Judges from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design came to campus to evaluate the varied styles of art student numerous design pieces.
The Contemporary Art Gallery hosts the Visual Art and Design Student Exhibition every semester, but this particular show is part of the art department’s accreditation process, which happens every five years when a team from NASAD comes. Painting, sculpture, ceramics, drawing, new media animation, print making, graphic design, 2D and 3D design all are represented, coming together under one roof. Chosen students ranged from freshmen to recent alumni. The opening reception was held on Thursday, March 13 in the CAG.
 “They want to see work from all of our classes, all of the majors’ assignments from all of our courses and departments. So that’s what this show is about,” said Dale Newkirk, the director of CAG and an associate sculpture professor. “It’s a little different than our usual student shows. They don’t have as much work as this one. Typically, students submit their work, and a juror comes and picks the ones he wants to show. So this is a much more ambitious show, way more projects. There are probably 500 things in here. They represent several examples of all the different assignments in our classes.”
Many mediums of art are represented. One of the featured artists is Kyle Smith, a new media and animation graduating senior. His digital animation, made using After Effects and Photoshop, is a video called “Misconnections.” He was inspired to create the piece as he looked through the missed connections section of Craigslist.
“Sometimes, people post something there whenever they meet someone else and [the video] is a visual interpretation of those missed connection ads,” said Smith.
With a lot more work than usual to look at, it is easy to be overwhelmed. Artwork ranges from brightly colored to dark tones and art made of everyday objects like shoes, cups, plates and newspaper clippings. There are videos, still-life paintings, photographs of real people and sculptures made out of wood and plaster.
“I have mixed emotions on all of it. It’s fantastic,” said sophomore sculpture major Jordan Hartney. “Each picture has a different emotion to it. I have no words.”
The Exhibition will be open until April 10. Works will not only be displayed in the CAG, but  also other visual arts buildings, including Clark Hall.