2015 Student Juried Show

April 9-April 30, 2015

Spring is in the air, and many students are finishing up their last year of college.  For some, this may be the last exhibition with Montana State University, to which may be sad but also very thrilling.  The opportunities to blossom and contribute to the market are endless.

Juror, Stephen Gluekert states, "I believe the submissions speak to me of the passionate interest in finding a place for art in one's life.  When a person dedicates themselves in the academic pursuit of the arts, you must be in touch with what is inside.  The arts provide us with language, which allows what is inside to come out."  What better way of self discovery then filling your hands with objects, paint, a pen, or hammer and making something out of nothing.  These skills will do more than just create a craftsman, they will also build the mind to solve problems.

This years show was very diverse in terms of material and content, although many were classified as some sort of portraiture.  It was refreshing to find a good mix of traditional aesthetics along with modern, digital works.  Although I do not have anything against these works, (being a graphic designer and photographer, by trade).  There was a great variation between representational and non-representational as well.

There were a celebrated few for their craftsmanship, imagination, and passion.  One being Ms. Holly Grob with her three dimensional Beacon, made from wood, steel charcoal, graphite, and polycrylic.  The piece hangs just shy of the ceiling, making it one of the focal points of the show.  Although it is built with industrial materials, it still has an organic, indigenous feel to it.

Next, we have Robbie Mann with his Hands Up, acrylic on canvas.  Surprisingly enough, this too has a indigenous feel to it, as well as remnants of wall art from the aids awareness era, and works being made at Vanessa German's house by children.  It has a child-like aesthetic to it, in which it's rich, bright colors lend to this cause.

Melissa Morford was also recognized for her piece Disguised, Digital collage.  Just by looking at Melissa, you know that she is an interesting person.  After listening to her a little bit, while listening to Mr. Gluekert, it seemed to click as to what she was trying to say in this piece.  Although this image paired with its title should be straight forward enough, she peeled back another layer.  She was talking about how she didn't feel that she could fit into the art community at a young age, simply because she felt she had no realized talent.  Well look at what we have here...someone who has the drive to accomplish something a lot of times will out run the individual who has the talent, but not the time.  Congratulations to Melissa!

Finally, we have best of show by Bonny Beth Luhman with her Seeds of Life, Stop animation hand drawn on marker board. 1:20.  Hands down one of the best pieces of work I have seen.  It is a simple, yet complicated; animation that depicts various beings and plants coming from the earth, or turning back into the earth.  The concept is sound, and the execution is not over done.  All in all, all of these acknowledgments were not in anyway questionable.

It is interesting to be involved with the entire process of putting on an exhibit.  While looking at thumb nails of the selected works and trying to mentally map out what would go where, I realized that shall no and forevermore be more appreciative of the show as a hole.  I will no longer just look at the works, but what is next to them, the fluid moving space around them, the lighting, and the signage.  I think the installation team did a great job in terms of good flow between the two dimensional works, and accommodations for the three dimensional works.