“For me, art has always been about letting go of your preconceived notions of how things should work and just allowing the best of what’s possible to unfurl naturally,” says Hammack, who will earn a from the within the College of Arts and Humanities. “The creative process is about starting with nothing and creating something special. The best artistic experiences I’ve had have all happened when I simply let go of my personal plans and allowed myself to be completely in the moment with my work. So, my art is a lot like my life in that sense.”

Hammack uses traditional oil-painting techniques to create works of art that attempt to elicit subtle, subconscious reactions from the viewer.

Fascinated by the mechanics of the human mind, Hammack uses traditional oil-painting techniques to create works of art that attempt to elicit subtle, subconscious reactions from the viewer. His unique body of work integrates aspects of surrealism with internet memes and other forms of modern-day, humor.

�鶹ӳ����ý Professor has been a mentor to Hammack since he arrived at �鶹ӳ����ý in 2017. She will miss his presence in her advanced painting classes, but she looks forward to his success in the professional art world.

“There is no doubt that Rex Hammack will succeed as a nationally recognized contemporary painter in the not-too-distant future,” says Poindexter, who has taught at �鶹ӳ����ý since 2000. “Rex’s work is unique, intellectually enticing and emotionally provocative. As a student he has been a joy to work with, and I will personally miss his generosity and spirit of engaging conversation during class conversations and formal group critiques.”

With unpredictability being a goal at the start of every project, there is no such thing as a typical Rex Hammack painting. A Hammack painting may contain comedian Jim Carrey playing pingpong while petting an exorbitantly large black cat against the backdrop of a cartoonish collage. It may be a small-faced portrait—the eyes, nose and mouth purposefully drawn much smaller than the outlining face—of actor Tom Hanks. A painting may be a surrealist take on the cartoon character Nigel Thornberry from the popular cartoon The Wild Thornberrys, which was popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s during Hammack’s childhood. Hammack’s art features a wide variety of paintings that are completely open to the viewer’s .

“I want people to have a quiet, personal conversation between themselves and my work. It is important to me that they look at each piece and come to their own conclusions of what my work means to them personally,” says Hammack. “I also want them to laugh sometimes, or at least chuckle a bit, and walk away with the same lighthearted feelings that I had while I was working on the painting.”

Hammack’s work has most recently been displayed at �鶹ӳ����ý’s Allegoria exhibition—the School of Visual Arts and Design’s Fall 2019 showcase of works from their graduating undergraduate fine arts majors—held at the �鶹ӳ����ý Art Gallery. The gallery hosts the exhibition at the conclusion of each fall and spring semester, and it attracts approximately 800-1,000 visitors each semester. In addition to the Allegoria exhibition, Hammack’s work has been featured at numerous other local venues, including CityArts, HENAO Contemporary Center, and Faith Arts Village Orlando, among others.

In 2016, Hammack was commissioned to craft a series of mushroom-themed murals at various Mellow Mushroom restaurants throughout Florida. Additionally, Hammack’s work has a growing social media following on Facebook, Instagram and Reddit.

Following commencement, Hammack plans to spend much of the next year traveling while continuing to focus on his artistic endeavors. He is currently exploring various artist-in-residence opportunities across the nation. Next fall, he plans to enroll in a yet-to-be-determined master of fine arts program on the West Coast, an area of the country where he hopes to settle permanently.

“I grew up in Orlando and I will always love Central Florida, but I want to spread my wings as much as possible, giving my work a wide audience and gaining visibility in the art world,” says Hammack. “Regardless of where I am physically, I’m going to continue to create art that is fascinating to me and makes me happy to look at.”

Becoming a contemporary artist has been a natural evolution for Hammack. Beginning in high school, doodling served as both a creative outlet as well as a means for dealing with the typical anxieties of adolescents. As his skill sets progressed, near daily doodling sessions produced more in-depth images in sketch books and eventually onto canvases.

With a drive to take his craft to the next level, Hammack pursued formal artistic instruction at �鶹ӳ����ý. Since coming to the University in 2017, he says his work has flourished under the tutelage of professors who have encouraged him to explore all aspects of his creativity.

