The fall 2001 bachelor of fine arts class of Mississippi State University will present “6: An Exhibition,” from now until Dec. 6 in McComas Hall from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The exhibition is a thesis presentation which will display the art of several MSU art students.
Amberly Dean, Beth Haggard, Paul Hobson, Matt Holcomb, Mitchell Alan Wright and Pete Yokel, all MSU seniors, will have their respective forms of art on display for public viewing in the McComas Hall art gallery.
The work is the end product of much preparation on part of the students. The well-staged production results from a semester-long dedication to their respective crafts and is a bachelor of fine arts requirement.
Each bachelor of fine arts graduate candidate must take a thesis class, and the thesis exhibition is the final step to receiving their degree.
Alex S. Wills, gallery director of “6,” explained the purpose and importance of the exhibition in preparing the students for life as an artist after college.
“Completing their thesis is a long, arduous and taxing process,” Wills said. “It is really difficult for them, but the process pushes them to find what they believe about art. A major goal of the program is to ensure that each student obtains a professional level of work before we allow them to venture out into the art world.”
The exhibition includes various forms of art, including sculpture, photography and painting, and each student is required not only to perform their chosen craft, but to also provide the viewer with a mission statement of their art.
Mitchell Alan Wright, who chose the form of photography as his thesis, began his statement with the quote, “I am at war with the obvious,” and his presentation reflects this in his unusual portrayal of everyday objects, such as empty fast food containers and shopping carts.
Holcomb and Yokel, chose sculpture as their art. Both students sculpted from Colorado alabaster, and the end result is particularly impressive, according to Wills.
Wills explained that the time put into each sculpture is almost as impressive as the pieces themselves.
“Amazingly, each sculpture requires about a hundred hours of work to complete,” Wills said. “This is no small task, and when you’re dealing with the completion of four or five statues, well, you can do the math to understand how much time and effort something like this requires.”Dean displays five paintings, all done on stretched canvas, and Haggard provides a very unique composition of zencaustic on wood.
Haggard includes in her mission statement that her art is “inspired by psychological experiences” that have led her from one place to the next.
“We were extremely pleased with the final product,” Wills said. “The viewer does not need any previous experience in studying or viewing art to enjoy a show such as this.”