People, Places, and Thinks
"People, Places, and Thinks" is a series of portraits and landscapes curated especially for the University Libraries, by Adam Grant Campbell.
Campbell grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and moved around the midwest for several years before settling in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He received his BA in Studio Art from the University of Arkansas in 2013. His focus shifts from people to landscapes to abstract imaginings. Of his art, he says, "I'm pretty sure this movement of attention is common. I make art about it."
Campbell recently completed a large mural in Fayetteville, located at 1420 S. School Ave. The landscape faces the patio of Nomad's Music Lounge at the corner of 15th and S. School Avenue. One of the pieces in this exhibit helped inspire the mural.
It seems that all great artists spend some time in their careers painting landscapes. As a subject, it engulfs us. Our instructors have told us to ask ourselves 'what is essential?', to come up with a system of shorthand, to look for the planar structure and see interlocking shapes of warm and cool colors. The landscape still overwhelms. Every scene presents a different set of problems. Landscape painting holds the keys to understanding light, abstraction, and the necessity of immediate action.
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