Hall’s ‘Gluttony’ selected for Miami art show

 Nov. 11, 2010
Contact: Chloe Kennedy, News and New Media Writer
865-981-8209; chloe.kennedy@maryvillecollege.edu

“Gluttony,” a wood engraving created by Mark Hall, fine arts division chair and professor of art at Maryville College, has been selected for inclusion in a national juried exhibition at the Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami, Fla.

The theme of the show, which opens Nov. 29 and runs through January, is the seven deadly sins, and the title is “¡SIN!”

“Lust, envy, gluttony, sloth, greed, wrath and pride have had an enormous impact on the moral compass of the modern world,” according to a press release from the Bakehouse Art Complex. “With many different interpretations and understandings, each individual sin has been explored and exposed numerous times. In its 2,600-square-foot gallery, the artists, chosen by a reputable panel of curators, will display their works that are directly related to one of the deadly sins. Each of the seven sins is explored, from their origins and nature, their opposing virtue, and their corresponding punishment through a variety of media and styles from across the country.”

Hall’s piece is titled “Gluttony,” and is part of a larger series of wood engravings that make up Hall’s updated version of “Dante’s Cosmology” from “The Divine Comedy.” When finished, the series will include 19 different prints, Hall said.

“‘Gluttony’ pictures a multi-armed Shiva on the top of an all-you-can-eat cafeteria holding a different food item in each hand,” Hall said. “In the cafeteria, obese people wait in line or kneel at a pig slop trough while horned and tailed chefs and servers cook and serve food. It’s sort of an everyday occurrence at least in the mind of someone raised on Mad Magazine and who listened to Spike Jones and the City Slickers when a child – I hope the people of Miami get a good laugh.”  

Hall said he is one of 55 to 60 artists whose work is featured in the exhibition. His work was selected by one of seven different jurors who each judged the entries for a specific sin. The juror for gluttony was Bonnie Clearwater, executive director and chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami.

“It is always fun to have the chance to exhibit my satirical creations,” Hall said. “I have been fortunate through the years to have this opportunity in shows from Massachusetts to Los Angeles.”

Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state‘s third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world. Total enrollment for the fall 2012 semester was 1,093.