By Peter Celauro
Assistant A&E Editor
Sometimes things come to an end slowly. Fizzling out like the last glowing embers of a campfire, they slowly lose steam until they roll to a stop and are finished without much ado.
Then there are things that end with a bang. Like the finale on the last night of a popular musical, these things won’t be finished until the third fireworks-laden encore is through.
Fortunately, the education of Pepperdine’s senior art majors falls under the latter category. After four years of intense study, practice and creation of art, the nine graduating art majors will culminate their careers with a final exhibition at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art April 10-26.
The show is titled “9 Lives,” representing the nine students participating in the show. Though some bonding naturally occurs when nine people spend four years working together, the art in this exhibition was, for the most part, created individually.
“We (the artists) take a look at each other’s work as it’s being made,” senior art major Shawna Potter said about the exhibition. “But as far as actually doing the work, it’s a pretty personal thing.”
This individuality is reflected in the various mediums represented in the exhibition. Though many of the students will present oil paintings, any medium is allowed, from sculpture to photography. There will even be a collage of small children’s blocks with tiny paintings on them.
Each artist’s body of work must have a sense of cohesion or theme, however. Fiona Lo chose to center her three oil paintings and three watercolor pieces on figure skating.
“I’m just a big figure skating fan,” she said. “I love to capture their beautiful movements in my paintings.”
Though she’ll have a lot to present at the show, she hasn’t been a painter for long. Having changed her major to art last semester, Lo said she never could’ve imagined working on large oil paintings six months ago.
“Working on this senior show definitely helped to improve my skills,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot from Dr. (Avery) Falkner, my Senior Show instructor.”
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Graduating Art Majors Jessie Abrams |
Along with Professor of Art Joseph Piasentin, Falkner teaches Senior Show, the course that builds up to this final exhibition, which seniors must take in order to graduate. Since each year brings new students, each new class brings a unique style to the show.
Weisman Museum Director Dr. Michael Zakian, who is helping to organize the event, recalls that the students are always responsible for titling their exhibition.
“I think one year we had 13 artists. That was the largest group we ever had graduating, so they called it Maxium Occupancy”, he said. “One year we had four or five females, so they called it Ladies’ Lounge. The title usually reflects that particular group in a very personal way.”
Potter says the title “9 Lives” goes beyond the fact that there are nine students with work in the museum.
“Each artist has their own statement, their own philosophy of what the art means,” she said. “There are nine of us, and you’ll get a glimpse into each person’s personal life.”
Zakian said although the exhibition’s opening is quickly approaching, many of the students aren’t finished with their pieces — a trend that occurs almost every year around this time.
“A lot of the students are finishing their artwork right now, so some of them are still in progress,” he said. “They usually don’t show them to me until they’re done and ready.”
Those interested in seeing the finished art up close can come to a reception Thursday, April 10 from 6 to 8 p.m.
“The reception is open to everyone, and it’s usually quite fun,” Zakian said of the exhibition’s opening event. “We usually get about 300 people, and it’s an exciting evening.”
The exhibit will run April 10-26 in the museum. Admittance to the reception and the museum are free.
The museum is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Tuesday through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays.
April 03, 2003
