Blog Post #1 – Jeane Panka’s Vision

On Monday, February 25th, The University Center at UW-Whitewater held a showcase for Jeane Cole Panka and her theme of vision and perception. Jeane Panka’s theme of vision attracts the many students at the UW-Whitewater campus to come see her work.

A lot of the themes coming from this showcase come from Panka’s early life. She had figured out early on in her life that she was going to lose her sight, you can see this style throughout her many pieces of work presented.

Panka’s goal of her artworks of seeing, understanding, and interpreting the world through digital photogenic collages and paintings captured many peoples interest.

Panka’s showcase included over 25 different pieces of art works, each one different in its own way. Jeane Panka is excited about her showcase and gives a background on where her inspiration comes from.

“Each one of the images is a different expression of the things I have thought about or seen around me or read the news or even see on television,” says Panka.

Jeanne knew she wanted to be an artist around the age of four. She took eight years of classes Waukesha County Technical College’s digital photography courses. In addition, she went to art school at UW-Milwaukee. Her inspiration for her art comes from all around her.

Some of the pieces presented by Panka were inspired by real life news reports about shootings. A dead man was a reoccurring theme in some of these paintings, where he was seen lying dead in multiple different paintings. Her idea around this, was the overlying theme of peace and spirit.

Jered Baxter, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater majoring in Arts and Communication, attended the showcase and was amused by Panka’s pieces of artwork.

“I loved all of the art pieces, especially the ones with the cats… it was cool to see the illusion of the cat looking outside but really it was looking at itself,” says Baxter.

Jeane Panka’s next artwork showcase will be held at the Red Line Gallery in Milwaukee, along with the Wisconsin Visual Artist Group. Panka’s next appearance at Roberta’s Art Gallery will be in May with the pastel Artist group.

Links:

https://www.uww.edu/uc/things-to-do/robertas-art-gallery

https://www.uww.edu/uc/things-to-do/robertas-art-gallery/exhibits