Lycoming College opens Digital Media Gallery

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A Digital Media Gallery opened in September as a result of the renovations that were taking place in the Mass Communications Building at Lycoming College.

Leah Bedrosian Peterson, director of the Digital Media department and chairwoman of the communications department at Lycoming, is the gallery's director.

"I wanted the gallery to exist because I think it's important for the students at Lycoming and greater Williamsport to be introduced to contemporary new media-digital media artwork," Peterson said.

The gallery has two 47-inch plasma televisions that provide video work and will include a projector available for videos.

Since its opening, the gallery has held two exhibitions by New York-based artists Keith Sullivan and Nicole Arendt.

"I choose the artists who will be exhibiting and curate the exhibitions," Peterson said. "It takes a significant amount of work to curate the exhibitions and to bring in artists from all over the country."

At the end of each academic year, the senior digital media Lycoming students have the opportunity to exhibit their senior project work in the gallery, Peterson said.

Video is a main component of the gallery's exhibits. Most contemporary artists included are interdisciplinary, so their works also may include more traditional arts like sculpture and painting.

"Our mission is to exhibit contemporary new media art," Peterson said.

New media-digital media uses technology to create works of art.

"The principles of form, composition, technical efficiency, as well as a conceptual foundation are just as important in new media-digital media as they are in the traditional art forms," Peterson said.

Along with the gallery, Lycoming College offers digital media communications as a major. Students are introduced to the pre- and post-production techniques associated with film, documentary and experimental video. The foundation of the program is in the moving image, for example, digital video.

"I do see art as becoming more digital and less traditional. In general, our society is heavily reliant on digital technologies," Peterson said. "However, for many reasons, there will always be a value in traditional art forms such as sculpture, painting, drawing and analog photography."

The gallery's upcoming exhibition will feature Erik Sanner of New York in March, with an opening reception March 20. Lycoming senior students' work will be on display in April. The gallery is free and open to the public.

"I was fortunate enough to be able to design the space and the gallery so that it reflects the contemporary nature of new media," said Peterson.