Last week, a new exhibition opened in the College of Dupage's (COD) Student Art Gallery. Announced via posters in the McAnich Arts Center (MAC) and a short article in the school newspaper, Xenos features digitally illustrated artwork of various original alien species. All were created and illustrated by Alex Yaeger, a graphic design student at the college.
Right: Apocethary by Alex Yaeger, 2010, digital illustration.
Students and otherwise who frequent the MAC may have seen another work of Yaeger's, The Gardener, mounted by a second-floor hallway in a small lounge. Yaeger's portraits for Xenos, while distinct in their presentation, visibly share similarities with his earlier work.
Some of the Xenos exhibition's content can be seen online at Yaeger's deviantART page, along with other works of his. But while some commentary is attached to the artwork online, a couple additional portraits and all of the pagelong descriptions associated with each portrait appear to be exclusive to the physical exhibition.
Part of an exhibition, in addition to the content itself, is how that content is presented. The Student Art Gallery is left mostly bare for Xenos. The gallery floor merely houses a desk, at which a student sits to mind the gallery while it is open. An introduction page is on the wall next to the entrance, explaining some of the creative process Yeager used.
Pairs of portraits of aliens and descriptions of their homeworlds are mounted along the back wall to the left from the door. All of the species exist within the same, futuristic setting, and so occasional mention is made of their opinions of each other. Most of the species' features resemble human features to some degree, whilst taking inspiration from well-realized combinations of fantasy and sci-fi archetypes.
An additional poster-description pair is mounted on the far wall from the entrance door. I nearly managed to miss it when visiting the exhibition, despite its theoretically plainly visible location. In addition to being on a different wall from the other species, this piece features a poster of very different presentation from the other portraits, although the description's format remains the same. Perhaps fitting for a piece representing mutants? Perhaps a sort of conclusion to the exhibit.
Being personally interested in fictional aliens, I was eager to view Yeager's Xenos exhibition yesterday. Each species' description nicely supports the excellent artwork it accompanies, and there is not an overwhelming sum of content. If you happen to be at the College of DuPage, have some interest in portraits or sci-fi fantasy, and have half an hour to spare, perhaps you should consider stopping by the Student Art Gallery.
COD's Student Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the Student Resource Center, not to be confused with the Gahlberg Gallery in the MAC. The Xenos exhibition is on display through June 7th 2010.
The Student Art Gallery is only open at certain times each day, which I unfortunately do not have a list of, although one is posted near the room's door. Yaeger's work can be seen through the room's window-walls, but being unable to read the text associated with each poster defeats the point of physically visiting the exhibition.
