Senior art major Jacob Maricle, kneels beside his art piece “Fortress of Solitude.”  The piece was
one ofthe few sculptures selected to be in the exhibit and he was inspired to create it by a lecture
he saw during the summer.  
The Lion's Roar/Karson Sharp

Every year, art students will prepare for one thing: the Art & Design: Juried Student Exhibition at the Contemporary Art Gallery.

From Mar. 3 until Apr. 1, the Contemporary Art Gallery will display the work of chosen student artists. Students could submit anything from a graphic design to an interactive piece or sculpture. 

“This show, the purpose of it is to celebrate and to show off the variety of artwork that students do in the visual arts plus design area of the fine and performing arts,” said Professor and Gallery Director Dale Newkirk. “It’s a juried show, so students will submit their work and they’ll be a juror for graphic design and a juror for fine arts. They are experts in the field, who have been invited by the Gallery to juror the show.”

Newkirk also emphasized the diverse body of work that will be displayed. 

“The list on the press release just reflects all of the different areas that we teach in the department, which is important in the show that we show all of that,” said Newkirk. “But there’s always interesting work, always different types of work, everything from ceramic pots to video art to painting, drawings, small things, large things. So anyone coming to the show is bound to find something they find interesting, exciting, informative.”

The show also provides a reliably strong turnout.

“Well, this is a popular show, because the students are the ones who are in the show because they only do this once a year and their work got chosen,” said Newkirk. “And the students support each other’s, so this opening is always well attended. Parents come, other students on campus come because it’s a student event. So they invite their friends, put the word out on Facebook, so this is always a very well attended opening. Probably around 500 will be here.”

One senior who’s art will be featured is Robert Gilliam. 

“The piece is called ‘Self Restraint.’ Making it was a very hands on process,” said Gilliam. “The stump I pulled out of the ground myself, sanded it down, took other roots from other trees, sanded them down, applied them to give it a feeling of a little bit of contrast. Then I wanted to take the man made steel, metal effect and combine the two into a cohesive image as kind of an autobiographical piece of me holding myself back from bigger and better things that I could go through and reach in my lifetime.”

For more information, call the Contemporary Art Gallery at 985-549-5080. The show is open to the public and free to anyone. A diverse body of work will be displayed and students devoted a great deal of creative energy to the upcoming exhibit.