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Art majors don’t just study interesting topics for their honors theses; they create them. Studio art students will exhibit their work April 29-May 20 at the Richard A. and Rissa W. Grossman Gallery at the Williams Visual Arts Building.
In Divided Uniformity, students draw from their identity, interests, and aspirations to create works representing their talents.
“By completing an honors thesis project I am better prepared and better equipped for the challenges and opportunities of the fashion industry,” says Sara Beth Talias ’07(Wyckoff, N.J.). “The support and respect that I have received from Professor [Edward] Kerns, Professor [Lewis] Minter, Professor [James] Toia, Professor [Diane] Ahl, and Professor [Emil] Lukas have been nothing less than extraordinary.”
A public reception for the students will be held 4:30-6 p.m. May 4 at the Grossman Gallery.
The studio art show includes works from seniors Josh Hall (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.), also majoring in economics and business; Rosina Bosco(Millburn, N.J.); Megan G. Conway (North Caldwell, N.J.), also majoring in music; Jesse Tron (Pelham, N.Y.), also an English major; Caitlin Chandler (Durham, N.H); and junior Talias.
The schedule of presentations for May 1 will be Talias at 4 p.m., Conway at 4:30 p.m., and Chandler at 5 p.m. For May 2, the presentations will be Bosco at 4 p.m., Hall at 4:30 p.m., and Tron at 5 p.m.
Students gave the following statements about their projects:
Josh Hall
“There is a fine line between erotic art and pornography. Throughout history the depictions and exploitation of the female figure in art have changed, reflecting the standards of the time, however, arguably the vestigial quintessence is the female figure representing beauty. My work uses both digital media as well as airbrushed original works to convey that both pornographic materials can be turned into art, as well as erotic art turned into pornography. I want the viewer to have a unique and personal experience and reaction when viewing the work. The remaining theme throughout all the work is the beauty represented by the female figure, and the allure and eroticism portrayed by that figure.”
Sara Beth Talias
“The art of fashion allows one the means to be who one wants to be. By subverting one’s own natural appearance one creates one’s own reality. Appearance dictates emotions, from within one’s self and as reactions from others. The appearance I dictate is one of a woman who is powerful. She is mysterious while still maintaining her elegance and confidence. Her provocative sexuality is both sophisticated and intimidating. I have created multiples of this woman using my skills as a makeup artist and as a stylist. Through the camera’s lens I have captured this woman in the way I want her to be seen. Fashion is a force, fashion is a tool and fashion is an art form. The essence of fashion is the ability to articulate a constructed reality that is both desirable and manipulative. To do this, one must employ the traditional components of art, being color, line, composition, proportion and balance, in a nontraditional way.”
Rosina Bosco
“Graphic design has been an integral part of our society for decades, constantly developing and changing but infused in our daily experiences. The core elements of design, line, shape, and text are applied to the world around us in advertising and promotional design. In turn, these tools often are incorporated into art today. However, it seems that the very nature of contemporary art is to go against tradition. As a response, I am taking these core components of the graphic design language and misusing them to create a hybrid form of visual communication. We are in a time where conceptuality is catching up with technology. The art form that I am experimenting with is no longer pure, nor is it new. By using the process of traditional media, I am creating a synthesis of visual communication and animation. My research, education, and thesis, culminates in a short animated piece set to music. The contents of this piece evoke typical formal aspects of art: rhythm, color, and emotion, through design. I have incorporated many different design disciplines into my thesis, including abstract graphics, typography, line drawings, and photography. The resulting work is vague and dreamlike, left open to interpretation by the viewer. Its intention is to use the language and tools of graphic design and new media to draw the viewer in and engage them in a purely aesthetic experience.”
Megan Conway
“I’ve been obsessed with sculpture and the expression of the female form since I was very young. As an artist my experience includes classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art, work as an EXCEL scholar at Lafayette, and work as a [teaching assistant] of sculpture. I find the female form to be the embodiment of the simultaneously delicate and robust beauty of nature. I’m hoping to achieve individual incarnations of the previous description within each of the works that make up my thesis. I am attempting this from a different angle than the classic painting of a nude figure. Without changing the physical form of a nude female, I want to abstract its presentation through lighting and materials, angles and process.”
Jesse Tron
“I am working on creating a hypertexture space through painting. In other words, I am constructing works that create a highly textured, complex, and aesthetic three dimensional space on a two dimensional plane. This is done solely through the intense layering of different forms of media including paint, digital, and sometimes text. The thin veils of dripped pigment help create the hypertexture space by becoming reference points for depth in the works. The subject matter is mostly concerned with the dichotomy that takes place between life on the “hill” and life in Easton. It also discusses whether or not Easton is indeed a legitimate area for a cultural awakening to occur. The use of pop imagery in the work is designed to help keep the very serious subject matter from dominating the work. The idea is to keep the viewer aware of both subject matter and process.”
Caitlin Chandler
“My artwork depicts the evolution of my artistic career, and is a mixed media culmination of my studies in painting, jewelry, and engineering. Each individual painting is a process that requires extensive layering of paint, and often times cutting of canvas and reworking of shapes. I combine bold acrylic paint with watercolors and whimsical pours of high gloss medium to create fluidity and depth. My background in jewelry has a significant influence on my style of painting, thus each work becomes more of a sculptural piece with the addition of metal and beads suspended over the paint. I want to create a revolutionary revival of abstract shapes, opening up the forms to create a playful lyricism and romanticism.”
Directed by internationally known abstract painter Ed Kerns, Eugene H. Clapp II ’36 Professor of Art, the 23,500-square-foot Williams Visual Arts Building is one of the leading high-tech facilities for art education and exhibitions in the nation. It includes sculpture and painting studios, a community-based teaching studio, the Grossman Gallery, a flexible studio area with movable walls for honors and independent study students, a seminar room, a conference room, and faculty studios and offices. Honors students, faculty, and visiting professional artists work together with area high school and adult art students through the Community-Based Teaching Program led by sculptor Jim Toia, director of the Grossman Gallery.
The building was recognized for excellence in design quality with the Silver Medal from the Pennsylvania chapter of The American Institute of Architects, the highest award given by the organization. It was chosen from a pool of applications by 100 practicing architects in Pennsylvania. It also received the Adaptive Reuse Award from the Easton Heritage Alliance.
Gallery hours are 10 a.m- 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, contact the Grossman Gallery at (610) 330-5831.