Panel discusses “Mystic” exhibit at CBU Gallery

Students at California Baptist University discuss an art display by Duncan Simcoe, professor of visual arts at CBU, at the “Into the Mystic” exhibit. 

Riverside, Calif. (Nov. 18, 2016) – A panel of five art enthusiasts spoke about the exhibit, “Into the Mystic,” at the CBU Gallery and the influence art can have on a person on Nov. 16. 

Panelists included Drew Oberjuerge, director of the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) and four California Baptist University faculty. The exhibit represents an inspiration of spiritual themes, visionary imagery and drawing insights from transcendent encounters. 

Transcendence means the existence or experience beyond the normal or the physical level, said Dr. Melissa Croteau, associate professor film studies and literature at CBU. 

Dr. Katie Papineau, assistant professor of architecture and art history, said everyone is searching for something, a truth, answers to life’s mysteries, and the search for something is made visible through art at this exhibit. 

“On the surface…you can understand what you’re looking at,” Papineau said, referring to the art. “But the layers are deeper, asking us to contemplate the mystic in our own lives, to ask deeper questions.” 

Many people are fearful to come into a museum and talk about their interpretation of a piece of art, Oberjuerge said. 

“People have to start with their own experience,” Oberjuerge said. “I’m a firm believer in aesthetic. Do you like it, do you not like it? If you like something, I would keep pursuing it.”

Dr. Scott Key, professor of philosophy, said the exhibit is an invitation for visitors to open themselves to concepts beyond the temporal.

“We are surrounded by images, but they flash before us. They influence us, but we don’t spend much time with them. This [exhibit] invites you to do much more than that and you have to,” Key said. “You have to let it speak to you and drink it in. You have to ponder, and it takes a little time.” 

“Into the Mystic: The Quest of Six West Coast Artists” ends Nov. 19.