Artists speak through meditaion, political conciousness and more

From "Coaxing the Moon"

Showcasing metal work, fiber art, and wood, this week’s Art Department galleries feature art by Lydia Tijioe Hall, Yassaman Farmani, Susan Leighliter and Rebecca Homapour. The exhibits are open from 12 p.m. to 5 p. m. and from 12 p.m. to 7 p. m. on Wednesday. All galleries dismantle Thursday.

 Yassaman Farmani crafted metal brooches and ribbons to hang on the walls of the Dr. Maxine Merlino gallery as a tribute to victims of violence in her home country of Iran: “My blood was boiling with political anger when I first started planning for this show in the summer of 2009.”

Set in the Max L. Gatov galleries, Lydia Tijoe Hall’s show “Respite” presents fiber and metals fusing in biometric shapes, to express the passage of time and decay, many on which hung from the ceiling like lanterns.

In the Marylin Werby Gallery, Rebecca Homapour defines art as the space between nature and man-made. Her exhibit, appropriately named “Nature vs. Manmade,” honors the natural integrity of wood, she said in her artist statement.

Neighboring Homapour’s gallery, Susan Leighter’s “Coaxing the Moon,” located in the Dutzi Gallery, presents a soothing aura in which the experience of meditation is visually presented through fiber art representing earth, water, wind, and fire. The goal of the exhibit, Leighter says, is for visitors to let go of their ego. Morning meditation sessions were offered 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a. m. from Monday through Thursday.