SASHA PINCUS
Special to The Leader
For many, the end of the semester looms ever nearer, and finals present themselves as sleeping dragons (just now starting to stretch and snort awake). For others, those beasts were awakened weeks ago.
Senior BFA students in the Visual Arts and New Media program are required to present their work at the end of the semester. Though it’s a lovely event held in good spirits, the effort it takes to get there is not to be underappreciated. Months of tireless planning, late nights, early mornings, designs and redesigns have filled the lives of this first wave of seniors — so it’s no wonder that, when the time came, the results were breathtaking.
Upon arrival to Unconventional, the first installment of the senior art expo, the warm lighting and gentle buzz of chattering wanderers ushered visitors into the gallery. Immediately they were greeted by Alex Rohr’s poster redesigns. From classics like “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” to this year’s Oscar-winner “Birdman,” his style was crisp and engaging.
Situated unassumingly to the left of these posters — quiet and watchful, much like the artist himself — were Ian Dodd’s mystifying tarot cards.
Whether you’re planning on charging your rocks at the next full moon, or just had a friend who went to Lilydale once, you’ve probably heard that Fredonia has cultivated a pretty sizable spiritual community. With this in mind, you can perhaps forgive the author’s particular enthusiasm for Dodd’s work. Though spiritual in nature, the design was fresh and distinct — communicative of each card’s individual message while never straying far from the pack as a whole.
All that was just by the front desk, though. When visitors continued on, there was everything from Zach Zika’s gorgeous digital paintings of fruit turned monstrous to Sarah Rocco’s absolutely perfect reading corner.
Shawn Grimm took over the center of the room with her “Do It If You Want To” project, which, in addition to the appropriately “chill” design, was especially popular due to the guitar it invited viewers to play at will.
Peeking through Shawn’s work were Kelli Christine Porter’s poster designs. Created as original works to throw into light the messages put out by the media, her voice was loud and clear: think for yourself, and don’t believe everything you see.
Another popular piece was Chris Steckline’s coffin, which he described as “represent[ing] our experiences at college [and] all of our friends.”
“It’s kind of a way to contain the memory of college,” Steckline said. Aside from the shocking visual of a coffin (and what it was made to represent), senior gallery attendees were invited to step up and hammer a nail into the lid, symbolizing the end of their time here at school. The piece was conceptual and especially relevant, and went over extremely well with the students in attendance.
In the interest of brevity, it seems time to bring this review to a close. It should be noted however, that the exhibit in the Marion Art Gallery will remain open before the next round of seniors are ushered in. If you’ve got the time, swing by for a moment and take a look at what’s been created. Whether it was mentioned in this article or not, each student’s work is remarkable, and is definitely worth your time.