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The University Gallery at Illinois State University is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. As part of the celebration, the Alumni Spectacular will return for the first time in nearly a decade. Works by more than 180 artists, who he once encountered at this gallery as a student at ISU, are on display at his Normal His gallery uptown as part of a free exhibition running through February 20th.
Mixed media artist and Twin City Gallery owner Jan Brandt is one of those graduates, but her path took a different path. Brandt graduated from Bloomington High School in 1975 and went on to attend ISU to study art.
“Some people think art school is easy,” Brandt says. “It’s really hard.”
Brandt changed his major to environmental design, paid his way through school, and worked in the interior design field for 25 years. During that time, she contributed her work to shows and fundraisers around the city. She recalls an Easter Seals benefit where her work was placed next to it by the internationally renowned artist Nicholas Africano, who is based in Normal.
“I told his wife at the time that I didn’t know if I belonged there because I hadn’t finished art school yet,” Brandt said. “She said, ‘I can see that you have an artistic bent.’ Keep it up.
It was those words of encouragement and a small legacy from his father that led Brandt to ISU a second time. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2011. And as an Alumni Spectacular artist, she found her work again placed close to Africano. He graduated from his ISU School of Art in 1971. Brandt and Africano were also neighbors of sorts. She moved the gallery to the One Normal Plaza building that was once part of the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Children’s School. The site is currently owned by Africano.
This is the second time that Brandt’s work has been included in the same exhibition as Africano, a 1971 graduate of the Illinois State School of Art. Brandt graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2011. She runs a small gallery near her home in Africano, on the site of her Children’s School of Illinois Soldiers and Sailors.
Brandt said attending ISU was “the best thing that ever happened to her,” and she’s trying to give back as an active alumni who features students and alumni in her gallery.
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University Gallery Director and Chief Curator Kendra Peitz first met Brandt at ISU. She Paitz organized her Alumni Spectacular and she has been affiliated with the University Gallery for over 20 years.
“The University Gallery has been a very important part of my life,” Peitz said. “I think this is a very special place in terms of nurturing relationships.”
Case in point: One of several accompanying events is a fiber carving workshop with Brandt. Brandt will take part in a hands-on session inspired by the unique relationship with bright colors and textures made primarily from upcycled materials.
Brandt said her aesthetic stems from her childhood. Her mother and her grandmother made flower sack dresses during the Great Depression. Brandt’s style also embraces play.
“My mom made my Barbie doll clothes,” she said. “Her hands were always busy. It’s part of my DNA.”
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For Paitz, it is the connective tissue between visiting artists, alumni and current students that draws her most, and nowhere is this more evident than unpacking and staging work for the Alumni Spectacular. Collectively, they demonstrate the true talent and diversity of those who interacted with the Kim Won-Sook Art School and University Gallery. The walls and plinths of the gallery are filled with a variety of mediums and styles, and the gallery has received works from alumni since 1968 and as late as last year.
“This is an exciting place to be,” Peitz said. “All the people you cared about also cared about what was going on here. It’s amazing how you build so many honest, deep relationships and how they grow over time. I think it’s unique for an educational institution to be able to see that.”
One of those relationships is with familiar voices around WGLT. Multihyphenate Morning Edition host Ariel Jones is a graduate of the Kim Won-Sook School of the Arts, where he majored in fine art and specialized in photography.
Jones said she learned to utilize her versatile talents at ISU. When she heard about a call for alumni to participate in her Alumni Spectacular, she researched never-before-seen photos and submitted one of hers for display.
“When I left ISU, the ‘real world’ wanted me to choose a lane, stay in that lane, and then retire. I tried for a year or two, but my soul I felt like I was dying,” she said. “ISU helped me get to know myself, learn what is expected of me, and listen to that calling.”
The Alumni Spectacular continues through Feb. 20 at the University Gallery, 11 Uptown Circle in Normal. The gallery is free and open to the public. The Fiber Sculpture Workshop with Jan Brandt will be held on February 17th from 12pm to 2pm. Registration required.
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