MUNCIE, Ind. – At the Ned and Gloria Griner Art Gallery, students are getting ready for the 90th Annual Juried Student Art Show. The exhibition will display a variety of student art pieces, showcasing technical skills and different stories.
Just outside the entrance of the museum, visitors are greeted with a giant ceramic arch, created by fourth-year ceramics and art education student Hannah Cushing.
“Originally, when starting, I just wanted to make something extremely playful. I wanted to make something large scale and I wanted to make a statement too,” Cushing said. “So, I was like it would be really cool if people could interact with this and maybe eventually be able to walk under it.”
Cushing was previously an architecture major and used her experience in architecture to design the arch. She wanted to do a project that was technically challenging. The handmade, primary-colored structure is self-standing and reinforced with silicone for safety.
“I want people to see that like the School of Art is here and like, we're thriving and the students are incredible at art and people need to see it. And this is a program that needs to be supported,” Cushing said.
Once entering the gallery, multiple student works are on display; ranging in mediums from paintings, to pastels, to prints, to multimedia.
One installation is by junior animation major, Grace Gallagher - A series of vignettes made with charcoal and ink to tell a story about shame.
“It starts at a young age, you know,” Gallagher said. “We get put in time out; we get punished, and then, like later down the line, those kinds of things can just influence how we view life. We're just fighting the shame in a bunch of different ways...but ultimately, I still feel like we all find our way to accept this shame within us.”
Gallagher said that she wants her piece to encourage people to ask questions about themselves and their own experiences with shame.
“Art is everything that, like humans, are meant to do. In all honesty, I think it's our best way of communicating who we are and what we want to say,” Gallagher said.
The show opens Feb. 14 and the opening reception is on Feb. 22 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.. The exhibition is free for everyone and will run till March 15.
Contact Daniel Huber with comments at daniel.huber@bsu.edu.
