Today@Sam Article

Art To Wrap Up Spring With Graduating, Narratives Exhibitions

April 29, 2016
SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt

More than two dozen Sam Houston State University art students will end the semester by highlighting the work they’ve spent 16 weeks completing during two exhibits next week at the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery and the Satellite Gallery. 

This artwork by a graduating senior will be among those on display May 2-7 in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery.

First, 18 graduating seniors will present the culmination of their college academic experiences within the SHSU Art Department beginning Monday (May 2) with the Studio Art, Photography and Animation Senior Show, in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery.

The exhibit will feature three to five pieces by each student completing Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in studio art, photography and computer animation that represent samples from a larger body of work completed in the final year of the program.

Pieces will include animation, drawing, ceramics, painting, photography, and sculpture.

“This group exhibition provides an excellent overview of the student work produced in the Department of Art and reflects the diversity and strengths of the program,” said Max Manning, 3G gallery technician.

The exhibit will be on display until Saturday (May 7), when a closing reception will be held from 3:30-5 p.m., following the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication commencement ceremony, which begins at 2:30 p.m. 

Artists whose work will be featured include studio artists Mallorie Giasson, Frank Graham, Katherine Kaiser, Jacqueline Roberson, and Humphrey Rogers; photographers Kirby Clarke, Autumn Dowdy, Ashley Fearrington, Savannah Mitchell, Macy Pennington, Benjamin Prochazka, and Juanita Rodriguez; and animators Jordyn Ball, Eduardo Escandon, Evelyn Okray, Aubrey Pettway, Olivia Uhler, and Christopher White.

On Wednesday (May 4), just up the street, students in associate professor Rebecca Finley’s “Photographic Narratives” course will present the work they spent the semester doing in collaboration with local business and organizations, as well as students’ personal projects that focus on various perspectives of life in Huntsville.

“Huntsville Narratives” will be on display through June 6 in the Satellite Gallery in downtown Huntsville. An opening reception is scheduled for Tuesday (May 3), from 6-8 p.m. in the gallery.

The exhibit was created in fulfillment of an academic community engagement component of Finley’s class, which required students to take photographs at Rita B. Huff Humane Society, Old Town Theatre, Franklin Drive Thru Safari, and All Phase Training.

The photographs taken were provided to the business to use for promotion or publication, according to Finley.

Rebecca Finley's "Photographic Narratives" students captured aspects of various businesses around town that can be used for promotional purposes to fulfill an ACE component of the class. —Submitted photo

“Students also served on an advisory panel for the development of the photography program at James Earl Rudder High School, helped Boy Scouts achieve their photography badges, and volunteered at a fundraiser at Houston Center for Photography, where they sold work by SHSU photography students, helped HCP raise money for educational programs and promoted the SHSU art department,” Finley said.

The exhibit also will include students’ personal projects, completed in the class as well; these projects range from issues of identity, family, privacy, beauty, and personal stories, to fictional narratives using the medium of photography, according to Finley.

The Satellite Gallery is free and open to the public. Finley and the student artists also will give a brief gallery talk during the May 3 reception at 6:30 p.m.

“Huntsville Narratives” features photographic work by Kirby Clarke, Shelby Coleman, Gabi Cruiz, Emily Dabney, Autumn Dowdy, Michelle Dudley, Vivian Harrold, Ugne Kavoliunaite, Cairus Larsen, Stephanie Lemon, Jared Lewis, Laura Miller, Savannah Mitchell, Juanita Rodriguez, Sarah Salinas, Emily Schuetz, and Wismary Vazquez. 

For more information on the graduating senior exhibition, contact Manning at mpm031@shsu.edu, and for more information on “Huntsville Narratives,” contact Finley at rlf001@shsu.edu.

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