, (405) 521-2931 or anndee@arts.ok.gov.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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