On Friday, April 24, from 5 to 8 p.m., there will be a Fine Arts open house in Knobview, room 035.
The purpose of the open house is to provide an opportunity for students to show and exhibit the artwork that they have created during the school year.
Admission and parking is free and refreshments will be served with live music by a jazz ensemble, a solo violinist and an acoustic guitarist.
Brian Harper, assistant professor of Fine Arts and director of ceramics, is the adviser of the Dirt Bags, a group formed by students in the Fine Arts department.
Harper said the group organized the open house from day one.
“I pitched the idea to the group to see if they’d be interested,” Harper said. “I wanted them to be the organizers and to get excited and plan it.”
He said the idea was developed from similar events at other schools and suggested it to the group last September.
Pieces will be featured from multiple disciplines within the department, including ceramics, drawing, painting and printmaking.
The exhibit is open to any fine arts student who is interested in having work displayed.
Harper said there isn’t a set criterion for what is being accepted, but if the amount becomes too great, then they may have to change it.
“We are going to have it organized so that there is work in the studio and even down the hallways,” he said.
Many of the students submitting work are Dirt Bag members.
There will also be an installation on display in a room adjacent to room 035.
Ashley Bell, ceramics junior, created the installation of more than 1,000 by casting porcelain into molds of doll-sized babies.
The babies are painted to replicate desert camouflage in representation of the number of people that have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bell said her inspiration came from a high school friend who served in three separate tours overseas.
“Society doesn’t realize what is happening,” Bell
said. “They just want to close the door on it.”
The babies were made from handmade plaster molds that allowed her to produce around 80 of the babies per day and it took three months to complete.
“It’s a tedious process, making things with molds,” Bell said.
Other work Bell will include in the open house is a giant ceramic daisy and a ceramic banana chandelier.
Kristy Leverock, painting junior, will be displaying a series based on environmental issues.
The pieces consist of mixed media and ceramics and focuses on birds as the main subject.
“Birds have an intimate relationship in our society,” she said. “Intimacy is a theme that is replicated in my work.”
She said she created her paintings on wood for added creative value as well as contributing to her environmental theme.
“This is the first time I’ve painted on wood,” Leverock said. “It allows me to use different shapes and the open grain allows the paint to sink in, which incorporates intimacy, as well.”
She also said the wood continues the environmental purpose of her pieces.
“I really want this to be an annual thing. Like a tradition. Something we can look forward to doing every year,” Harper said.
Organizations and schools from the tri-state area are invited to attend, including the University of Louisville, Ball State University, Indiana University Bloomington and Ohio University.
“Students’ ability to be able to show their work is really limited,” Harper said. “We want to make it bigger and bigger with more interaction. It’s a win-win situation.”
Throughout the planning process Harper said there has been help and support coming from many different sources.
Mike Hayes, ceramics intern, and his friend, Bonny Wise, have contributed a lot of time to spread the word about the open house.
Annette Wyandotte, dean of the School of Arts and Letters, has been involved in the process as well.
“She has helped by informing us of who to approach in order to get what we need done such as parking, the marquee sign and other things. She’s very supportive,” Harper said.
In addition to displaying student work, Harper said they are also accepting donations to the ceramics department for future equipment purchases and to bring visiting artists to the campus.
“There is always something that can be learned from the artists that come,” he said.
Harper also said this open house gives the public a chance to see the student artists in their environments and allows the public to talk directly to the artists about their work.
“It’ll be interesting to see all the different kinds of work together and be able to see what the students have been doing,” he said.
By ASHLEY MEREDITH
Contributing Writer
almeredi@ius.edu