The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Gallery to higlight artistic achievement

    From ceramics to new media animation, the upcoming art exhibition will showcase the peak pieces of students from all art departments.

    The Contemporary Arts Gallery hosts the exhibit every semester to provide students with professional experience and to allow faculty instructors to evaluate their success as instructors. This semester’s displays will include graphic art, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, painting, photos, prints, and new media animation, with a total of 133 pieces. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 12. 

    “It’s a big deal for these students; for a lot of them it’s the first time they’ve ever seen their work in a gallery,” said Dale Newkirk, director of CAG. “It’s a tool in judging if we’re getting across what we’re teaching. The student show is a chance to see a cross section of artwork made in the departments in all the areas, and that’s important.”

    For the student exhibition, art students are each allowed to submit up to four pieces. This semester 359 pieces were submitted, while the art department consists of nearly 500 students. Newkirk commented on the lack of participation. 

    “There should be a lot more than 359 things. There may be a hundred reasons why students don’t submit their works,” said Newkirk. “This is really something every art student should do. We try to make it as easy as possible. They need to have a track record of having shown their work, and you do that in school through these shows.” 

    While most professional shows require submission fees, art students are allowed to submit their work for free. 

    Every semester, jurors are chosen to select pieces for the exhibit and to award standout artwork for each category as well as a “Best of Show” award. 

    “For the first time this year, we have a juror questionnaire form,” said Newkirk. “They were asked to rank the work that they looked at based on simple questions.” 

    The new juror form will help students and faculty understand the overall quality of the department’s work in compared to other student shows. 

    William Depauw, professor of ceramics at Tulane University, and Weston McWhorter, designer and president of New Orleans chapter of AIGA, served as jurors for the show.

    They rated individual work based on the level of creative problem solving, the concept behind the art and the execution skills. Winners for each category receive a $50 gift certificate, while the “Best of Show” winner will receive a $150 gift certificate.

    Since graphic art students make up nearly half of the art department, this semester the faculty decided to further divide the category into best of typography, graphic design and 3D graphic design. 

    The student art exhibit will remain on display until April 2. The gallery opens from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Friday. For more information call the CAG at 985-549-5080 or email Newkirk at [email protected].

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