Plays about Caesar, Malcolm X inspire exhibition at SUNY Oswego in Syracuse

SYRACUSE -- The gallery at SUNY Oswego in Syracuse will display a series of digital illustrations Feb. 2 to March 17 by SUNY Oswego students, artwork in response to the twinning of upcoming plays about assassinated influential leaders.

Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" and contemporary playwright Marcus Gardley's "X," to be staged March 27 and March 28, respectively, at Oswego's Waterman Theatre, inspired the student work with the plays' shared themes of power, race, betrayal, leadership, assassination and courage.

 The artists will take part in a free public reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, at SUNY Oswego in Syracuse, located at the college's Metro Center in the Atrium building on Clinton Square. Art faculty member Carla Senecal and John Shaffer, director of arts programming at the college, will speak at 6:30 p.m.

 The digital illustration work mentored by Senecal was done in response to the upcoming collaborative project between the college's Artswego and The Acting Company, known as a place where young actors hone their craft and sometimes -- as with Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline and Raiin Wilson -- become stars. The exhibition is one of many SUNY Oswego opportunities across disciplines that the collaboration -- national in scope and also teaming Hamilton and Le Moyne colleges -- has spun off.

 Senecal's class, "Digital Media for Transfers," included the following graduate and undergraduate illustrators: Megan Barry, Pat Casey, Dengueny Dengueny, Nick DiRienzo, Tim Doss, David Dross, Jingyuan Duan, Paul Farinelli, Rachael Fleming, Abreanna Goodrich, Bailey Halligan, Rachel Harden, Robert Hohman, Jiyoung Lee, Ieasha Lopez-Gonzalez, Nikki McCraith, Caitlin Nason, Matt Overend, Katherine Sagrestano, Stephen Snider, Kevin Tack, Kyle Tack, Ciara Tobin and Stephanie Ulakovic.

 SUNY Oswego in Syracuse's branch of Tyler Art Gallery is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Evening and weekend hours vary; for information, call 315-312-2321. For more on the wide variety of arts presentations and performances at SUNY Oswego, visit oswego.edu/arts.