Last Thursday night marked the opening of two free art exhibits at Mississippi State University.
The art featured in each exhibit was produced by nine graduating students majoring in the fine arts.
Both exhibits will be open from April 13 to May 8, with one exhibit located in the Colvard Student Union’s second-floor art gallery and the other in the McComas Hall Art Gallery.
The artists include Bachelor of Fine Arts seniors exhibition chairs, Shaquita N. Woodson and Cecilia A. Lemus, documentary chairs Ethan C. Ritchie and MiKayla M. Evans, didactics chair Taylor B. McGhee, reception chair HuShawn D. Rambo, public relations chair Randi L. Watson, design chair Ki’erre Dawkins, and chair of senior thesis crew Chelsey V. Johnson.
The pieces of art featured range from multi-media works to sculptures of light. The Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, “Reverie,” looks back on the artists’ experiences of writing, researching, doing coursework and making memories and achievements in the Fine Arts program.
“Reverie” is a gallery exhibition showcasing works created by senior undergraduate students concentrating in various fields in the Fine Arts such as: painting, photoshop, lighting, graphic design, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics or drawing.
Artist Chelsey Johnson from Natchez, Mississippi, said the artists featured in the exhibits have learned a lot while preparing their own artwork, from researching scholarly writings on art to learning what goes into the overall visual options for gallery presentation.
One of the artists, Randi Watson from Brandon, Mississippi, said her art is heavily influenced by the decline of her grandmother’s health. Watson said she is glad to have finally gotten to this point in her artistic career.
“It’s been a year-long process with research and figuring out what we all wanted to do,” Watson said. “We all committed to projects that have been a part of our souls for a long time, and we all made some beautiful work.”
Senior Fine Arts undergraduate students start their research during fall semester and follow up with writing a thesis in the spring semester of the next year. The “Reverie” gallery represents the end of the art students’ thesis.
Artist HuShawn Rambo from Bay Springs, Mississippi, said his work has been influenced by his vivid dreams.
“I took millions of dreams, and I wrote them down, and I added up all the pieces to make this,” Rambo said. “I just wanted to make them how my dream was and be as beautiful as it was in them. This is the one thing I’ve been looking forward for.”
MSU’s Department of Art is home to Mississippi’s largest undergraduate studio art program. Both art galleries showcase the works of different artists within the program. “Reverie” will be up until May 8.
Artist Ethan Ritchie from Pontotoc, Mississippi, said his art is about a robot living in adventures like that of Robinson Crusoe.
“I want to get into concept art, illustration and video games to create this world,” Ritchie said. “I want to try to create a world. Not just a story, but a sequential thing, so you’re interested in what the robot is doing.”
Those interested in seeing the art exhibits can stop by the Colvard Student Union or McComas Hall. For more information on the exhibits, contact Brent Funderburk, MSU William L. Giles Distinguished Professor of Art at 662-325-2970.
