Graduate students in The U of M Art Department are tryingsomething different by creating a piece of work atypical of theirnormal style.
A group of 18 students who enrolled in a weekly art seminarcourse is hosting an art exhibition and reception titled, "Where'sYour Pink and Green Modernism Now, Fool?" Thursday, May 1 from 6p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Stephen Crump Studio at 1688 Lamar.
The name of the exhibition was chosen by the process ofelimination during one of the seminars, said Jed Jackson, thissemester's course instructor and Chair of the Art Department.
"The students just blurted out ideas, and I wrote them all onthe board, and then they voted to eliminate them," said Jackson,who has been teaching the seminar at The U of M and otheruniversities for more than 20 years. "The name sort of means thatthey are attempting to do something with their art that is beyondmodernism."
The opening will include food, beverages and music.
"The students are trying to find a DJ to play at the reception,a former art student, actually," Jackson said.
Graduate students working for their Master of Fine Arts,interior design and graphic design degrees are required to take thecourse each semester for one hour of credit, resulting in aboutnine credit hours by the time they graduate.
Jackson said the class normally begins in a more structuredmanner, but as the semester progresses, the students take over theclass more and prepare a presentation about an artist in whom theyare interested by using slides, movies or other techniques. Theyare also responsible for planning the art exhibition, making theart pieces, reserving the space, preparing announcements andhosting the show.
"Often the students bring in their work and have it critiqued inclass, but the show helps them reach out to the entire Memphis artcommunity instead of just sitting around and talking about art,"Jackson said.
Jackson said the show has been exhibited in studios all overMemphis as well as on The U of M campus, but this is the first yearthe show will be at Stephen Crump Studio.
"Having the show off campus will help bring in a bigger varietyof people, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more than 100 peopleshow up," Jackson said.
Those curious about featured art work will have to wait for theopening, Jackson said.
"It's usually a surprise for me," he said. "They know I likethem to take risks and experiment, but I don't know what the pieceslook like until the show. They try to do something different fromwhat they usually do."
The event is open to the public and all students areinvited.
