From television to rooftops, artist Brant Schuller attempts to bring art to life in the new exhibition in the Coburn Gallery, entitled “Marking Time.” With roughly forty different pieces, Schuller’s exhibition is not one to be missed.

Schuller is not new to Ashland, as he was an assistant art professor from 1993-1998.

Upon leaving Ashland, he accepted a position at Millersville University in Millersville, Pa.

Because of his experience at AU, Director of Coburn Gallery Cynthia Petry was already in touch with Schuller and asked him to have an exhibit this semester.

“We invited him to have an exhibition this fall so that we could see his work,” Petry said.

The title itself is self-explanatory and Petry said Schuller’s pieces will make viewers think about time and its influence.

“The title ‘Marking Time’ should imply that it deals with time, and the way that we look at time, think about time, move in time, our experiences in time,” she said.

Schuller agreed with Petry and further explained the meaning of his work.

“All of these works deal with layered information, time, and an interest in understanding the constructed environment and the visual manufacturing of it,” he said.

One part of the exhibit includes “Television Tracings,” where Schuller did just that: traced TV shows frame by frame.

He said this idea came to him because of his interest in TV, but also because he wanted more from the shows he watches.

“I like to watch television, but often feel as though I have not retained anything from the time I’ve spent as a spectator and this troubles me,” he said.

Schuller explained that these pieces are created by taping vellum, a type of thin paper, to the TV screen and then, using a graphite pencil, tracing the picture.

Petry said the Television Tracings are especially interesting because of how we originally look at television shows.

“It’s passive, to a certain extent, to sit for an hour and watch a TV show that we consider to be entertainment,” she said. “But what happens at the end of that 60 minutes? So [these pieces] really do deal with time.”

Schuller also has other pieces in the exhibit that he calls “Exterior Tracings.”

They center on the Trinity Lutheran Church and were made in a very similar way to the “Television Tracings.”

Schuller traced the steeples of the church and then transferred them to paper and hand painted them.

“These drawings focus on the Trinity Lutheran Church…capturing the environment as it moved as well as my constantly changing vantage point,” Schuller said.

According to Petry, this exhibit is different than others in the past because of the theme, and the way Schuller made his works.

“I think the aspect of time and the physical nature of the way the works are created [make this exhibit special],” she said. “[It] really gets our students to think about the issue of time and the process of making work.”

Petry also stated that visiting this exhibit and the exhibits to come will increase a student’s education and career.

“I think that this is part of the Liberal Arts education,” she said. “When you go out into the world, you should be well versed in every aspect. I think it helps your career if you are well rounded.”

Schuller’s exhibit opened Monday, August 13 and will close Thursday, September 20.

There will be a closing reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 20, with an artist talk by Schuller at 5 p.m.

The gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.