New Bruce Gallery features Forensic Art Show

PennWest PR

The current show in the Bruce Gallery's new space on the PennWest Edinboro campus features interdisciplinary artwork involving the world of forensics and true crime. All That Remains was conceived by PennWest professor Michelle Vitali to bring awareness to the field and its connections to other disciplines.

BRUCE GALLERY MOVES

Since the 1970s, the Bruce Gallery in Doucette Hall at PennWest (Edinboro) University has hosted hundreds of exhibitions, receptions, artists talks, and events. Shows have included prints by Picasso, paintings by alumni, and sculptures by high school students. Located in the Doucette's basement level, the gallery wasn't easy to find. Years ago, a neon Bruce Gallery sign was installed inside the main entrance. The sign helped but is now obsolete. Like Elvis, the gallery has left the building.

A new Bruce Gallery has opened in the Baron-Forness Library, a seven-story building in the center of campus. Inside the library, visitors can't miss the gallery's wall of windows covered with a 5-foot-long skull and dozens of bones painted directly on the glass in honor of the All That Remains exhibit.

INAUGURAL SHOW

The All That Remains forensic art show is a groundbreaking interdisciplinary exhibit featuring historic cases and true crime. It includes oil clay reconstructed portraits, figurative silhouettes dotted with replica bone fragments, mini crime scene dioramas, and courtroom sketches — including several from Erie's famed Pizza Bomber trial.

No actual human remains are on display. The show closes on Oct. 16, when it will travel to PennWest California (in Nov. 2024) and then PennWest Clarion (Fall 2025).

MICHELLE VITALI

All That Remains was conceived and curated by PennWest Professor Michelle Vitali to promote an understanding of forensic art and to showcase its connection to other disciplines including anthropology, communication, criminal justice, cultural studies, history, psychology, science, and sociology.

Vitali created this show "to clarify what the forensic arts are and how they are used" by featuring "real-life cases from both forensic and historical work." Vitali believes that this "first-of-its-kind exhibition" will appeal to "the general public, including groups that don't typically attend art shows."

NETFLIX

All That Remains builds on the successful work of five forensic artists, their appearances in high-profile media, and the current popularity of the true crime genre. In addition to work by Vitali, works by four other prominent practitioners from around the world are replicated in the banners making up the bulk of the exhibit. This year, Netflix will be featuring Vitali and her work on an upcoming episode of Unsolved Mysteries.

THE ARTISTS

The forensic artists represented in the show are: Lisa Bailey, a recently retired facial reconstruction specialist in the forensic art division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Sandra Enslow, the lead forensic artist at the Homicide Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department until her recent retirement; Karen T. Taylor pioneered the process of 2D facial reconstruction and worked on cases for a wide variety of law enforcement agencies from her base in Texas; Michelle Vitali, the show's curator, teaches the scientific arts at Pennsylvania's PennWest Edinboro University and is co-director of its Institute for Forensic Sciences; and Caroline Wilkinson, an anthropologist and academic at Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom, leads the university's facial reconstruction lab.

STUDENT DESIGNERS

Under the supervision of PennWest Graphic Design Professor Derek Witucki, undergraduate students worked on this exhibition for the past six months: Paige Crawley, Grace Maust, Henry O'Neill, Olivia Sutton and Nora Logue. Tasked with presenting forensic art and science to the public in a digestible way, Witucki says the student design team has successfully "drawn out the connections between processes behind the work, the context of the cases, and the final reconstructions."

ART & SCIENCE

All That Remains demonstrates the power of interdisciplinary collaborations between arts and sciences. Olivia Sutton commented that many "people think that art is separate from the sciences, or that one is better than the other." Sutton explains, "art is often an expression of the sciences in terms the average person can understand." All That Remains demonstrates the ways forensic artists are utilizing their skills and anatomical expertise to assist in solving crimes. These creative efforts are "appreciated by victim's families."

SEE THE SHOW

The show will close Wednesday, Oct. 16. During the semester, the gallery hours are: Wednesdays and Thursdays 3 to 6 p.m. and Fridays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. During the summer, May through August, the gallery is open on Fridays only, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional gallery hours are possible by appointment with Henry O'Neill, the assistant director. Leave a message at (814) 732-2510 or send an email to BruceLibraryGallery@PennWest.edu. For more info visit: BruceGallery.info

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Bruce Gallery is generously supported by Edinboro University Student Government Association, PennWest University and the Visual and Performing Arts Department. The new art gallery foyer was sponsored by Kathleen R. (Graff) and Keith R. Finger. Advice and assistance in creating all the elements of the All That Remains show was supplied by Dr. Greg Dillon of Penn State Behrend, and the staff and faculty of the PennWest Edinboro Graphic and Interactive Design program, the Edinboro Beehive, the Idea Lab at the Blasco Library, Erie Industrial Plastics, Fast Signs and Copy King. Freelance museum preparator Vance Lupher worked with faculty, staff, and a dozen undergraduate students to install the show.

The Baron-Forness Library is located at 200 Tartan Rd., Edinboro // Catalogs of the show are available for $25, benefiting the PennWest Institute for Forensic Sciences and its pro-bono work for law enforcement. For parking info visit: edinboro.edu

Lisa Austin, director of the Bruce Gallery and co-founder of CIVITAS can be found at lisaaustinpa.com