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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>Three performance artists pose in front of portraits printed on leather on display at Naomi Fisher’s reception for “Lay of the Land” at the University Gallery on Friday.</p>

Three performance artists pose in front of portraits printed on leather on display at Naomi Fisher’s reception for “Lay of the Land” at the University Gallery on Friday.

Students, faculty and museum-goers could hear the buzzing of insects and swaying of trees as they stepped into Naomi Fisher’s reception for “Lay of the Land” at the University Gallery on Friday.

The opening reception exhibited not only works of art by Fisher but also elicited discussion from an eclectic mix of people at a social gathering.

Anyone who was interested in speaking with the artist had the opportunity to do so face-to-face.

Although Fisher and her boyfriend, Jim Drain, were walking around the exhibit documenting the performance piece, they made an effort to interact with guests.

The performance piece was only on display during the reception, and it was one of the most memorable works because the dancers moved around the entire space and attracted curious attention.

“I chose people who can channel emotion,” Fisher said. “It is a profound way of taking dance out of the stage.”

During their performance, the three dancers used figurative moves to convey the behavior of snakes. They slithered across the cold, hard gallery floors and shed their skins and dirt as they stood up.

“This is the most multimedia show she’s done,” Drain said.

Fisher’s photographs were printed on the silk dresses worn by the dancers.

Many people did not know what to do with themselves and scurried away whenever the dancers moved in their direction. Others stood still and pensive, watching the dancers’ every move.

Phillip Richter, a 23-year-old UF industrial and systems engineering major, felt the dancers were “a little weird,” but he enjoyed other areas of the show, like the python and other snakeskins featured.

“This is my first time going to an art show at UF,” Richter said. “It makes me feel inspired to do something.”

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Students, artists and professors were engaged in an evident and significant conversation throughout the reception.

“Doing a show in a university made me excited to try new ideas and be experimental,” Fisher said. “It was very liberating. Anything could happen.”

A version of this story ran on page 7 on 10/10/2013 under the headline "Multimedia show at UF gives artists lay of the land"

Three performance artists pose in front of portraits printed on leather on display at Naomi Fisher’s reception for “Lay of the Land” at the University Gallery on Friday.

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