During week eight we were encouraged to go to grad review and roam the studios of artists who worked incredibly hard on their own work. It was an exciting and i'm sure nerve-racking time for the artists to finally show their work to others, especially to faculty and other grad students. For me though, as an undergrad, it was also exciting. I was excited to see what the grad students who were once like me were/are capable of creating. I headed over to the Millrace 3 building because in that building the artwork that was displayed was work of photography and painting. I chose to view those two particular medias because I myself enjoy photography and painting the most. It was inspiring to see the work of others and there different concentrations.
We first took a look at the photography artists. I was very intrigued and impressed with Robert Beam's Work. He took black and white photos of what at first looked like almost x-rays of certain objects. It wasn't until I really studied the photographs and took a closer look that I realized he was photographing clear jars and bottles with pieces of nature inside of each container. It was lit up a specific way so that the nature was able to be captured inside the containers in a really beautiful way. I thought it was so creative because not only was it a great use of black and white photography but the series of photos looked so much like x-rays or negatives that it made me want to see more and really interested me. It also made me very curious to actually find out which piece of nature was inside the container. Underneath the photos were some descriptions of the photos and it was very cool to see where the nature came from, it was from all kinds of places and various cities and states.
Another artist that I thought was truly amazing was Nina Kaiser. She used photography as well as drawing and painting to create her collection of work that she displayed. She really stood out to me because her presentation of her work was very well put together and thought out. I walked into the room where she was standing and on one of the walls was a projection screen with a video of her naked self displayed: one shot of her just standing there and the footage almost shuttering over and over, and another shot of her lying on her back, eyes closed as gold glitter falls from above onto her face. What I love about the art world is that things that normally might be viewed as crude, inappropriate, wrong, etc are very much accepted to artists and to those who enjoy viewing art. It is a completely different world than the real world which brings me back to Nina's work. It was completely acceptable for her naked body to be shown for all to see. I have to add, I admire her courage and the level of comfort she has with herself to be able to stand fully clothed in the same room as people who are watching her on the screen fully unclothed. In addition to the video photography she showed, she also had taken a landscape photograph of a hill with bushes and such, she then created a drawing of that same photograph, and then from that drawing she created a life like object from the image that was portrayed in the photograph. It was something I would have never thought to create myself and a very creative series that was fun to look at.
We then walked upstairs where more of the work on display was the work of painters. Though there were many great artists I really loved but I especially loved Emily Crabtree's work. She is a drawer and a painter. I really loved her work because as she even says it is interactive art: it's meant to be touched by the people viewing her work. I thought her use of color in her pieces were so great. She used vibrant and vivid colors like fuscha and very pretty purples and yellows. Even the gray colors seemed to pop which I liked because in some cases grey can be seen as such a boring and bland color. She painted such beautiful pieces and a lot of them seemed to have flowers incorporated into them. The one piece I was obsessed with a piece that was painted on a huge surface. It was painted with fuscha and yellow paint and it looked like an extraordinary flower or part of nature. The reason I liked it so much though is that a piece was missing from the middle of it, which I thought was odd but then when I looked to the side of it mounted on the wall was that missing piece as almost a separate piece of art. I thought that was just so incredibly inventive and unique.
At first I was only going to the grad review because it was a flex credit option and we were encouraged to go instead of attending our usual class period. However, I am very glad I went. It was not what I expected at all and it really showed me so many different forms of art that I never would have taken the time to view prior to that. All the artists did an amazing job and although I don't know them, i'm proud of them because it was obvious how hard each and every one of them had worked and I even learned stuff for a few artists. It was a great experience and its cool to know that our school has such a great art program for all to see. I think i'll even go to next years grad review! :)
an original piece from artist Paige Ammon
(one of the artists at grad review)
A chair covered entirely with colorful stuffed animals to create a rainbow look
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