Cynthia M. Kukla, Professor of Art
School of Art
Campus Box 5620
Campus Phone: 438-8074
Description: In my studio research, I study icons, architecture and symbols of the ancient Mediterranean to use in my paintings. I began with ancient Egypt, owing to its long history and its dominion over Africa and the Middle East and to how recently its architecture and artifacts have been unearthed and available to the West. In 2006, I was a visiting professor in Greece so I was able to draw and paint right at ancient ruins and to Draw statues in museums in Greece, Crete, and Istanbul, Turkey (where many Greeks art remains.)
I purposefully choose images and designs from the ancient cultures of the Fertile Crescent for my paintings, though unfashionable compared to primarily using images from Greece or Rome. Also notable in my work is the incorporation of the architecture, sculpture, wall paintings and design elements of very early Greece, at the cusp of its hold on the Mediterranean. These archaic and early artistic impulses are lesser known to the Western eye. As with Egyptian art, they have an edge, unfamiliarity or an “un-rightness” that captivates me. I seek to deepen my visual understanding of our cultural past as a Western-trained artist. Three of the worlds' great religions spring from this same soil. The mix and wealth of iconographic roots, branches, trees, and whole forests is intoxicating.
Student Qualities: I am seeking an Honors student who has academic interests as well as artistic interests. The student would be a research and studio assistant, seeing how we do research and apply it to art in the studio.
The student research assistant would not have to have paintings skills. S/he should have an art background or be an art major. This would benefit him/her in learning the how and why of studio research and a lot of background activity associated with researching, making, and exhibiting paintings in professional settings such as museums and art centers.