“At �鶹ӳ����ý, I’ve been embraced fully as an artist, and I feel as though my creative freedoms have been both acknowledged and celebrated here. I’ve been given the opportunity to simply focus on learning the nuances of creating art and building a body of work,” says Hammack, who in addition to creating and displaying his work widely, aspires to be a visual arts professor at a major university. “In my time at �鶹ӳ����ý, I’ve felt both challenged and pushed, but I’ve never felt pressured in a disciplinary, parental-type of way. It has always been more like pairs of helpful, watchful eyes, guiding me along my way.”

“Fusion: A STEAM Gallery” is the name of the new gallery space on the science center’s third-floor mezzanine that will be filled with artwork from the university. The STEAM name combines the STEM acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics with the “A” to represent Art.

“It is so important that our students do not separate the sciences and arts in their learning experience,” said art professor Carla Poindexter and curator of the exhibits. “Science and the arts have always been interwoven. Our students in the SVAD gain so much when they know more about science, and the reverse is true with the STEM students.”

Yulia Tikhonova, �鶹ӳ����ý Art Gallery director, worked with the science center to develop the idea of hosting paintings, sculptures, animations, graphic designs and other �鶹ӳ����ý artworks among the center’s dinosaur bones, telescopic views of the stars and hands-on exhibits.

There will be four planned exhibits a year to engage visitors with visual interpretations of scientific concepts, Poindexter said. Artists also will show how STEM has influenced their work and showcase the similarities between art and science.

“Imagination and creativity are at the heart of both art and science,” said Jeff Stanford, vice president of marketing at the science center. “It is very important to use art to provide a new perspective on science. Artists and scientists use several of the same skills in pursuit of their goals, including critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, flexibility and adaptability, and social and cross-cultural skills. These skill sets are essential for success in both fields.”

Both institutions hope that exhibit visitors leave with a better understanding of the synergy between art and science. More than half of the 535,000 who visited the center in 2015 were under 17 years old, Tikhonova said.

“Both �鶹ӳ����ý and OSC play key roles in creating the next generation of STEM professionals—�鶹ӳ����ý in higher education and OSC through youth engagement in hands-on science, technology and engineering activities,” she said.

Stanford added: “We hope the gallery ignites the scientific curiosity in art lovers and stimulates a newfound respect for art in the science-minded. For the science center, it’s a very exciting opportunity to work with artists on exhibitions that display how science and technology have influenced their work while bringing to light the similarities between these two disciplines.”

The artists whose works will be featured through June 24 are Clayton Dunklin, a bachelor’s of fine art major, and Forrest DeBloi, who is working on his master’s of fine art. Both contributed art on the themes of animals and Earth Day. Some of DeBlois’ work can be seen on public and private buildings in Florida showing endangered and extinct animals.

Fusion: A STEAM Gallery is included with admission to the Orlando Science Center, 777 E. Princeton St.

When I arrived in Orlando 13 years ago from Texas to teach at �鶹ӳ����ý, we unpacked all the stuff from the van into the new rented condo and headed straight for the beach. Along the way, traveling on the Bee Line Expressway, I saw palmettos in the thick roadside jungles alongside tall pine trees. 

The long stretch of road to Cocoa Beach offered the sight of wild turkeys and little white egrets resting on cows. Each cow appeared to have his own bird and the cows seemed even more abundant than in Texas. I found out later cattle ranching is a bigger industry in Florida than in Texas. That was surprising to me.

We stopped halfway to Cocoa Beach at a place called the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp on the St. Johns River in hopes of sighting an alligator in the wild. We saw a log floating by with two nostrils and that was enough to get us to take an airboat ride.

Gliding fast over river grasses and making wide turns and bends along the way was a unique experience for me. Now and then the guide would slow the motor down when he sighted a gator. We saw several pairs resting on the muddy banks under the hot Florida sun, and up above sometimes we saw an eagle. The alligators seemed to be elegant in their stillness and when their bodies moved they were equally elegant in their swift glide into the dark waters. I was thrilled.

After eating the best basket of fried shrimp and french fries imaginable, we were back on the road. Along the way, billboards for Ron Jon Surf Shop punctuated the landscape of hammocks and cypress stands and wide fields of pale yellow grasses. Now and then a large native palm stood alone on the prairie. In West Texas it would have been a pin oak tree.

Finally we arrived at the beach.  We hauled the umbrella, beach chairs, blanket, towels, books, and cooler filled with snacks to a promising spot, and I sighed with the satisfaction that only a road warrior who has traveled 2,000 miles to reach her destination can feel:  the east coast of Florida! I can still remember the excitement of 13 years ago when I arrived.

When we were kids, Dad and Mom drove us from Rochester, N.Y., to Miami Beach every January for vacation. My brother, Jack, and I sat in the back seat of our every-two-year-upgraded Chevy, annoying our poor parents with our constant bickering and refusing to sing along with their ‘50s harmonies.  

We spent the nights in Myrtle Beach, S.C., then Daytona Beach and finally Miami Beach. We must have whizzed by Cocoa Beach along A1A. I don’t remember anything about it except the old Thunderbird Motel.

Our annual week in Miami was mythical. Jack and I played in the sand and swam in the ocean outside our hotel every day. I remember one ride on the elevator when my Dad told us later that we were riding in the same car with the president’s personal secretary. He was very pleased to tell us that.

So it is summer again in Florida – and all that that conjures up.

I just drove through a pelting rain, signaling the beginning of Florida’s late-afternoon rainy season.

I’ll have some time off soon and I’m going to make some art, swim in the ocean, read a book or two – and rest.

�鶹ӳ����ý Forum columnist Carla Poindexter is an associate professor of fine art at the �鶹ӳ����ý and can be reached at Carla.Poindexter@ucf.edu.

We live in a time in which faith in religion is believed by many to provide the best solutions to our most profound and unknowable questions. To others, the discipline of mathematics and the scientific method of inquiry are considered to be the best rational means for navigating human dilemmas.

While these age-old debates between the sacred and secular continue, we must be cautious to not overlook the subtle changes that have taken place in the means and manners for pursuing truth that are offered to us outside the academic world.

More and more, we are being inundated in media and politics with pseudoscience presented as real science in the form of reality shows on many 24-hour cable programing cycles. The airwaves are filled with quirky notions of obscure Egyptology, extraterrestrial ancestors, and human-animal creatures in the woods. We consume books listed in the top 10 most prominent non-fiction categories on The New York Times Best Seller lists – that are actually fiction.

We populate theaters that offer us outlandish and silly, but frighteningly popular “reality-based” movies of modern-day vampires, werewolves and ghosts, which appear to be replacing a formerly legitimate genre – science fiction – the staple primer for future scientists and innovative thinkers.

Worse yet are the popular plethora of television “documentaries” about paranormal activity equipped with high-tech sensors prominently depicted as measures of reliable truth.

In the fine arts, particularly the traditional visual arts, a similar phenomenon has occurred, as fashionable art is becoming more popular than the more thought-provoking art. But because the fine arts are sometimes deemed less relevant to the lives of many in our contemporary culture, I think the issue unfortunately goes less noticed and may be considered unequal to the issues confronting science, especially as pseudoscience attempts to usurp and misconstrue the language and methodologies of real science. To those who are uninformed and not exposed to significant experiences or opportunities for education in the arts, the visual arts are often relegated to the same realms as pseudoscience.

Leonardo da Vinci has always been celebrated as both an artist and a scientist for his beautiful and meticulous renderings of the observable world while also offering us his visions of futuristic flying machines. M.C. Escher, a recently popular contemporary artist, created complex interlocking geometric forms that can be perceived as either birds or fish or both simultaneously, depending on how you look at them. Da Vinci and Escher are well known examples of artists/scientists.

Long ago, Paul Cézanne, the indisputable  “father of modern art,” was considered radical for simply eliminating directional light and shadow in his paintings. By doing this, his forms began to exist in a “universal” light rather than a specific moment in time. Light, therefore, became integral to color – a static and timeless light.

