Murray Gallery opens with humorous new exhibit “Otto Cricket Hits!”; artist reception Sept. 8

The James S. Murray Gallery is now open for the fall semester, featuring the work of local educator, graphic designer and artist Brytton Bjorngaard.Bjorngaard exhibit

Otto Cricket Hits!” takes a humorous look at the effect of “autocorrect” on communication. The exhibit will be open to the public on the second floor of Menard Hall through Sept.15. A reception for the artist will be held on Thursday, Sept. 8 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. The gallery’s regular hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.

As something intended to perfect and thus improve interactions with each other, autocorrect often has quite the opposite effect. Bjorngaard’s medium is photographic collage, an appropriate choice for someone who is still very active as a commercial designer and also a nod to Dada, the art movement that not only popularized collage but also dealt heavily in sardonic humor.

Bjorngaard, who teaches at the University of Illinois Springfield, has long been interested in personal interaction and subsequent experience with design. As a master of fine arts candidate at Iowa State University, she studied the effects of environmental design in healthcare.