Art of Retiring Prof. David Herrold to be Showcased January 30 - March 2

January 28, 2008

Also: 'Jeff Schmuki: Pattern Recognition,' January 30 - March 2

January 28, 2008, Greencastle, Ind. - The work of David Herrold, a professor of art at DePauw for 36 years, will be showcased at the University's Richard E. Peeler Art Center from January 30 through March 2. "David Herrold: A Retrospective Exhibition" surveys artist's work between the years of 1972-2008. Professor Herrold will be on hand for an opening reception with gallery talk this Wednesday evening from 4 to 5:30 p.m. (at left: Distressed Water Tower with Trestle, 2004; porcelain and slip jet construction, courtesy of the artist)

The work produced by David Herrold has been both inventive and diverse. Although primarily a ceramist, Herrold has also worked extensively with digital media.

In 1972 Herrold accepted a teaching position at DePauw University, replacing the widely-admired Richard Peeler. During the 1970s, Herrold adopted low-temperature firing techniques using talc body clay and metallic lusters, creating ceramic works with a pop sensibility and sculptural basis. After using these techniques of most of the decade, Herrold gradually migrated back to working with stoneware and porcelain, for what he felt was their more "dignified" character. (at right: No Shelter in the Wilderness, 1995; digital photo composite)

During the 1980s, Herrold temporarily abandoned clay and instead began working with new media inspired by the personal computer revolution of the decade. While on sabbatical in 1986, he developed a way to transfer computer images to 16mm movie film, convert them to video, and add a soundtrack. The result was computer animation, which he continued to experiment with. Herrold’s skill and interest in the still image also led him to use the computer as a photography editing device, which he adopted as a means of creating digital photo composites. (left: Sears and Roebuck, 1975; earthenware)

Herrold returned to clay during the 1990s, but began working with a new, hybridic process that fused the traditionally handmade with new technology. In 2002 he created a machine he dubbed the "Slip Jet Printer," a hand-operated, three-dimensional clay printing device that allowed him to produce richly textured clay forms with complex symmetries that would be difficult to create by hand.

David Herrold received his M.F.A. from Wichita State University in 1972 and a B.S.E. from Emporia State University, Kansas in 1967. From 1968 to 1970 he served as curator for the Wichita Art Museum Mobile Gallery in Wichita, Kansas. He has taught in the department of art at DePauw University since 1972 and will retire from this position in 2008. He is represented by the Ruschman Gallery in Indianapolis.

The galleries at the Richard E. Peeler Art Center are open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sunday 1 – 5 p.m., and are closed during University breaks and holidays. For more information, visit the Peeler Center online.

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