On Saturday, Oct. 19, the School of Fine Arts and Communication hosted “Fool’s Errand: Reflections on the Art and Teaching Career of Daniel Callis”. Along with the Center for Christianity, Culture, and the Arts, they came together to celebrate the work Callis has done for Biola and students as he begins his retirement.
Professor Daniel Callis III began his journey at Biola in 1987. During his time here, he taught in the Art Department where he was tenured in 1994. His work had an abstract lens, leaning on the poetic language to allow for open interpretation of his work. He continued in this style of art as he worked his way into learning about the psychological connection between an artist and their work.
The Fool’s Errand symposium served to honor not only the career and art of Callis, but was also a reflection of his impact on students, faculty and friends. Speakers at the event included Biola faculty (Department Chair of Art Jonathan Puls, Associate Dean of Art Zehavi Husser, Associate Professor of English Chris Davidson), graduate students Ella Buell and Dan’s son Ryan.
During the event, Husser held a panel discussion with Jonathan A. Anderson, Christina Valentine and Duncan Simcoe, friends of Callis, as they reflected not only the impacts Callis made in their life but also the kinds of work he created.
“A painting is something you have to fundamentally discover,” said Simcoe. “Try making a piece like this [referring to Callis’ work]. If you get close, you are really good.”
Callis has two ongoing exhibits in the Bardwell Project Space and the Green Art Gallery called “Fool’s Errand: Wonder” and “Fool’s Errand: Still” that will be on display until Thanksgiving week. The panelists reflected on the openness of his art, considering it to be inherently a reflection of Callis’ character, and how he shares this openness with his faith and his life. Both Anderson and Simcoe praised Callis’ work through his attribution of reworking the modernist grid and revisal of modern art.
“What you see in these two galleries are really finished pieces,” said Valentine. “There were moments where the color and patterns were chaotic, playing with the grid. But they are not a grid anymore, the stitches are not stitches anymore. They are lines.”
In an interview with Callis, he explains the meaning behind these two shows.
“I did this very intentionally…setting up the two galleries so that they would be in conversation with one another,” he said. “For Fool’s Errand: Still, I was thinking about creating a space that is quieter, more subdued. With ‘Fool’s Errand: Wonder’, I intentionally hung the show in such a way that the room itself can barely contain the work.”
During the gallery reception, everyone was welcomed to view the artworks in both areas as Callis walked attendees through them.
“My invitation for ‘Fool’s Errand: Still’ is to be quiet, to be still, to hear your internal voice to model what it is to be a loving person,” Callis said. “There is so much shouting going on in the public square, so quit talking and listen. In ‘Fool’s Errand: Wonder’, I also invite you to look at the world with curiosity and to be overwhelmed by it. I want people to be delighted, to wonder, to be curious.”
