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Art students shine at thesis show
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Collective creativity is a powerful force. Intertwined within a cooperative belief, is a veritable fusion of the minds, which has historically exemplified ultimate human inspiration.
In the ’50s, New York City artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns formed cooperatives, essentially strengthening the individual parts of their creative sum.
Friday night, in Gallery 2 of the Hemingway Western Studies Center, the aesthetic fruition of senior art students blossomed and exploded into a flourish of collective thought.
“Untitled 13,” the current Bachelor of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, fuses the lofty imaginations of 12 senior artists, who are showcasing their work in Galleries 1 and 2 through Dec. 10.
Friday night’s premiere exemplified Boise State’s motto, “real education for real world,” because the reception gave the young artists an actual glimpse into the world of art gallery openings, minus the harsh critics.
Upon entering Gallery 2, predominantly noticeable is an “untitled” installation piece by Molly Schmaljohn. A black-steel fashion model runway cuts through the center of the gallery, distinctly creating two spheres of creativity.
Atop the runway, are 28 aluminum-cast lower legs, crammed into spiky high heels, suggesting modern day foot binding. The legs are constructed by using a two-part plaster mold, actually cast from the artists’ legs.
Her statement is that women in our culture are artificially represented and objectified, which leads to the deconstruction of personal identity, and that women often self-destruct trying to achieve this unrealistic perfection. The composition of Schmaljohn’s work is bold and industrial in nature.
The two walls on either side of the runway showcase the C-print photography of Mercedes Cardoza. Her exhibit is titled, “IF I AM WHAT I AM NOT BUT I AM WHAT I AM WELL THEN… WHAT AM I?” And features twenty color photographs of twenty naked subjects, each one holding a dry-erase board, which acts as a “surrogate for self-expression.” Each subject was asked by the artist to write a few words on the board from her open-ended questions, “I AM A/AN, I AM, I AM NOT.”
Some of the written statements exclaimed such words as “old,” “hopeless,” “excited” and “afraid,” showing the vulnerability and darkest thoughts of her subjects. Cardoza effectively captures silly expressions and verbiage as well.
“The project began as an attempt to discover how we label ourselves in the absence of our most obvious and persistent means of self-expression: clothing,” a snippet from her artist statement said.
Her intrepid work is innovative because it examines people’s insecurities in their purest form: nakedness.
Artist Jason Large unveiled two new creations for the exhibit.
A mixed media piece called “Reality Obscured,” composed of oil on canvas and found objects, examines the concepts of newfound patriotism and the sad reality of war.
Large renders the anguish of a small child, inspired by a real Associated Press photo of an Afghan child in distress, and frames him inside of a discarded sliding-screen window. Then with broad strokes of white paint, he creates the imperfect “Stars and Stripes” of our nations flag.
On the opposing side of Gallery 2, Christi Nogle displays four of her new paintings, which are reminiscent of nostalgic dolls and figurines. Upon closer inspection, and after reading her artists’ statement, the paintings are shed in an entirely different light.
Her brightly-colored oil on canvas works suggests the suppression of the human spirit due to religious zealously. Her paintings tell the story of a creative liberation, but also warn us of the dark side of traditional folklore.
In flamboyant fashion, artist Skyler Pierce crashed his own party and brought a dysfunctional marching band with him. His procession delineated images of surrealism and an intentional bastardization of pop culture.
With his entourage adorned with giant animated plastered- heads, and wacky tubas blurting out deep sounds, Pierce, wearing a cow’s head, led the psychotropic parade into a circus tent. The big top represents a commercialized art factory, spewing out consumerism on conveyer belts in a wasteful manner.
Coming soon: The senior artists from Gallery 1 in the Liberal Arts Building.
J. Patrick Kelly
