BFA Fine Arts is hosting an art show starting tonight and going through Dec. 2. All of the displayed works are the creations of nine seniors in the BFA Fine Arts program. The show is free and open to the public.
On Thursday, two receptions for the show will be held. The first reception starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall, and the second reception starts at 6:30 p.m. in Colvard Student Union Art Gallery, located on the second floor. Food and drinks will be provided.
The inspiration for the show came from an abandoned high school full of vandalism, broken desks and damaged books. Upon walking the halls of the former school, Julia Moore, an art major, asked herself the question, “Why does society waste so much?” and was inspired to create a collection of artwork that represents that question.
Through their artwork, Moore and the other BFA Fine Arts students confront the question of whether or not society should adhere to the traditions it has been taught or branch out and challenge the traditions.
Mark Moore, an art major with works exhibited in the show, said the show will have several different kinds of artwork and several large pieces.
“It’s going to be an exciting show,” Mark Moore said. “There’s a lot of large pieces, some even as long as 19 feet. So it will definitely capture people’s attention. There will also be photography, abstract art and cardboard houses. There will be something for everyone’s tastes.”
The artwork on display reflects more than Southern traditions — even American traditions. Riette Pace, an art student from Pretoria, South Africa, created panels of mixed media and paint to enhance the presence of her memories of growing up in Africa and expand the memories’ meanings.
In contrast, Mary Catherine Davis, an art student from Carrollton, created a six-paneled collage painting that relates to the farmlands and Delta towns from her childhood.
Mark Moore said the artists are doing more than breaking traditional ideas into pretty pieces of information for the masses.
Geoff Jeffreys of Madison created his own village out of pool toys, jelly beans, cardboard and other objects to challenge the concept sculptures should be made of manly materials such as wood, bronze and marble.
“All of the art students in the show are putting out significant works about their own feelings toward everything from personal dreams to social waste and alternative solution in order to evoke and provoke the viewer to consider new possibilities,” Mark Moore said.