Art speaks, humanity listens

Mechele Williams

The Signal

UHCL currently features the work of distinguished international artists Dona Jalufka and Jozef Jankovic. The Jalufka-Jankovic art exhibition is located in Bayou Building, Atrium I, 2nd floor and will be on display until Jan. 10, 2011.

Sandria Hu, professor of art, is responsible for the 2nd floor art exhibitions – which are primarily international.

“I have been doing this since 1986,” Hu said.

She chooses the artists, transfers their work to the states, and then organizes an art exhibition at UHCL to share with our students.

“When I do my lectures or workshops, I pick up the artwork along the way and bring it back in my suitcases,” Hu said.

Not just any person can have their artwork shown by Hu in an exhibition. They must meet certain criteria.

“People that I exhibit are people I know personally and they are people that I work with on a professional level,” Hu said. “They are artists.”

Subject matter for the exhibition varies and is chosen based on the people with whom Hu works, but generally the artwork always has something to do with humanity and politics.

“I look at their work and try to make sure that whatever I put forth gives a very multicultural international overview,” Hu said. “The statement is their concerns about their country and how they see the world.”

Hu’s goal for this exhibition is to share with Clear Lake the kind of work being done in Slovakia and Austria through artists like Jankovic and Jalufka.

DONA JALUFKA

Self Portrait by Dona Jalufka

Before moving to Austria and becoming a photojournalist, Dona Jalufka was an art student at UHCL in one of the classes taught by Hu.

“I think she’s happy at doing what she wants to do, which I’m glad,” Hu said. “So whatever she received from UHCL was good for her.”

Jalufka doesn’t have what she considers to be “favorites.” Instead she feels strongly about all the works currently hanging in the exhibit.

The pieces in the exhibit are from a series I call “Synergies”, Jalufka said. “These works consist of two photographs working together to produce an image of a composition that is unique and unobtainable separate. By juxtaposing various photographs, I present small narratives with the intent to create a visual link to things both familiar and alien; the disjunctive associations are ultimately compatible and in contrast with one another, creating a subliminal effect of literal vs. constructed.”

Jalufka’s “Synergies” series does, however, have a significant inspiration.

“The inspiration for this series was derived from my travels and personal desire to address the differences and similarities of cultures via architecture, landscape, religious or cultural iconography; because overall they highlight a small cross section of work influenced by observations made during these journeys,” Jalufka said.

“Some photographs interact more graphically or abstractly than, say, others that appear to tell a story, or hint at a moral or poem,” said Jalufka. “Having been a photographer for more than 30 years, I was in search of a slightly different approach to revealing the narrative qualities of an image.”

JOZEF JANKOVIC

PAD AUTORA II (2004) by Jozef Jankovic

Jozef Jankovic struggles with humanity and suppression and expresses it through his artwork. He was unavailable for a personal interview because he does not speak English, yet his work speaks volumes.

“Jozef is talking about humanity and suppression during the communist period and he shows that suppression by being boxed in or being sunk into a box where he can’t get out, and that was based on two issues – communism and he suffered a stroke,” Hu said. “He became closed in within himself because he had a hard time getting out again not only with the political issues, but now he couldn’t use his right hand and couldn’t walk with his right leg. All of the work you see is done using his left hand.”

FUTURE EXHIBITS COMING TO CAMPUS

Hu’s next art exhibition will be January 15, 2011-March 31, 2011 and will showcase works from Robert Makar and Rudolf Skora, both teachers at the Academy of Fine arts in Slovakia. Their exhibition will be heavily influenced by political issues.

For inspiring artists seriously interested in entering the field here are some impressions from some professionals who have been doing it for a while:

SANDRIA HU

“It is hard to get into the field, and unless you actually have tried it to see how hard it is so I’m not going to encourage anybody to go into it unless you really want to do it,” Hu said.  “Just do it and see how it goes from there because a lot of it is based upon how much energy and how much you’re willing to put into it to make it work and a lot of people don’t have that luxury.

“Artists are paid for what they are doing, but they are probably not being paid for what they think that it is worth – I do a lot of artwork, but I don’t get back what I put into it. If you are a good artist it still doesn’t pay the bills.

“If I were going to go to school right now I would probably go more into graphics because that is where the job market is.  You can’t do something unless you’re really going to be either teaching or in graphics.”

DONA JALUFKA

“It would be difficult to give advice per se, to young artists in university – every person’s situation is unique and there is no real formula to getting started and succeeding as an artist,” Jalufka said. “I do know that if you work at your art (or whatever the passion) long enough, in the end, you will have something to show for it. You just have to be prepared to go the distance.  As for getting one’s work shown – hey – that’s a never-ending struggle!”






The Signal reporter created the above slideshow of the UHCL Art Exhibition featuring international artists Dona Jalufka and Jozef Jankovic.