Sam Wang: Centripetal Discovery Art Exhibition

Oct. 10–Nov. 9 • M–TH, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. • Lee Gallery

Film Screening of “Sam Wang Centripetal Persistance” by John Rash: TH, Oct. 20, 5:30 p.m.
Artist Talk & Reception: TH, Oct. 20, 6 p.m.

Sam Wang sees the potential for something extraordinary in spaces and moments others view as mundane. Sam says, “Seeing is exciting.” Wang’s passion for the creative experience leads him to investigate all aspects of photographic processes, tools and technologies sometimes building his own but always leaving nothing unexplored in the pursuit of realizing his vision. Works on view include photographic processes such as digital infrared, cyanotype, palladium, platinum/palladium, three color gum, or archival pigment print, many being unique one-of-a-kind prints handcrafted in the darkroom or utilizing digital technologies. The gift he gives to the viewers are photographs that present otherworldly moments that engage our imaginations. Sam Wang: Centripetal Discovery presents places of immense beauty, some distant and unfamiliar with others as unexpected as the Home Depot parking lot. 

Sam Wang was born in Beijing, China, a land of over 5,000 years of uninterrupted culture. He studied art in South Dakota, east of the Bad Lands, and received his MFA in Photography from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. Clemson University called, and Sam co-initiated the MFA in Digital Production Arts, a program that prepared graduates for the animation industry. In 2006, Sam Wang received the Alumni Distinguished Professor of Art Award. He was recognized as an Honored Educator by the Society for Photographic Education - Southeast Region in 2007. In 2012, he received the Elizabeth Verner Award from the South Carolina Arts Commission, presented by Governor, Nikki Haley for his contributions to the arts in South Carolina. Sam Wang’s 40-year legacy as an educator includes hundreds of graduate students in photography.

Film Screening “Sam Wang: Centripetal Persistence” 
Discussion with the producer of the film, John Finley Rash will follow. 
John Finley Rash is the Director of the Southern Documentary and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. 
John Finley Rash is a filmmaker, photographer and video artist who earned his MFA in Experimental and Documentary Art from Duke University in Durham, NC. He has worked as a freelance photographer and college instructor for more than 15 years in the United States and China. His work often explores cultural outsiders and environmental topics through non-traditional narratives and visual storytelling. As Producer/Director at the Southern Documentary Project at the University of Mississippi in University, MS, John explores the modern stories and various histories of the American South through photographs, films, and audio productions.