{tac}

Diane Tarter — paper collage

Artist's Statement, ‘Portals’—Winter Show & Silent Auction 2011

Title:    “Increasingly Blue Planet: Portal View”
size: 16” x 81/2”     medium: paper collage

Collage is the opportunity to go back to my design production roots. When I started out in graphic design the world was still pre-1984 in computing terms. We spec'd type, sent it out for typesetting, and pasted up the galleys produced by a service bureau. Those mechanical art constructions had their own beauty, back when kerning was still a physical experience. Because pasting papers together was an essential part of the design experience as I worked and learned, the process has continued to be an expressive avenue for me.

The small collage in the Arts Center Portals exhibit is part of the "Increasingly Blue Planet" series currently in progress. This series includes ecological, political, and personal combinations of maps and symbols. More pieces from this series will be included in the Western Oregon University Art Faculty Biennial exhibit in January and February 2012. The exhibition will be located in the Cannon Gallery of Art in Campbell Hall at WOU.

Biography:

Diane Tarter received her undergraduate degree in Theatre from Willamette University. Directly afterward she attended The Drama Studio, London, where she earned the Certificate of Completion in Acting and the Certificate of Proficiency from the Society of British Fight Directors.

Working at the grassroots level as an actor eventually brought her back to Oregon. To improve her chances for reasonable employment (since actors need day jobs) she studied graphic design and printing technology at Linn-Benton Community College, then continued work as a graphic designer in Corvallis and Portland. Eventually her interests in visual communication led her to graduate studies, which culminated in an MFA in Visual Design from the University of Oregon.

Diane Tarter has been teaching at Western Oregon University since 1992. She recently completed a six-year term as Chair of the Creative Arts Division, a division of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which includes Art, Music, Theatre, and Dance. As of fall 2011 she is back in the classroom full-time.

Visit Diane Tarter's website.