Lauren Dees will display her senior art exhibition in the Weisman Museum in December.
By Christina Miller
Staff Writer
Lauren Dees has been looking forward to her senior art show exhibit ever since she came to Pepperdine as a freshman.
“The senior art show is the most enticing part (of the art department),” Dees said, as her greatly anticipated show, opening in December, creeps closer and closer.
Dees’ art exhibit is titled “A Body of Work: Paintings by Lauren Dees.” This play on words captures the creativity in Dees’ style, as her unit of work is indeed all art showing different body parts. From paintings to sculptures, Dees shows her viewers a new perspective on their own body.
“I’m just so interested in the human form,” Dees said.
She has painted what has been available to her, and something like her foot is always accessible.
“My subject matter really is just an excuse to paint,” Dees said.
How she handled the paint is one thing to take notice of in Dees’ collection. Her technique in painting can be just as interesting as the subject matter itself.
Dees grew up in a family of artists. From her grandmother to her mother, her family bears three generations of artistic talent.
“Art was always encouraged but never pressed,” Dees said.
Her grandmother and mother both express themselves through oil painting and watercolor, and her mother has done commission pieces and sold several paintings.
“My mom is an emerging artist, I think she’s very accomplished,” Dees said.
Although she grew up around artists, Dees’ own art didn’t become serious until college.
As her art developed, Dees found that in her paintings she could be freer as she was allowed to express more energy, she said.
Dees’ two years at Long Beach City College helped her to develop as an artist and find her own style, Dees said.
Her Long Beach instructors, Joe Van Hooten and Mike Daniel, greatly influenced and guided her work, she said.
Long Beach even united this family of artists — Dees took a class there with her mom and grandmother.
Influential to her art is been Professor Bob Privitt, who has been her sculpting professor at Pepperdine, as well as Professor Joe Piasentin, her current art adviser.
Dees is considering three graduate schools for her Master’s in fine arts. As for future goals and dreams, she would love to be a professional artist, a teacher and have art in a gallery.
Shown concurrently with Dees’ exhibit is Pepperdine’s first permanent art collection.
The collection is called “Inner Light: Selections from the Permanent Collection.” The exhibition is arranged into two groups, “Geometry” and “Organic.”
The pieces in the collection have been donated to Pepperdine over the years.
“The art collectors here in Los Angeles kind of admire what the museum is doing, so it’s nice that they chose Pepperdine,” Dr. Michael Zakian, the museum director, said about the art donations.
The Pepperdine museum was not built with a permanent art collection, instead it was built to host a series of changing exhibitions.
There has always been the goal of having a permanent collection though, and Pepperdine has now received enough art to accomplish that, Zakian said.
The opening reception for the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art’s permanent collection and Lauren Dees’ senior art exhibition is Dec. 5 from 5-7 p.m. The exhibition is shown through Dec 14.
November 14, 2002
