Alan Potter [VIEW INFORMATION]  [VIEW GALLERY]   [VIEW BOTH]
Office: apotter@emich.edu
Phone: apotter@emich.edu

Office Hours:

Teaching Schedule:

Bio:

Alan Potter was born in Sedalia, Missouri. He received a Bachelor of General Studies (Anthropology and Creative Writing) from The University of Michigan, and a MFA in Painting from Eastern Michigan University. He began teaching at EMU in 1990.

Recent publications, exhibitions and/or presentations:

• January 6-28, 2005, 2005 Art Department Faculty Show, Ford Gallery, Eastern Michigan University.

• October 21-November 19, 2004, The Ypsilanti Fine Arts Invitational Exhibition, The Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti, MI.

• October 21, 2004, ELearning Faculty Showcase, Continuing Education, Eastern Michigan University. Presented my online Art Appreciation course to EMU faculty

Artist Statement:

A swimmer glides past the eye that tries to hold it.

It is this image - and the means and meanings of representing it - that I am exploring in my current paintings.

I have always been interested in depicting the human figure at the juncture of representation and abstraction. Placing the figure in water allows for a natural development of this approach. The figure will appear abstract, even if depicted in a strictly representational manner, due to the distortion caused by the currents and reflections in the water.

A camera would confirm this, but only with a mechanical record. I am more interested in the subtleties and complexities of the human experience of such a scene. Without the aid of a camera, the eye alone cannot completely perceive the figure in motion. An image must be constructed in the mind, through a fusion of vision, knowledge and memory. In this way, a brief glimpse of a living figure - swimming in water and light - becomes tangible, and can be represented in painting. It is this play between perception and art that allows the use of permanent forms to catch ephemeral moments: the swimming figure, dissolved in water, is captured by liquid paint turning, slowly, into the still image.

Faculty Work:
(click images to enlarge)

Student Work:
Not currently available.

Click on any of the links to the right of a faculty member's name to get more information about that faculty member.

Alan Potter [VIEW INFORMATION]  [VIEW GALLERY]   [VIEW BOTH]
Office: apotter@emich.edu
Phone: apotter@emich.edu

Christine Ridgway [VIEW INFORMATION]  [VIEW GALLERY]   [VIEW BOTH]
Office: 307B Sherzer
Phone: (734) 487-1268 x247