Department of Art News

More than 700 students from every county in Mississippi visited Mississippi State this week for the annual State 4-H Congress.

The event featured contests and workshops for the students that fit into this year’s theme, “Don’t Just Think It…Know It! Don’t Just Try It…Do It! Don’t Just Dream It…Be It!”

The Department of Art offered a workshop to introduce students to sculptural drawing.

Eight 4-Hers participated in the workshop taught by Professor John Paul Remo on May 30.

Remo told the participants a little about himself before explaining some of the basic drawing terms – line, shape, form, scale, value/force and perspective. He also walked the students through developing visual relationships – positive and negative space, symmetry and asymmetry, overlapping, influence and direction. Finally, Remo explained that it’s important to consider composition, focal point and clarity when creating a drawing.

The students were then introduced to their project. Working in two groups, Remo had them construct sculptural drawings using yarn and tacks on the wall. Every student blindly selected a word and were responsible for making that word a visual characteristic in their group’s drawing.

See more photos on Remo’s website.

Watch the video on WCBI about the 4-H Congress.

Read the story on MSU’s website.

The Department of Art faculty have an exhibit open through June in the Cullis Wade Depot Gallery: It’s What I Do.

Read more on MSU’s website.

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Professor Jeffrey Haupt

The Department of Art is proud to showcase works by its very own faculty members from May through June. Works will include samples of paintings, ceramics, sculpture, drawings, photography and printmaking all made by professors at Mississippi State University.

The Department of Art Faculty Exhibition will be in the Cullis Wade Depot Gallery (second floor of the MSU Welcome Center, next to Barnes and Noble and the Stadium). Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public.

For more information, or to set up a guided tour please contact:
Lori Neuenfeldt, Coordinator for the Visual Arts Center Gallery and Outreach Programs
662-325-2973, lneuenfeldt@caad.msstate.edu

A reception was held on Thurs., April 11 for 16 fine art and photography students. The seniors were announced in the Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall, and the reception continued at the Colvard Student Union Gallery and the Visual Arts Center on University Drive.

The exhibition, which will be on display from April 9 through April 13 in McComas Hall and the Visual Arts Center Gallery (and through the end of April in the Colvard Student Union Gallery on the 2nd floor), represents the culmination of a year of research and thesis studies, as well as four years of university foundations, survey, art history, academic and emphasis classes. The capstone experience consists of the development of a significant body of work, as well as critical studies, writing and exposition that leads to a group exhibition, archive and portfolio in the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Students exhibiting include:
Loren Bartnicke
Mary Katherine Blackwell
Kellie Brady
Alexis Harrington
Nathan McRee
Ashlei Michelle
Jon Nowell
Destiney Powell
Dorothy Printz
Riley Reed
Whitten Sabbatini
April Shelby
Mary Switzer
Morgan Welch
Hannah Williams
Kacey Woolery

The Spring 2013 BFA Fine Art and Photography Senior Show is sponsored by the MSU Department of Art and the College of Architecture, Art and Design.

If you would like to purchase any of the work or for more information, contact the Mississippi State University Department of Art at 662-325-2070, or email lneuenfeldt@caad.msstate.edu.

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Click here for the schedule of events.

Watch the video on WCBI!

Read the article by Daniel Hart in The Reflector.

MSU senior art student DestineyPowell at work in her studio.

(Written by thesis students:)
What started out as a simple series of drawings grew into a much more personal battle for MSU art student Destiney Powell when she found out that her son has a hole in his heart and will require surgery, just three days before her senior art show opens on April 9. Life is built up of a series of experiences in which we have the chance to grow based on the decisions we make. Just ask Destiney, a senior Art/Drawing major from Batesville, about her own life experiences, and she will show you her scroll-like works of art that are as large as figures, complete with vibrant, organic forms alive with movement and color. She has illustrated the creation of life, from conception through the birth process. Powell chose to use this journey as a metaphor for her growth as an artist in order to “express the moods and emotions that [she] felt throughout [her] own pregnancy.” An optimistic and hopeful young woman, Powell says, “Maybe this life lesson is happening for a reason. My thesis is now about experiencing life with your creations. It’s now about my son and the experiences and challenges that he will face. Perhaps art is life after all.”

April Thesis Show Features Works by Sixteen MSU Students
Powell and 15 fellow senior art students will exhibit their Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Fine Art and Photography Thesis Exhibition during the month of April in three galleries across the MSU campus: the Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall, the Colvard Student Union Gallery and in MSU’s Visual Arts Center at 808 University Drive. A public reception filled with faculty, students, friends, family and food will be held on April 11th in all three galleries beginning at 5:30 p.m. in McComas Hall, proceeding to the Union Gallery at 6:30 then arriving at the Visual Arts Center at 7:15 p.m. and ending at 8 p.m. It is also open to the public, so all are encouraged to attend. Student introductions will take place in McComas at 6 p.m.

