A simple, one-syllable, four-letter word has come to define 16 seniors’ lives. That word is ‘seek.’ Today through Friday, April 13, “SEEK!,” the Mississippi State University Fine Art Thesis Exhibition, will open and display senior fine arts majors’ gallery work.
According to the event’s press release, a public reception will be held Thursday, April 12 at McComas Hall in the Department of Art Gallery downstairs at 5:30 p.m. The reception will move to the Colvard Student Union Art Gallery and will end at the Visual Arts Center.
Blake McCollum, senior fine arts major with a concentration in photography, said every fine arts major, no matter if their emphasis is painting, drawing, sculpture or ceramics, has to go through the thesis process to get a degree.
“The thesis process happens the semester before you graduate. You take classes that help you research and draw a blueprint for your project,” he said.
Brent Funderburk, College of Architecture, Art and Design professor and thesis coordinator who teaches one of the required thesis classes, said all studio Bachelor of Fine Arts programs culminate in an exhibition.
“This is their first professional show. It gives the students the opportunity to learn the exhibition process,” he said.
The senior art thesis grants students the opportunity to get a feel for the gallery atmosphere.
Paul Richey, senior fine art major with a concentration in sculpture, said the work to be shown has been completely done this semester.
“It is a culmination of the work I have been pursuing while here at MSU,” he said.
Heidi Robinson, senior fine arts major with a concentration in photography, said the process has been fulfilling overall but very difficult at the same time.
“The most stressful part is the meetings with your committee (a board hand-picked by the student of two to four people who advise the student during the entirety of the project). They are there to help you, but they have eagle eyes for flaws,” she said.
Senior art theses are very important to these students and to their graduation.”If you do not make it through the thesis, you do not graduate. This project has always been in the back of my mind since I began college,” McCollum said.
Fine arts seniors are expected to take a full course load in addition to completing their senior project.”I am taking 18 hours this semester to complete my requirements to graduate,” Richey said. “I wish I had not waited so long to take trigonometry.”
“This is a total commitment,” Funderburk said. “The students work on their projects at least 30 hours per week on top of other classes. It takes every fiber of their being.”
The students are obviously passionate about their work and have also recently competed in the Mississippi Collegiate Art Competition where MSU won more awards than any other school.
“I love photography,” Robinson said. “I use traditional and alternative photo methods such as film and liquid emulsion, so it feels good that I am keeping the darkroom tradition active.”
The senior art thesis process is long but is necessary for students’ future success.
“If I had to categorize the thesis project into three things, they would be stress, time management and one big project that takes up a semester,” McCollum said.
With the concrete necessity of doing well on the senior art thesis, students gain experience that will help propel them forward.
“These 16 senior students in Mississippi State University’s Fine Art BFA degree program have spent their undergraduate careers seeking to create the work that demonstrates the skills they’ve acquired and the journey they have and will continue to take,” said the event’s press release.
For more information, contact the MSU Department of Art or visit the “SEEK!” event page on Facebook.