U of M student submitted art show to open today
The 32nd Annual Juried Student Exhibition will display University of Memphis student art with the opening ceremony on Jan. 30.
The artwork will be displayed in the U of M Art Museum located in the Communication and Fine Arts building from Jan. 31 to Feb. 28, 2015.
Patty Evert, sophomore history major, is excited for the opening of the display.
“I have always been interested in art and think this is great way to show-off the different skills students have,” Evert said.
The juried student exhibition is a competition for art students who want to have their artwork displayed. The University of Memphis selects an artist, without connection to the students, to objectively judge the work of the competitors. The works that are selected from the submissions are displayed at the Art Museum.
Greenly Myatt, professor of sculptures, said he loves the idea of bringing in an outsider to judge the artwork.
“When you bring in an outside observer you know they will be objective because they don’t know anything else about the students,” Myatt said. “It is based solely on their artwork.”
The juror selected by the University is Warren Lehrer, an artist and writer from New York. Known for his work with expressionism in his writing, Lehrer visits universities and art centers often to do lectures. Most recently, he spoke at the 2013 New York Art Book Fair Contemporary Artists Book Conference, where he was the key speaker.
Lehrer selected all of the artwork that will be on display in the museum from current U of M students or recently graduated students. He also selected Kaitlyn Dunn’s display called Psyche from seven different displays, which will be feature in the Art Lab.
The overall theme of Psyche is dependency. Her photography displayed in lighted boxes, which she built. They capture struggle, insomnia, depression, and anorexia. A key part of the work is a display of her own prescriptions slips and pill bottles which she has accumulated over the past ten years.
Although Dunn has her own feelings about her work, she hopes the viewer draws their own conclusions.
“I want them to feel the way they feel,” Dunn said. “I don’t really have a certain way I want people to feel.”
There will be over 50 pieces of art, made by 41 different artists, on display. Collage, sculptures, oil paintings, ink, ceramics, photos, and video are some of the forms of art that will be featured this year.
Jason Miller, museum media specialist, worked a lot with the arrangement of the artwork in the museum.
“We tried to arrange the work close to another piece of art that has some of the same features,” Miller said.
The biggest piece of art that is on display is from Caitlin Hettich. Her sculpture, which is untitled, is made from cut up pool noodles and toy scuba divers. They will also have a video by Whitney Paige Ellens titled “Dinner for 2” playing in the media room during the opening ceremony.
The winner of the 2014 Best of Show award was Lawrence Mathews III with his oil and watercolor painting “Joy in the Midst.” The opening ceremony lasts from 5 to 7:30 p.m. with the award winners of 2015 announced at 6 pm.
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