The exhibition, which will be on display from April 9 through April 13 in McComas Hall and the Visual Arts Center Gallery (and through April in the MSU Colvard Student Union Gallery on the 2nd floor), represents the culmination of a year of research and thesis studies, as well as four years of university foundations, survey, art history, academic and emphasis classes. The capstone experience consists of the development of a significant body of work, as well as critical studies, writing and exposition that leads to a group exhibition, archive and portfolio in the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Each student is mentored by a faculty thesis committee and develops the exhibition processes as part of a team of students. The BFA Graphic Design senior show will follow this exhibition. Mississippi State University’s Art program, a part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, is the largest undergraduate studio program in the state of Mississippi and offers views of its senior student work each semester.

Student Artists Represent Diverse Art Disciplines
Sixteen MSU senior students represent Fine Art Concentration emphasis areas of Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, and Drawing, as well as the Photography Concentration.

Riley Reid, MSU Photography student from Athens, Ala.

“Woman at Window” by Riley Reid

Art/Photography major Riley Reed of Athens, Ala., explored the sociological and psychological theory that says our perception of ourselves is really based on how we think others perceive us. Reed observed this theory through her camera lens as she has photographed people interacting inside their homes, but she will not be inside with them. She stands outside and takes the photographs through a window, with the permission of the subject(s), of course. Reed says that this “allows her and her audience to become involved in the lives of others but distanced in a way that gives an extended look into the lives of others outside the critical eye of the world/community.”

Jon Nowell, MSU art student, stands in the proximity of his work

Jon Nowell, an Art/Sculpture major from Ridgeland, strives to celebrate his artistic freedom. He says that these “artistic objects and instances manifest naturally and ostentatiously to illuminate the things [he has] learned, observed, desired and failed to comprehend fully.”

Dorothy Printz, an Art/Painting major from Brandon, seeks to communicate past, present and future emotions through her mixed media, sculptural spheres that include letters from her grandmothers and dyed fabric.

Art/Painting major Kacey Woolery of Morton depicts the struggle of dealing with past relationships through his charcoal and paint representations of “The Red String of Fate.”

Art/Photography major Alexis Harrington of Starkville studied Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs,’ a psychological theory, as she photographed the experiences her subjects go through when a specific need is taken away.

Loren Bartnicke, an Art/Painting major from Little Rock, created busy, visually intriguing, thought-provoking images of people. Her paintings are not about the subject but about the physical existence of the paintings.

Ashlei Michelle of Ocean Springs is an Art/Drawing major; however, she succeeds in creating three-dimensional objects that complement her drawings. The series of objects appear to be clothing made of latex that obviously constricts the motion of the wearer. The purpose of these wearable objects is to convey the social implications of physical disability.

Starkville native and Art/Painting major Mary Switzer says that there is “a cognitive spontaneity” in the way she has painted her atmospheric, soft, neutral acrylic paintings.

Kellie Brady, an Art/Photography major from Brookhaven, uses a monoprinting process to create nonrepresentational images of conflict and tranquility that stem from her own life experiences.

Mary Katherine Blackwell, an Art/Drawing major from Macon, has illustrated a murder ballad called “The Mountain” written by her brother and local Blues musician, Drew Blackwell. To create a sense of unease, Blackwell chose to splash red ink on the otherwise neutral color palette.

Art/Photography major Nathan McRee of Grenada captures his curiosity of nighttime and dim light in a series of landscape photographs taken across the countryside of Webster and Grenada counties.

Morgan Welch, an Art/Sculpture major from Jackson, has built a workbench to be presented not only as a tool but also as a historical study and an effective design object. He has strategically planned out this highly practical workbench so that it functions in the best interest of the user.

Hannah Williams, an Art/Photography major from Amory, has photographed the interior of her home in order to create a dialogue of the transitional tension that takes place when domestic change occurs.

Art/Photography major Whitten Sabbatini of Clinton explores people, places and incidents through the medium of digital photography.

April Shelby of Florence is an Art/Ceramics major who combines hand-built and wheel-thrown clay techniques. She has constructed multiple ceramic objects that can be arranged differently each time they are displayed so that the perception of the work of art is never the same.

The Spring 2013 BFA Fine Art and Photography Senior Show is sponsored by the MSU Department of Art and the College of Architecture, Art and Design. For more information, contact the Mississippi State University Department of Art at 662 325 2070, or email lneuenfeldt@caad.msstate.ed

Artist Richard A. Lou, one of the jurors for the exhibit, congratulates all the students and tells them the quality of their work made his job tough.

A reception for the 41st MSU Student Juried Exhibition was held on March 7 in the Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall. The presentation of awards honored winners in the Fine Art and Graphic Design competitions.

