Smithsonian exhibit spotlights art by Grand Valley faculty member

An art exhibition currently on display at the Smithsonian features approximately 20 pieces of work by a Grand Valley art and design faculty member.

"Visions and Revisions: Renwick Invitational 2016" features the work of four distinguished artists, one of whom is Norwood Viviano, associate professor of art and design. The exhibit will be on display in the Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery through January 8.

The focal point of Viviano's exhibition collection is "Global Cities." The piece, which Viviano said took about 300 hours of research and 500 hours of labor to complete, examines changes in the populations of certain geographic locations around the world over the past 2,000 years.

"What I was amazed by through my research was that there were all of these threads that caused patterns of people to move due to World War II, and there was also a real movement to cities during the Industrial Revolution," said Viviano. "You don't really know what kind of connections you're going to make historically and linearly through a timeline until a project like this is finished."

Drawing on census and topographical data to create models of cities at specific times in history is a consistent theme among Viviano's work, particularly because of a curiosity about immigration that was sparked by his grandparents.

"My grandparents are from Sicily, not America," Viviano said. "I had the opportunity early on to become more aware of the immigrant experience, so my work is about the migration of people, the kinds of values that were attached to their lives, and trying to understand what kinds of influences caused those patterns of migration."

Viviano explained that "Global Cities," which was primarily sculpted from metal and glass, shows a sense of balance and imbalance in regard to the rapid speed that some cities are growing, as well as the rate at which cities are losing numbers.

"In many ways, a lot of my work deals with the relationship between industry and community," said Viviano. "I grew up in Detroit, and one of my grandfathers worked as a painter in the Dodge plant for 35 years. You hear stories and, in some ways, these large corporations become a part of your life, just like your grandparents are. Knowing that people are so reliant on the power dynamic is really impactful."