April 11, 2016
Hannah Harvey
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The senior art exhibit is one way to highlight the skill of aspiring artists while giving them hands-on experience in the art industry.
GOCA 1420 will feature the artwork of 10 senior VAPA students in the exhibit “X” from April 15 through May 14.
Senior VAPA majors Su Cho, Alexandra Garcia, Yuliya Drakh, Jasmine Dillavou, Ian Alexandrowicz, JD Sell, Lesley Garlan, Tam Mauldin, Elissa Cummings and Ginger Immenhause will present original work as part of the exhibit, which has been symbolically called “X” to represent the 10 people involved.
“X marks the spot of our senior exhibit,” said Alexandrowicz.
“X was a collaborative idea, but it came from the Roman numeral for 10. It’s sleek, it’s strong and it all comes together in the middle, just like all of us,” said Dillavou.
GOCA has hosted student art since 1981. This is the 10th year UCCS has held student shows with an official art purpose.
Ben Patzer | The Scribe
The visual arts students will present their art as part of VA 4980 – Professional Seminar, which is a required class that prepares students for professional art practice.
The process for creating the exhibit takes the entire semester, according to Garlan. The students have completed every aspect of the exhibit, from creating the art to marketing it. Each student brings their own personal style to the installation, according to Dillavou.
“Not only is everyone working from very different mediums, but we also deal with very different concepts,” said Dillavou, who works primarily with the topics of identity and race.
“We want to highlight each individual as they are, but still have a cohesive flow to the exhibit.”
VAPA professors and GOCA helped to keep the process running smoothly, according Cummings.
“I’ve never really been involved in something like this before, so it’s been a lot of absorbing new information and applying it as best I can,” said Cummings.
The artistic focuses are mainly culture and history, self-expression and empowerment, mental states, and disorders and nature.
“Our show is also sort of a melting pot featuring a plethora of different mediums such as sculpture, drawings, paintings, collages, installation and video,” said Garlan.
Students have taken on professional roles as part of the exhibit, including advertising, installing art, organizing catering and collaborating with other artists. The exhibit has done a good job of teaching students what it takes to work as a professional artist, according to Alexandrowicz.
Students learn a variety of skills that they will need for professional careers in art, and this exhibit is one way to learn them, according to McGowan.
“They learn how to do everything from filling out their intake forms to putting a value on their work to lighting. A lot of times when artists are first starting out, there’s an idea that they’ll get their art represented in a gallery, but it’s going to take a while, especially coming out of undergrad.”
More information about the exhibit can be found at www.uccs.edu/~goca/.
Low Down:
What: “X” – VAPA Senior Show 2016
When: April 15 through May 14
Wednesday through Saturday, Noon to 5 p.m.
Where: GOCA 1420
Cost: Free to Students