Floating Orbs Meet Music Boxes: Students Unleash Creative Powers at Art Show
Christine Clark | June 2, 2008
Giant elephants, floating orbs and oversized portraits were among the eclectic pieces of art on display at the 2008 Visual Arts Senior Art Show Friday and Saturday at Mandeville Center. The exhibit, "Transparency," was organized by six students and featured the works of graduating Visual Arts majors.
"The Sermon" by Jesse Chapo
Members of the Visual Arts Senior Art Show committee worked throughout spring quarter to organize the event, which featured more than 50 works of art from about 25 students. Students, staff and faculty mingled, listened to outlandish music and viewed various artworks at the reception Friday. The exhibit took place in five converted classrooms on the second floor of Mandeville Center. Laura Kwak, a Visual Arts Senior Art Show committee member, said the show was an opportunity for attendees to gain exposure to a range of different styles and mediums.
"I think it’s great people came to this event because it gives us the opportunity to show our work to our peers and faculty," Kwak said. "It’s also our last chance as seniors to have to get together for art’s sake."
Members of the Visual Arts Senior Art Show committee dedicated a lot of time to organizing “Transparency.” They painted the walls of the classroom spaces several weeks in advance and worked all night Thursday setting up the exhibit, committee member Regan Russell said. "It was a long night," he said. "But we wanted to include as many artists as possible. The more the merrier."
"Mara de Luca" by Kim Nakashima
The students also made fliers, invitations, buttons and catalogs to promote the show. Some members of the committee sought out donations and encouraged their peers to submit their pieces to the show. The work was well worth the reward, according to student and committee member Kim Nakashima. "It is great to watch students put their art out for everyone to see," she said. "It is very inspiring to see what students in other classrooms are doing."
Nakashima had two oversized portraits of Visual Arts professors Jean Lowe and Mara De Luca in the show. "I wanted to show a different side of people who are in positions of power," Nakashima said. "I liked that each professor is making humorous faces in the paintings."
Others, like art show committee member Russell, strived for sarcastic tone. He featured a series of tongue-and-cheek mock color book drawings for adults that gathered a lot of attention at the exhibit. He also presented a portrait of himself as the Dustin Hoffman character from "The Graduate."
Mixed-media artist Justin Pixler contributed an elaborate interactive installation to the exhibit. His piece, "The Fort," was made up of white sheets and balloons that were designed to resemble floating orbs. Students were encouraged to enter and exit “The Fort” as the piece was created to get people to interact with each other.
In the same room, students stopped to play committee member Cherri Go’s "Visual Music Box,” an eye-catching piece featuring a movable music sheet with silhouettes and drawings on it.
“It is very imaginable and delicate," Jackie Hall, a 2007 UCSD graduate, said of the music box. "The show overall this year is really quite beautiful."
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