He also challenged ideas about space by suggesting that space is not empty. By interlocking and converging broad planes of space with broad planes of mass in his landscapes, Cézanne made paintings in which space is affected by objects, and objects are affected by space.

Cézanne’s paintings demonstrated new conceptions of space, time and light that were being elaborated at the time by the physicists who were challenging assumptions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

To some of us working as research educators with students to reconnect the arts and sciences, this comparison between modern art and modern physics is fundamental.

�鶹ӳ����ý physics major Christopher Frye and art student Mary Joy Torrecampo are both interested in relationships between science and art, and are currently collaborating on an undergraduate interdisciplinary research project.

Based on Frye’s explanations to Torrecampo about the geometry of our universe, her challenge is to recreate those explanations in a painting.

Frye said: “Did you ever play an arcade game as a kid, where if you leave the right side of the screen then you return on the left? In such a universe, space is wrapped up like a cylinder or a torus [a doughnut-shaped surface] so that if you keep going in one direction, you will always return to where you began. Physicists believe that our universe might be wrapped up like a cylinder or a torus, and the theory of relativity tells us what life should be like in such a universe.”

His explanation goes on, and it will be a challenge for Torrecampo to find a way to depict his ideas in a creative way that is relevant to both her interests and skills as an artist.

In the future, Frye will continue to pursue advanced physics, but in a world that values pop-science over real science his field may become more and more obscure. I hope Torrecampo’s imagery, however, might compel people to become excited about Frye’s complex theoretical ideas.

On the other hand, without Frye’s subject matter, Torrecampo’s abstract paintings may seem incomprehensible and irrelevant to a public that often cares little about the seemingly radical imagery of contemporary art.

I hope that more students like them will be encouraged to collaborate for the sake of achieving and obtaining a more expansive, interdisciplinary opportunity for seeking truth and knowledge.

Some of Poindexter’s newest paintings will be exhibited with some of her older works and her animated short film “Carnival Daring-Do ‘Featuring the Floating Apparitions,’ ” and her visual book “The Devil At The Door.”

The exhibit, “Above the Planet Through a Microscope,” is made up of a variety of different but interconnected works in painting, drawing and mixed media arranged to suggest a visual dialog between the works.

There will be an opening reception 7-9 p.m. Friday, March 1, at the center, 500 W. Livingston St., in downtown Orlando.

Poindexter teaches intermediate and advanced painting, advanced drawing, foundations design, various classes in upper-level experimental book arts and a graduate-level studio concentration course in the MFA program. She has taught at �鶹ӳ����ý since 2000.

For more information on the show or gallery, contact �鶹ӳ����ýGallery500@gmail.com.

“The Sideshow of Side Show” is an exhibition of student-created and sideshow-themed artworks that will be displayed throughout the run of Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý’s production of Bill Krieger and Henry Russell’s musical Side Show, which runs Oct. 25 through Nov. 4. The artwork will be displayed in the lobby of the theatre building (TH-6).

The exhibition began as an opportunity for the �鶹ӳ����ý Theatre and School of Visual Arts &Design departments to work together. The exhibit will feature the works of advanced painting students in faculty member Carla Poindexter’s class.

The 24 pieces of art featured in “The Sideshow of Side Show” exhibition are unique in subject and message. Some replicate the style of historical sideshow banners with dark humor and irony. Other paintings deal with historical versus contemporary issues related to ethics and exploitation of the sideshow/circus performers and their audiences. Others are simply entertaining and whimsical.

Director Earl Weaver hopes the exhibit will help set the mood for theatre-goers. “Patrons of the circus or side show are surrounded with visual stimuli that enhance their experience: the smell of the popcorn, the sound of the calliope, the brightly colored posters. We are hoping to re-create a piece of that experience for our patrons with this art exhibit. From the time patrons enter our theatre building, we want them to have the full sideshow experience, all the way through the end of the show.”

