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The UNM School of Law Staff Art Show is the first of four art shows in which staff, students, faculty, alumni and friends of the school can have their artwork displayed in the gallery of the law school forum. The Staff Art Show began Jan. 11 and will end Monday.
Sherri Burr, regents professor of law and chair of the law school’s art committee, said the idea for the show first came up after she noticed the department had a small number of donated pieces of art. The art committee is in charge of counting and cataloging the department’s donated art. Burr said she spoke to Robert Flinkman, another member of the committee, about the situation.
“We needed more art and the law school has this huge forum, and we were trying to see how to get art on the wall. Initially, a student had an idea to put a student show in the venue, but then as a committee we decided to go broader and just do a gallery in the whole forum, so that’s how we started,” Burr said. Now the work of three staff members — Flinkman, retiree Dan Noyes and Nick Humphries, the law school facilities coordinator — is displayed in the law school forum.
Flinkman first approached Humphries to ask him about having some of Humphries’ work presented in the gallery.
“(Flinkman) said, ‘Go ahead and bring a couple pieces of your work.’ I thought there was only going to be maybe one or two hung up,” Humphries said. “The more we started talking, it was like, ‘Let’s move this one here and let’s put this one here,’ and we started talking about placement, how things would work and go together.”
This is the first time Humphries’ art has ever been displayed in an art gallery, he said. Six portraits hung in the center of the gallery are colorful monotype prints, which are made by etching a smooth surface and then using it to create prints on paper.
Humphries said the art show provides an opportunity for artists like him to receive some attention.
“I think it’s just cool that the law school was cool enough to have me and put up my artwork, to actually get an opportunity to display some of my work where people can actually see it,” he said.
Flinkman has five black-and-white landscape etchings in the art show. He said he has had other work displayed in galleries in New Mexico and New York. He said the Staff Art Show helps showcase the lesser-known talents of those at the law school.
“It’s important to show the variety of interests. There is far more talent there than people realize within the staff and the students, as well,” Flinkman said. “Besides academic achievements, there’s also other achievements made in a creative field, visually too. Law covers not only business and finance, but art, as well.”
Burr teaches a law art course at the University, co-wrote the book “Art Law: Cases and Materials” and hosts “Arts Talk,” a talk show in which Burr interviews contemporary artists. Burr said students have reacted positively to the art show.
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“Students have talked about how it’s transformed the environment and how it felt so good to be at the law school when you’re in this art environment,” she said. “It’s been interesting to see the responses, that people are very intrigued by the idea of having your employees furnish the art that’s on the walls.”
The UNM School of Law Staff Art Show
in the Not for Profit Art Gallery in the law school’s main foyer
1117 Stanford Dr. N.E.
Open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
