At first glance it looks like a scientific display: four wall surfaces of the Class of 1956 Gallery at George School’s Learning Commons and Mollie Dodd Anderson Library are filled with rows of three-by-five-inch cards marked with spherical images and spots. Although they are affixed to the walls with insect pins—normally used by entomologists to mount insect samples—the cards are not part of a science project. Instead, they are part of an installation entitled Firmament by artist Kathy Goodell, scheduled to be on view in the gallery until January 29, 2010.

Kathy used soap bubbles to print shapes on the cards, which are from a vintage library card catalog. The images, Kathy explained, “are created through an explosion of a bubble made through the combination of soap and water with various water- and lacquer-based inks.” With awareness of gravity’s effect on the ink and the difference in air pressure inside and outside of the soap formations, Kathy manipulated the bubbles by agitating and oscillating them, directing air currents towards them, and varying her method of forming them. “I also work with how the bubble dies, whether in mid air or from pressure contact with the paper,” Kathy said. The results are spherical shapes of differing sizes, with a variety of effects—such as splattering and marbleized patterns—in shades of gray, blue, black, red, and purple. The images are printed on the backs of the library catalog cards, which are mostly blank with occasional typing. They form a series of four works entitled Firmament (for Dewey), numbered one through four.

“Her work contains a universality due to its scientific aesthetic,” said Danielle Picard-Sheehan, George School gallery coordinator and photography teacher, who invited Kathy to exhibit her installation on campus. “With her installation work, I was drawn to the repetition of the painted spheres on the vintage library cards, as well as the idea of using recycled materials as a substrate for the work. I am interested in exhibiting work that goes beyond the traditional means of making art,” Danielle added. She arranged for Kathy to speak about her work this week on campus. George School students who are taking arts classes as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, along with other interested students, attended the lecture.

In addition to the works made from library catalog cards, the Firmament installation also includes six works composed of ink and watercolor on clayboard. Kathy created them through a process similar to the one she developed for the Firmament (for Dewey) series. Each work consists of a small group of square or rectangular paintings with circular patterns that resemble orbs of light. Five are entitled Firmament, The Lights, and one is entitled Firmament, The Darks.

Kathy noted, “While I am drawn to the science of the bubble, its geometry and relationship to surface tension, it is the poetic metaphors within the bubble that really interest me. Each bubble is a unique event in the universe. And I am drawn to the idea of myself, as an artist, functioning both as a conduit to chance events and as a manipulator of my own universe.”

Currently a professor of painting at the State University of New York in New Paltz, Kathy has a BFA and an MFA in sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her work spans multiple forms, with a focus on sculpture and drawing, and has been exhibited nationally and internationally. The recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts grants, a Fulbright Fellowship, and various other awards, Kathy has had solo exhibitions in San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, and has been included in numerous museum exhibitions.

The installation is one of seven exhibitions organized by the George School Arts Department during the 2009-10 year. The Arts Department offers classes in visual and performing arts, including photography, digital imaging, video production, woodworking and design, communication design, painting and drawing, ceramics, stagecraft, theater arts, theater performance, musical theater, dance, vocal and instrumental performance, and music theory, with Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate course options.

For more information about the arts at George School, and a complete schedule of exhibitions, visit http://www.georgeschool.org/arts.

About George School
Founded in 1893 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), George School, a rigorous coed boarding and day school for grades nine through twelve, educates students from twenty-one states, thirty-four foreign countries, and a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and economic backgrounds. Through its commitment to diversity and the Quaker values of equality, integrity, and peacemaking, George School inspires students to be led by their own truths while respecting and appreciating opinions and beliefs different from their own. George School was one of the first schools in the United States to implement an International Baccalaureate diploma program. For information about admission, please call 215.579.6547 or visit http://www.georgeschool.org.