The legacy of Kartz Ucci lives on, even though she passed from this life on Oct. 6, 2013 at 52 years old. Clackamas Community College is keeping her legacy alive with a show of her work called “256 Shades of Grey” in the Niemeyer Gallery.

Ucci was an instructor for digital arts at the University of Oregon and has many followers of her work.

Kate Simmons, a CCC art instructor, said, “Today, a lot of work is being made digitally, and this is interesting because past methods of art-making have often left an artifact behind, such as a painting, sculpture or photograph.”

In Ucci’s case, her work is on hard drives. As she has passed away, an understanding of her work is required to properly display it, with care taken to the preserve the way she would have exhibited it originally.

Karen Johnson, public information officer at the University of Oregon, said about “256 Shades of Grey,” “The piece involves a video projection of gray scale, shifting horizontal bars that Ucci created using highly personal algorithms. The projection will disappear into the desert with the artist’s intention being an epitaph: a combination of human survival through the music, with human loss portrayed as the light is absorbed into the night. The piece is accompanied with a sing-along of Jerry Garcia’s and
Robert Hunter’s Grateful Dead piece ‘Touch of Grey’.”

Marylhurst University also has an Ucci installation in their gallery. A Marylhurst press release said, “The Art Gym will present the retrospective exhibition Kartz Ucci–an opera for one from Nov. 9, 2015 to Dec. 11, 2015. This exhibition will celebrate her digital, text, sound, and installation art.” The “265 Shades” exhibit in the CCC gallery was installed in conjunction with the Marylhurst exhibit.

Admission is free of charge. This art show is open to the public and any interested parties are encouraged to attend.

Kartz Ucci

photo contributed by University of Oregon