ADA – East Central University welcomes Anne Yoncha, a Fulbright scholar, as an assistant professor to its Fine Arts faculty beginning in the Fall 2020 semester. She will teach 2D Design, Color Theory, Senior Seminar & Professional Practices and Art History Survey 1.
Yoncha’s path to ECU has been a fascinating one. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Delaware in 2010 and followed that up with an MFA from the University of Montana in 2019. For the past year, Yoncha has worked as a Fulbright Student Research Fellow at the Natural Resources Institute in Oulu, Finland. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, she said she is looking forward to the next phase of her career.
“I initially applied for the job at ECU because I liked what I saw of the way students were working and thinking – combining material and concept – and because Ada is also the center of some exciting water research,” Yoncha said. “I’ve also heard really good things about cycling in Oklahoma and I’m looking forward to exploring some red dirt!”
While in Finland, Yoncha worked with restorationists to make collaborative art-science work about former peat extraction sites near Oulu.
“My work explores the often-hidden mechanics of plant physiology, such as the tension that brings water up a Ponderosa pine against the force of gravity,” she said. “I use a combination of analog and digital processes, including textiles dyed with plant matter I collect, electronics controlling changes in light and sound, analog sensors transmitting data into exhibit spaces, and traditional drawing and painting techniques. I aim to create work that transforms microscopic or invisible processes into analogues viewers can experience in a tangible and visceral way.”
Brad Jessop, chair of ECU’s Fine Arts department, said he is looking forward to Yoncha’s arrival this fall.
“In addition to being a painter who has mastered verisimilitude, she steps beyond it, adds a healthy dose of scientific research and develops images that help us more deeply understand the complexities of the world around us,” Jessop said.
-ECU-