By Holli LeMarr
Staff Writer

“It seems like a lot in life, you’re waiting for something, reconciling with it, and trying to find peace in the moment.”

Senior art major Jessica Blakey’s words express the sentiments of many seniors on campus. But for Blakey and six other senior art majors who will be the focus of the annual Pepperdine Senior Art Exhibition, this statement takes on a deeper meaning.

Excitement, nervousness and stress can be felt in the private art studios on the fourth floor of the Cultural Art Center as these seven artists rush to put the finishing touches on their artworks. 

“This pushes us seniors to be better artists and not just sit around in our paint, but to really get serious,” Blakey said.

Blakey, April Brooks, Annie Beamis, Tia Gregorak, Nick Mah, Jennifer Anne Miller and Joshua Owens will take over the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art from April 11-27. The students invite all of the university community to the opening reception April 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“The Senior Art Exhibition is the capstone experience for the Seaver College art major,” said Avery Falkner, senior exhibition faculty advisor. “Michael Zakian, the museum director, and I help the students actualize the most professional museum exhibition experience possible through selectivity and editing of work.”

The title of the exhibition is “roy g. biv,” a common memory tag for the colors of the spectrum including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. However, the themes throughout the exhibition will be determined according to each student’s medium and desire. 

“The four oil paintings I’m submitting all reflect abstracted landscapes,” Mah said. “They’re not really recognizable as landscapes. I take from something real, like a picture of a frozen lake in Kansas, then the painting just takes over and fills in the blanks.”

Gregorak will be presenting abstract expressionist paintings. Although there is no real object in her works, she believes that understanding and dealing with different painting techniques is what makes them art. “Ideas come from the color and the paint itself,” Gregorak said.

Other students find their art evolving as they work.

“Everything I planned on doing is transforming,” Brooks said. “I have to see what the medium is doing instead of trying to force it to do what I think it should. This experience is definitely about self discovery.”

Blakey and Beamis deal with representational work. Beamis is painting and drawing plant scenes and Blakey is creating figurative works. 

“My paintings deal with the interaction between people and the environment,” Blakey said. “I try to capture moments in time with an element of peace and stillness.  Most of my paintings show people between stages of doing things.”

Owens is presenting graphic designs with the help of Adobe Illustrator. All of his works are based on abstract geometry and the number system. He takes fundamental shapes, like the circle, and tries to make his own universe.

“I’ve built a pool of deeper meanings in my work,” Owens said. “It is about perception, how we see the universe and how we can see it.”

Miller is presenting three sculptures made of metal with plaster coverings and three acrylic paintings that elaborate on and accent the sculptures. The sculptures are figures covering their faces with their hands, yet still expressing emotions of agony, sadness and disgust through their body language.

“The theme is strong feelings,” Miller said. “People can feel happy very strongly, but I find when I really need to express myself is when I’m feeling frustrated, sad or upset. I hope that these will make an impact on people.”

These seniors may be stressed, but their excitement definitely outweighs their anxieties.  

“The exhibition is going to be so much fun,” Gregorak said. “Since there are only seven of us graduating, we all know each other very well and are good friends.”

The students are also eager to show off their work.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Beamis said. “I’m looking forward to showing my family my art when they come down for graduation.”

Brooks said the opportunity was worth all the chaos, including borrowing a fan to help paint dry faster on the last-minute creations.

“I don’t say I have to do a art exhibition,” Brooks said. “ I say I get to do an art exhibition. It’s an honor to display our work in a fairly prestigious museum and it’s great publicity.”

April 04, 2002