This year, 105 works were selected consisting of sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, mixed media, graphic design, typography and package designs. Over $2000 dollars in prize and purchase awards were given out.

The work was selected for the exhibit by two jurors outside of the university. Richard A. Lou is a photography professor and chair of the Department of Art at the University of Memphis, and Doug Barrett is an assistant professor of graphic design at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The show will remain up until March 28. Gallery hours in the Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All galleries are closed during school holidays.

Congratulations to the following winners:
• 1^st Place in Fine Arts category – Shelby Nichols for Scanography: Ecuadorian Tropics
• 2nd Place in Fine Arts category – Trey Hardin for Clarence
• 3^rd Place in Fine Arts category – Dominique Belcher for Colorful Soul
• Honorable Mention in Fine Art – Angela Latham for Nestled Tea Pot
• Starkville Area Arts Council Award ($100) – Nicole Beck for Fantasy and Reality
• 1^st place in Graphic Design – Sweta Desai for “We Click – Self Promotion”
• 2^nd Place in Graphic Design – Ashley Bennett for “Stay Foxy, Self Promo”
• 3^rd Place in Graphic Design – Margaret La Foe for “Cured! Pork Products Packaging”
• Graphic Design Juror’s Award ($100) – Bethany Johnson for “Letter Press Business card”
• RGH Paint Award to Regan Watts
• Mount Vision Pastel Award to Anthony Lowe for “Plugs”
• Potter’s Wheel Award to April Shelby
• Bill Dunlap Purchase Prize – Angela Latham for Nestled Tea Pot
• Bill Dunlap Purchase Prize – Jacob Craig for Untitled
• Bill Dunlap Purchase Prize – Sarah Kilpatrick for Tea Bowl

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Sarah Qarqish

Sarah Qarqish, a senior Art major with a double emphasis in Drawing and Graphic Design, has received an offer for a solo exhibition at the Ohr-O’keefe museum starting December 2014.

The exhibition will run for a six month period.

Check out the video from Qarqish showing her recent thesis installation.

Sarah Qarqish

The Art Department is pleased to announce the Penland School of Crafts Higher Education Partners Program Scholarship. This scholarship will enable the recipient to attend a two-week workshop in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to study one of the following disciplines: Books & paper, Drawing, Iron, Photography, Letterpress, Wood, Clay, Glass, Metals, Printmaking or Textiles.

This opportunity is available to ALL concentrations within the art major. You must be a sophomore, junior or senior with a minimum 3.0 GPA within your concentration and have completed the 18-hour foundation program.

The deadline for application is January 25; an information session will take place Friday, Jan. 11 at 10 a.m. in Stafford 100A.

To Apply: Submit five images from your portfolio on CD, a letter of intent, and the general information form to the Art Department Office.

Read the flyer for more details!

New Associations: Works by New Faculty in the Department of Art – Adrienne Callander, Neil Callander, Gregory Martin and Suzanne Powney

January 8–February 23, 2013 – Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall

By Lori Neuenfeldt
Programs Coordinator for the Visual Arts Center Gallery and Outreach Programs
New relationships, new interactions and new connections all occur when an artist moves from one location to another. New Associations is an exhibition of four artists who recently moved to Starkville to become new faculty members in the Mississippi State University’s Department of Art in the College of Architecture, Art and Design. Adrienne Callander, Neil Callander, Gregory Martin and Suzanne Powney all hail from different regions across the United States and bring with them different influences and educational backgrounds. These experiences are in turn shared in a new environment that also offers new opportunities and collaborations.

The variety of each artists’ backgrounds and interests are most directly seen in the different media each artist works:

Adrienne Callander, Painting, 2012. Oil on canvas, 7″ round. (photo by Megan Bean | MSU University Relations)

Adrienne Callander: Lecturer – 2D Design & Art Appreciation

Adrienne Callander is the Department of Art’s most recent hire as a Lecturer in 2D Design & Art Appreciation. Her current project is Ball Series. In 2012, Callander sent out a request to friends from around the world for old, worn sweaters. For 26 sweaters, Callander played with ripping, unwinding and re-winding the sweaters she received, finally creating balls of yarn, each representing an individual and its original owner. Another piece in the Ball Series, titled “Painting,” is made of strips of canvas ripped from fellow artist Ronna Lebo’s painting. According to Callander, “The ball series presents material identities restructured as line, embedded with markers of what was and still is. Each object had a preexisting purpose, an application. That purpose has been thwarted so that an implication of material history and a formal narrative are all that remain.”

Adrienne Callander graduated with a BA from Reed College in Portland, Ore., a Post-Baccalaureate from Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Callander’s work has recently exhibited in group shows at the Huff Gallery in Louisville, Ky., and the Meridian Museum of Art in Mississippi. On relocating to Starkville, Callander states, “Relocating to Mississippi State University has enhanced my interest in the mechanics of existence and the variety of its expression. Gentility and fortitude, history and progress, high heels and football – there is a mix here in Mississippi that I am beginning to glimpse and want to fully grasp.”

