On Nov. 18 at 5 p.m., the Contemporary Art Gallery hosted its annual senior exhibit for the visual art majors who are graduating in December 2010.
The senior exhibit is held each semester for those seniors who are graduating and gives them a chance to add an exhibit to their portfolios, in addition to serving as an exit evaluation of learned skills.
The exhibit gives friends, family and peers an opportunity to come support and critique artists featured in the show, and it allowed those new to Southeastern to obtain a taste of the things they could learn to create as art students.
The exhibit as a whole was full of different students with work that had multiple views and expressions. Some of the student artists that had their work on display were Jason Carazo, John S. Williams and Shade Neubig.
“They put a lot of hard work into these projects,” said freshman graphic design major Matthew Espinoza. “The person whose work really got to me was Jason Carazo’s. It really spoke to me in an intimate way.”
Carazo, a ceramics major, had a series of wall-mounted ceramic works as well as ceramic vases based on animal forms such as birds, snakes, snails and starfish. Williams’s work was a collection of photography entitled “Kids Like Us,” featuring adult models posing in childlike situations. Neubig’s work “Right of Way” focused on photography taken from inside a moving vehicle.
Visitors to the exhibit enjoyed themselves and valued the importance of the exhibit.
“I like that Southeastern has the senior art exhibit,” said Skyler Simoneaux, a junior majoring in photography. “It is also important as an art student of Southeastern to support those artists that are graduating from Southeastern as they complete their closing acts as art students.”
While all of the students in the exhibit have finished their schooling for the most part, they all have to make plans for the future.
“Grad school is always an option for me, but I feel that my art is strong enough that I could start selling it now,” said Carazo.
The senior works will be on display for viewing until Dec.10. The Contemporary Art Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Gallery director Dale Newkirk can be contacted for additional information at 985-549-5080.