The resulting paintings and other artworks in the exhibition are visual responses to Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý’s lobby space; the actual props, costumes, and set designs in the upcoming play; and the content of the script from both a historical perspective and contemporary perspectives.

“Throughout art history, visual artists have produced everything from set designs and costumes to hand bills for theatrical productions,” said associate professor of art Carla Poindexter. “This project gave our advanced painting students an opportunity to learn how to collaborate with the theatre to create paintings and mixed media artworks that not only support the production but also stand alone as a compelling exhibition of accomplished individual pieces.”

Early in the fall semester, the Theatre department presented the script and design inspirations to the advanced painting class. Scenic designer Joseph Rusnock reviewed the set inspiration and plans, costume designer Huaixaing Tan presented costume mock-ups, and Weaver talked about the script and Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý’s specific production. Students then toured the theatre lobby, where the art will be displayed for further inspiration.

The painting students also studied significant historical paintings with sideshow-related themes, including carnival-inspired works of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Diego Rivera, and James Ensor. Students also studied the carnival’s “golden age” of art by sideshow banner painters, including the historical but little known works of Johnny Meak and Norman Lewis.

“With programs in digital media, architecture, film, and art all wrapped up into one school, the school of Visual Arts and Design is naturally a group that needs to collaborate” says Paul Lartonoix, director of the School of Visual Arts and Design.  “When the opportunity came up for SVAD to partner with Theatre on Side Show, I thought it was an excellent idea—a special situation where the students can craft their pieces around a theme of a theatrical production. It’s a fun and exciting topic with lots of avenues to explore. A focused topic forces the students to work within parameters and in this case, to work outside the normal ‘client’ experience. It truly is very exciting.”

The exhibition is free, but tickets are required to see the musical. To purchase tickets or for ticket information call the box office at 407-823-1500. Standard tickets are $20 ($18 for seniors; $10 for students) and group rates are available. It is recommended to purchase tickets in advance, available through the Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý box office. �鶹ӳ����ý offers accommodations to make the theatre more accessible to patrons with disabilities; for assistance, call the box office in advance.

Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý is on the �鶹ӳ����ý campus near the intersection of University Boulevard and Alafaya Trail in east Orlando. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Production at a glance:

Side Show

Book and lyrics by Bill Russell; Music by Henry Krieger

Directed by Earl D. Weaver

Oct. 25, 26, 27, Nov. 1, 2, 3 at 8:00 p.m.

Oct. 28, Nov. 4 at 2:00 p.m.

Main Stage Theatre

Price: Standard $20, Senior $18, Student $10; Group discounts available

Address: 4000 Central Florida Boulevard, Orlando FL 32816

Box Office Phone: (407) 823-1500

Box Office Hours: Monday through Friday:  noon to 6 p.m. and 2 hours before performances

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Christie was recognized for her pen-and-ink and watercolor images that she created this summer in a �鶹ӳ����ý Regional Campus-sponsored partnership class between the Orlando Museum of Art and �鶹ӳ����ý’s School of Visual Arts and Design.

The class, advanced book arts taught by associate professor Carla Poindexter, allows studio art students to work onsite at the museum’s galleries to create art directly inspired by master works. The partnership class has been offered for the past six years.

The initial inspiration for Gonzales’ artwork came from an Anthony Thieme painting in the museum’s summer exhibition. She created a series of biographical images of Cuban life while studying the culturally rich and expressive scenes in the master painting.

Her watercolor studies culminated in the creation of a hand-bound, visually narrative book depicting a series of intimate windows into the daily joys and struggles of life in Cuba through the experiences of her Cuban heritage. She was born in New Jersey and reared in Miami.

Kathy Durdin, president of the  Florida Watercolor Society, said that every year the organization gives a scholarship to a student in the arts in the city in which they hold their convention.

Unlike any other luxury purchase or economic investment, fine art – in particular modernist paintings and sculptures – have been selling at ever-increasing astronomical sums during the past few year’s international economic crisis, with no letup in sight.

Earlier this year, one of the four versions of Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream” sold for the astonishing figure of $120 million at Sotheby’s public auction, surpassing the previous record of $106 million held for Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves  and Bust” two years before. “The Card Players” by Paul Cezanne holds the record of $254 million for a “private sale” of a modernist painting.

