Historically, the culmination of art and design seniors’ artistic progression depicted through their final projects have been displayed off campus. But for the first time, students and faculty can waltz into the University Art Gallery to experience the artists’ take on pertinent issues relevant to college students.
University Art Gallery coordinator Jeff Van Kleeck said the gallery was moved to campus due to budgetary issues, which proved to be a benefit in disguise. Students exhibited more of their work and was up longer than it was typically featured downtown.
“Most students are going to be dealing with issues that most students think about,” Van Kleeck added. “The ideas may not resonate with people downtown, you may get more people walking through, but a lot of the subject matter is on students’ mind. “Art is sort of the sounding board of what’s going on.”
One of the artists, Damon Bailey, focused on people’s fascination with violence and cultural interpretations of masculine stereotypes through oil paintings of fighters. Bailey said he attempts to draw from his personal experiences to explore man’s animalistic nature.
“For one reason or another it seems to be more accessible with the popularity of UFC, especially in this town with Chuck Liddell,” he added. “It has an equal sort of distaste because everybody wants to dismiss it as a primal act. What is this kind of escapism that they chose to embrace so much?”
Bailey’s colorful pictures of fight scenes featured overlaid geometric shapes to emphasize artistic symmetry. One painting had a rainbow of rays emitting from where the fighter’s fist struck his opponent’s face.
“I try to paint them with a kind of craft that makes them intellectual depictions of study rather than this guy’s face just beat in,” Bailey said. “What we are looking at is the analytic structure of the golden ratio; the whole idea of balance within chaos.”
The gallery also features studio artists Kyle Wilhelm, Ashley Wertheimer, Lauren O’Donnel and Alexa Putnam.
Wilhelm’s work characterizes the political implications of unions; a piece titled “Life Supports Lenin,” depicts a statue being constructed that is surrounded by scaffolding and lit by spotlights.
One of Putnam’s pieces, “The Wedding Dress,” is a decorated mattress adorned with lace and fabric floral arrangements. Wertheimer’s work depicts colorful scenic displays, one of which called “Taming the Gods” portrays organized scenery on the border that becomes nearly indistinguishable as the painting progesses towards the center. O’Donnel’s rather simple oil paintings emphasize the human body.
Yet, Van Kleeck is frustrated when he sees people wander into the gallery and leave quickly because it is impossible to truly assess the art in that short of time.
“People don’t spend the time to try and figure it out,” he said. “With art people need to spend more time struggling with it. ‘What is this about, why do I like it or dislike it?’ You should take it for what it is or what you are getting out of it; you don’t have to have same message (the artists) have.”
The difficulty for artists is learning how to market their work, Bailey said.
“The next step is for them to find a gallery that can sell their style of work,” Van Kleeck said.
The gallery will be open until May 30 and a closing reception will be held on May 29.