'Art on Campus' Committee Showcases Newest Acquisitions

Two large abstract paintings and a watercolor are the latest works acquired for the "Art on Campus" initiative at Pennsylvania College of Technology. In addition, a torn-paper collage purchased previously has been hung in a conference room on campus.

Each year, the Art on Campus Committee is responsible for hanging new pieces of art in specially designated locations around campus.

The two abstract paintings purchased this year are the work of the late Marvin Halye of Beaver Springs. His widow, Aline Halye-Ball, donated the works to the College's permanent collection. One has been placed in the second-floor hallway of the Hager Lifelong Education Center, and the other has been hung in the College's main dining hall, the Susquehanna Room.

A native of Nescopeck, Halye studied at the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League. He was a commercial artist in New York, and, as a business owner, he specialized in photo retouching and ad work for numerous Fortune 500 companies, such as Estee Lauder Inc., Gilbey's Gin and American Airlines.

His work is included in the permanent collections of Estee Lauder, Bloomsburg University, the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Arts and the Oregon Military Museum. Hayle retired to a small farm and studio in Beaver Springs in 1991, where he died a short time later.

The Committee purchased a watercolor painting from Carol Schwartz, an instructor of advertising art at Penn College. Schwartz' work, "Gaia at Work, Gaia at Play," was painted on her wooded property near Wellsboro over a two-summer period.

"Working (outdoors) is vastly different than working from slides," she said. "With on-site painting, the light is always on the move. And the subject matter is, too. No rain translates into ferns drying up. One gust of wind or a heavy rain can send objects into oblivion. I believe that painting outside integrates all of one's senses into the painting: sight, smell, sounds and feelings. The other big advantage is that there is far more color information available than there is when painting from slides."

Schwartz' work has been placed on the second floor Quiet Lounge in the Bush Campus Center.

A previously purchased work by Aleta W. Yarrow, who also is an instructor of advertising art the College, will be hung in the Administrative Conference Room of the Hager Lifelong Education Center. Yarrow's torn-paper collage is a whimsical depiction of the rural landscapes typically found in North Central Pennsylvania.

Her work is identified by the use of a number of handmade and "found" papers, brightly colored commercial art papers, metallic foils and three-dimensional layering. The forms alternate between finely cut and roughly torn shapes.

Each year, Penn College President Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour provides funding to purchase artwork for the college's permanent collection. Funds are also provided in part by a gift from the Lambert-Tyson Foundation.

The purpose of the Art on Campus initiative is to expand the College's collection, especially focusing on area artists and Penn College alumni. The funding allows for the purchase of works and for the transfer, maintenance and support of numerous pieces of donated artworks.