I often wonder about the ownership and value of art and the state of teaching art in higher education in our contemporary society because, as some people have said: “You cannot own a piece of artwork; you can only purchase the right to become its legal guardian.”

The unspoken truth is that most New York City galleries know that many of their patrons are not just buying the actual high-end art – they are purchasing the right to own, for a relatively short while, the myth that surrounds the art.  These are the people who buy artwork because they believe the art can be an extension of themselves – a symbol of their success or whatever myth the artwork projects amongst their peers.

Scholars of humanity have always measured the worth or value of a historical culture by the evidence of that society’s artifacts.

We look back from where we are now to understand, and eventually to make value judgments on the ways and means of those who lived before us. The awareness and understanding of previous cultures theoretically provides us with the wisdom to do better.

But in our contemporary society – where abstract values of everything, not just art, have muddled our understanding of what value actually is – we are hard put to essentially communicate with or understand each other. To make a simple analogy to one of our society’s most common measurements of value: How are we to calculate the worth of the stock market if its value is said to rise or fall based on human perceptions and emotions?

Many university art programs across the country teach fine-art students the survival skills for navigating the art market. Curriculum emphasizes exposure to and emulation of the 100 or so contemporary artists who are currently successful in the art world.

Although well intentioned, that type of preparation can’t really be taught because the art world is a fickle, continuously changing place.

What we consider to be savvy behavior, clever artwork or stylish introductory monologues today may well be passé or even foolish tomorrow. The vast majority of students who embrace this strategy are destined for disappointment and failure.

How can we engage in constructive conversation about the value of art to those optimistic, young art students who want to succeed as professional fine artists? How do we talk about making a valid contribution to the historical continuum of visual perception? How do we teach these young artists who intend to create work that stands as future evidence of the times we live in?

If we can teach art students to experiment with creative processes that provide them with the experiences necessary to gain skills and self-criticality to make art that arises from within – work that emerges from their personal accumulation of knowledge and wisdom – they will have a much better opportunity to succeed professionally.

Their eventual navigation of the art world will be anchored by a personally earned visual voice and the confidence that comes from creating work that is authentically their own.

As more young artists reject the inanity of simply appropriating “fashionable” art, and more collectors reject the absurdity of the high-end art market, we might see the emergence of more courageous and unconventional art patrons of modest and wealthy means who are willing to take a leap of faith.

Perhaps they will buy an unknown or emerging artist’s work just because they are moved by it and are passionately compelled to own it for what it represents to them about our culture at this place and time in humanity’s shared experience.

�鶹ӳ����ý Forum columnist Carla Poindexter is an associate professor of fine art at the �鶹ӳ����ý and can be reached at Carla.Poindexter@ucf.edu.

She found her artistic voice when she was finally able to apply paint to canvas.

Two years later and with the guidance of Carla Poindexter, her mentoring professor and associate director of art at �鶹ӳ����ý, senior Molly Bender will graduate this semester with a B.F.A. in studio art, specializing in painting.

After graduation, Bender wants to make a career out of painting.

Senior painting major, Jessica De Salvo said she respects the struggle in the paint strokes found in Bender’s paintings.

“What I mean by struggling in her strokes is that when an artist has made a stroke and decided she didn’t want it anymore, she goes back over it with another layer of paint,” De Salvo said. “It’s always good to see a struggle in a painting, because you know that the artist is putting a lot of thought in their piece of work.”

Poindexter said the �鶹ӳ����ý Art Department aims to get art students in a good graduate program, and help students develop a series of related work that shows skillful rendering and application.

“It’s really important to help students find their visual voice, and that is what Molly is attempting to do,” Poindexter said. “Plus, we try to prepare them professionally for the art world; to guide them in an understanding of contemporary issues, and we prepare them to speak and write about their work.”

Source: Central Florida Future. To continue reading visit , by Tina Russell; Published: Monday, January 18, 2010. Updated: Monday, January 18, 2010