Not only does the annual Student Art Competitive provide every student on campus with a venue to show off their artwork, it also equips them with experience in gallery preparation and in receiving feedback on their work.
Ask Lenora Rowe, the senior who took home the grand prize along with $500 from Blick Art Supplies on March 9, for her piece titled, “Perception of the Self.”
“Art is determined by how people interact with it and perceive it. I love seeing people interact with my art, it’s so cool. And seeing it up in a gallery space? Well lit?” Rowe said, excitedly.
Rowe created the piece in her experimental drawing course. “It took me probably two and a half months to work on the actual drawing portion. Then, it took me two and a half months to work on the screen.
“It’s kind of a dual-purpose piece. It was partially an exploration into the study of how toned color materials, like Vellum or Cellophane, affect how much you can perceive value on paper. So, it’s a traditional charcoal drawing, but this material is toned with colors. It changes vastly how you perceive the color and the value of each of the different panels,” Rowe said.
Conceptually, Rowe said “Perception of the Self” was an exploration, as well.
“The conceptual purpose of the piece was to explore how people perceive you and how even though you might be really close to people around you, no one’s gonna be able to see a truly authentic version of yourself because the only person who can really perceive that is you.”
Rowe said the screen of panels creates a physical barrier between the viewer and the charcoal drawing, preventing an authentic view of the self-portrait.
“Even if we were to cover it on the side, the light cast onto the piece alters how you see it,” Rowe said.
Student art will continue to line the walls of Baum Gallery until March 22 through a variety of mediums, something director Brian Young described as a “rise in new media.”
“We have Lenora’s work,” Young said, referring to Rowe’s selection of colorful pieces displayed in the competition. “Which has fiber mixed media. We see people kind of mixing those things up, and I think that’s a trend that’s going to only get stronger.
“Every year it’s just a slice of the contemporary art world,” Young said. “Collectively, all the professors of the art department, myself and people in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences — we’re aware of art trends, and sometimes that filters down to the students. It’s interesting to see how they then give it back.”
A handful of students received awards for their art at the competition. Awarded honorable: Evan Gilliard, Brynn Ward and Jacob Miler each received $50 from Blick Art Supplies.
Ward also received an Award of Merit, taking home another $100 for her piece titled, “Don’t Stop.” Two Awards of Excellence were handed out to Jasmine Miller (“Self-Portrait”) and Kaitlyn Maxwell (“Untitled”) for $200.
“It’s a great place for anybody to showcase their work,” Rowe said. “I wish it was something that was more common knowledge because there’s so many spectacular artists on UCA’s campus that are maybe not art majors or minors. But, it’s definitely an excellent opportunity for people who are interested in gallery work.”
“Congratulations to everybody who got into the show,” Rowe said. “If not, don’t beat yourself up. There’s tons of opportunities at UCA and around Conway for people to display their work.”