Neil Callander, Dusty’s Table, 2011. Oil on linen on panel, 38” x 38”.

Neil Callander: Foundations Coordinator/Assistant Professor – Drawing, Painting & Design

Neil Callander’s hometown is Louisville, Ky., where he also taught painting and drawing at the University of Louisville and Indiana University Southeast. Neil’s paintings are enlarged still-lifes based on close observation. They are vibrant in color, busy and full of recognizable objects of Americana. According to Neil, “The power of my painted setups lies in the narrative. . . Since 2010 I have been slowly developing a fictional character named Dusty. His personality and history are taking shape as the narrative implied in my paintings unfolds. . . Since moving to Starkville in August of 2012, I have begun to see the flat agricultural landscape of this region much like I do a tabletop in my studio. The farm equipment, silos, water towers, cars and old houses are objects in a still life. I plan on complicating the life of Dusty through exploring the peculiarities of central Mississippi.”

Callander received his BFA from Indiana University and his MFA from The Mason Gross School of Art at Rutgers University. His work has shown in the 2011 WaterTower Regional in Louisville, the 2011 Paint Snob Invitational in Waco, Texas, and First Look at the NJ Center for Contemporary Art. Recently, Callander had solo exhibitions at the Kentucky School of Art in Louisville, Goose Barnacle Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, and he took first place for his paintings from a jury at Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Gregory Martin, Spirit, 2009. Oil on canvas, 72′ x 96″.

Gregory Martin: Assistant Professor – Drawing & Design

Destination and space are important in the works of Gregory Martin. Martin recently drove 2,000 miles from Venice, Calif., to start a position as assistant professor of art at MSU. Martin, who is primarily a painter but also works as a sculptor, states “As my work as an artist has always been influenced by my surroundings, I am taking in the new region and finding a lot of interesting aspects of being here.” Martin describes his paintings as “contemplative spaces in which to experience dualities and polarities within human nature, the natural world and the practice of painting.”

Gregory Martin was born in San Diego, Calif. He received a BFA in illustration from CSU Long Beach and his MFA in Painting from Claremont Graduate School. Martin was a visiting lecturer at Otis College of Art & Design, USC Roski School of Fine Art, and U.C. San Diego Visual Arts. In 2012, Martin’s recent paintings exhibited in the Vault Gallery at the Museum of Art and History in Lancaster, Calif.

Suzanne Powney, Press Poke: Artist Book, 2012. Laser cut, 100% Cotton paper.

Suzanne Powney: Assistant Professor – Letter Press, Graphic Design & Advertising

Suzanne Powney, a letterpress printer and graphic designer from Houston, Texas, explores surfaces using handmade books to allow touch and promote interactivity with art without the question “Can I touch this?” She calls this experience “Tactile typography.” The narrative in book form and the tactile qualities of paper with impressed type combine as an integral component to her work. Powney’s recent work includes a series of investigations that encourage people to touch. Often letterpress books are considered too handcrafted and delicate to touch, that the handler should wear gloves, but with her latest work the artist hopes that the traces of peoples’ fingerprints and their interaction will aid in revealing the message of the work.

Suzanne Powney graduated with her MFA from the University of Houston. Her works have exhibited as part of a group show at the University of Houston’s Blaffer Art Museum in 2011. Powney has been a member of the Museum of Printing History Printers Guild and the American Institute of Graphic Design (AIGA) of Houston. Currently she is the letterpress printer and operator for BlackDog Letterpress.

New Associations opens in the Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall on Jan. 8, 2013 and runs until Feb. 23, 2013. Events to accompany the exhibit include a New Faculty Panel hosted by the Department of Art in Giles Hall, Harrison Auditorium on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. The panel will be an open discussion between the four new art faculty and members of the audience, which will include MSU students, faculty and members of the Starkville community. The four artists will talk about their work and how moving to a new environment is a strong influence on their artistic inspiration. The event is free and all are welcome to attend.

On Jan. 24 from 5:30–7:30 p.m., will be a public reception at the Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall, where the artists will be present to talk about their work. The reception is also free and open to all.

This exhibition and its programming are made possible by the MSU College of Architecture, Art and Design – Department of Art.

Ten seniors were part of the thesis exhibit, COMMUNE. (Left to right, front row: Rebekah Trotter, Jesse Thames, Sarah Qarqish, Emily Hobart, Lindsey Rushing and Anna Katherine Phipps. Second row, left to right: Professor Brent Funderburk, Aaron Autin, Charlotte Smith, Amanda Jefcoat and Dawn Taylor. Not pictured: Nathan McRee)

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