Prichard Gallery Celebrates 25 Years as Downtown’s Draw By Paula M. Davenport
A whimsical Yeti in a shaggy, paper Ghillie suit. A lifesize, melancholy marionette. And a proud Roman gladiator. Who better to kick off this year’s Silver Jubilee of the University of Idaho’s Prichard Art Gallery? Cut from giant rolls of white paper, the elaborate costumes were made and modeled by students in the College of Art and Architecture. The creations’ details paid homage – at a fall block party – to the hulking, paper floats central to Moscow Mardi Gras celebrations of yesteryear. “When the Prichard first moved downtown a quartercentury ago, the Mardi Gras parades were a huge success and raised lots of money for the gallery’s operations,” explains Roger Rowley, gallery director. The gallery, operated by the College of Art and Architecture, opened in the old – and long-gone — College of Mines Building on campus sometime in the early to mid–1970s.
A trio of young artists created the melancholy marionette they called “The Condition of Man.” Brittany Wahl, a sophomore in art education; Rachel Everett, an exchange student; and Darryl Kastle created the piece.