Student works displayed at senior art show

By Erin Semple
Staff Writer

This month, the Art Department presents several senior art shows in Blackbridge Hall.
The first one, “Life Dragon” and “Tattered Opulence,” runs April 1 through April 5, and it features the artwork of Leslie Ellington and Amy Kelly.
“The artwork in this show is mainly sculpture from pillows and surrounding mirrors. The show deals with the issues that a lot of children around the world are faced with, abuse and so forth. The idea for these pieces came from an assignment I did in my 3D Art class. I created a fetish object using a pillow, and I was inspired by that piece. And the idea for the theme sprouted from my concern for the little black children that were taken from their homes in Atlanta during the summer of 2001 because their parents were allegedly abusing them,” said Kelly.
Working on this project gave Kelly a clearer understanding of how she feels about these issues as well as a clearer understanding of these issues.
Kelly uses her art to understand these issues and let the children know how she feels about them.
“I would like the viewer to develop a social consciousness about the issues surrounding children that they know and presumably love and to also take a proactive role in society when it comes to protecting these kids. Pushing responsibility off on government or non-profit organizations does result in poor handling of many cases that go through the ‘system,’” said Kelly.
Kelly hopes that her artwork will cause the viewers to realize the impact of these issues.
“I would like the viewer to be left with the impression that these issues are surrounding us and that they have the ability to get involved in the community in order to save the generations that will follow,” said Kelly.
Kirsten Hill and Melody Smith’s show opened Monday, April 9 and runs through Friday, April 13. Their show features purses and is called “Nature’s Own Purse-ception.”
“Purses, I love them; they can be a little decorative piece of art that you can wear,” said Hill. “Each show is really turning out to be a reflection of the person doing it. I could tell you who each one is even if I didn’t know who was doing which show.”
Hill learned from displaying her works. She wants the viewer to enjoy her pieces and to see what color brings to art.
“I really learned a lot about organization of ideas and visual language,” said Hill.
Hill plans on attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City next fall.
“I will be studying Accessory Design,” said Hill.
Vicki Sweat and Shannon Wallace’s show runs from Monday, April 14 through Friday, April 19. Wallace’s show is called “Nature of the Female Presence.” Sweat’s presentation is called “The Awakening.”
Micah Goguen and Cory Ring’s show runs from Monday, April 21 through Friday, April 26. It will feature oil paintings, and it is called “Identifying our fears and personal struggles.”
“I hope that the people can look at the self studies and pull their own personal feelings and struggles from the images,” said Goguen. “I had just begun my first painting class when it came time to choose a medium for this exhibition, and I really enjoyed the painting process.”
Goguen learned and improved through this exhibition.
“The exhibition shows a transition and improvement through the medium of painting, but also with myself. It has been both the best and the worst thing I’ve ever done. Anyone who thinks art students have it easy ought to see all the hard work we’ve all done.”
The last exhibition features the works of Kelli Shadwell and Fielding Whipple. It will run from Monday, April 29 through Friday, May 3.
Blackbridge Hall is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact the Art Department at 445-4572.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 12 2002. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry