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4/16/2009

'You Are Here'
Student art exhibition offers something for everyone

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

An open-studio and art exhibition at Rice University April 22 will showcase installation and video art as well as traditional painting, drawing, printmaking and photography created by senior visual and dramatic arts students. The exhibition, "You Are Here," is the culmination of their artistic careers at Rice.

The event kicks off at 6 p.m. with a film screening and reception for undergraduate works at the Rice Media Center, then continues in Sewall Hall for the 8 p.m. open-studio reception for senior works and a 10 p.m. after-party with music and dancing in the sculpture courtyard behind Sewall. 

	COURTESY PHOTO

"The open-studio format of the exhibition means that the visiting public will get the rare opportunity to walk through our artists' workspace -- not only will they get to see some good art, but they'll see where it was made," said Chris Sperandio, assistant professor of visual and dramatic arts and head of the Studio Department.

Another first for the senior exhibition: Rice is producing a catalog of the artworks, and 5,000 copies will be distributed as an insert in the April 17 issue of the Rice Thresher, the student newspaper, and during the open studio. This oversized, full-color tabloid will feature reproductions and statements by the artists.

"I think people will be surprised by the level of complexity of the work by artists at Rice," Sperandio said. "Our students often double major and bring their research in, say, the sciences, into their arts practice. All of this activity -- the billboards, the studio show, the production of a catalog of student works -- is an effort to reboot visual arts at Rice. Through these efforts we are encouraging students to use their studio time to research ways to integrate their studies."

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Pitman exhibition goes beyond traditional artistic methods For Marie McKinnon, a Will Rice College senior, that meant finding balance between her passions. The visual and dramatic arts major plans to attend medical school in 2010.

"I always appreciate coming from a lab or a lecture into my studio," she said. "It provides a whole different space and way of thinking, yet one that tends to complement my other courses in some way or another."

She will be exhibiting two bodies of work: a series of four paintings and an installation piece. The paintings focus on a specific place and seek to portray the total visual experience there, avoiding the common edits of vision. The blurry periphery is contrasted with the sharp clarity of the eye's focal point.

"I hope that these paintings offer the viewer a moment to consider how expansive our vision is, yet how many aspects drop out of our consideration," McKinnon said.

Her installation piece is about a different kind of vision: hindsight. To instill a feeling of memory, she created a bedroom-like space with its only elements wrapped in fishing line.

"The objects themselves are no longer recognizable; only hints of color and texture remain," she said. "This is meant to create a dynamic between an intimate space and one that is eerily unavailable."

Will Rice College art major Emily Henderson will be displaying the cancer quilt that she debuted in the recent Pitman Exhibition. Her piece is a large sculptural installation made out of fabrics and medical supplies that explores her own history of congenital cancer, cancer treatment and reconstructive surgery.

"The senior show gives me a chance to exhibit my work in a new way -- essentially to find out how the piece functions in a new format and space, how it changes the viewer's response, and different ways I can expand upon it in the future," Henderson said.

She will also be showing small stitched-collage drawings that explore the emotional and psychological tension that stems from cancer and surgery, as well as a sculpture that explores the mystery and tension inherent in medicine.

"Working toward the show over the course of the semester has not only pushed the production of my art work, but has also offered insight into the behind-the-scenes or administrative work that is put into the creation of an exhibition," Henderson said, adding that she has a deeper appreciation for "the lengths the professors and staff go to have our work exhibited."

Both Henderson and McKinnon said their experiences working on the exhibition have poised them to better professionals.

"Preparing for this exhibition has been an intensely challenging experience," McKinnon said. "I see it as a transition between the undergraduate art experience and higher education in the arts or a career. While it has been at times a dauntingly independent task similar to what I imagine professional artists go through, we have also had the important support system of the professors and staff."

That support system proved especially valuable to Henderson, especially for the feedback professors, staff and students offered.

"We all had the opportunity to show our work to other students and professional artists in order to get fresh perspectives and hear whether or not our art was working the way we wanted it to," Henderson said. "Constructive criticism and people taking time to really look and talk about work is difficult to come by out in the real world."