By: Paige Scofield Campus Life Editor
The walls on the third floor of Hamersly Library are adorned with art and poetry from its newest exhibit entitled: “Meeting of Hearts in Monmouth.” On March 1, a reception was held for students to come partake in the viewing of the new exhibit. The exhibit will continue to be in the Hamersly Library third floor gallery until March 24.
The artist of the pieces is An (Andy) Haifeng, a foreign exchange student from Guangxi Arts University in China, who is majoring in printmaking. Upon arriving in Monmouth, Haifeng met English poet Janet Avery, who moved to America from England 25 years ago, and then moved to Monmouth in hopes of being closer to the university. Avery houses foreign exchange students, including Haifeng, which is how they met.
The exhibit is described as: “Meeting in Monmouth this fall, Haifeng and Avery use paintings and poems as a common ground to communicate the similarities and differences of their own cultures. The exhibit shows how they have joined their creativity to portray a shared view of the community of Monmouth, Oregon and beyond.”
They found common ground through their mutual appreciation of poetry, art and culture. They soon realized that the two art forms they worked with, poetry and art, could easily accompany and compliment one another. Each of Haifeng’s paintings were inspired by one of Avery’s poems.
His paintings are created on Chinese art paper, with ink and watercolor. Each piece working with pops of color against the cream white paper. By pairing his art with Avery’s poems, it opens up a way of communication between the arts and people. The overall arc of the works is communication.
Coming from China to Monmouth, Haifeng had to adjust to new surroundings, and had to find ways to communicate while he still worked on his english. He luckily met Avery and was able to find a way to connect and communicate with someone from an entirely different culture through art and poetry.
Within the exhibit, Haifeng has a small binder filled with short chapters about his life so far here in Monmouth, and his journey to find the best way to communicate with others. He decided, “The best language should be from heart to heart.” He discusses that many artforms such as poetry, fiction, painting, song and dance, are all a language from the heart, “… but in different translations.”
Haifeng believes that you first need to understand yourself and then let your, “heart language translate to other people,” Haifeng said. “ So when you face the world with your heart, the world is real, the world is full of warmth and hope. When you meet a bosom friend, you are lucky.”
Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu
