The culmination of a studio art major or minor at William Jewell College is the exhibition of paintings, photographs, sculpture and other pieces of art at a senior show. Brett Jackson, Drake Burdette and Samantha Bond, interactive digital media majors and studio art minors, will be displaying their artwork in a joint exhibit April 9 at the Stocksdale Gallery.
Bond stated that a purpose of having a senior show is that it is good representation of the seniors’ careers so far as artists. It is also a way for friends and family to experience the results of what students have learned in their studio classes. The senior exhibit is graded by the faculty of the art department in order to determine how well student artists have retained the information they have learned during their time in the department.
Each student chose to display pieces in a variety of mediums. The title of the show, “Random Access Memories,” reflects the choice to not have an overall theme, but to rather choose artworks that instead showcase how the students evolved as artists. However, the students both state that their own artwork is distinct and different from each other.
“For the most part, I would describe [my artwork in the show] as pieces of life one would experience along the way,” Burdette said.
Fantasy with a mix of realism is the preferred style of Bond. She stated that she enjoys experimenting with size distortion while also working with miniatures, sometimes at a 1:20 scale.
The mediums of the student artists also differ from one another. Burdette focused on printmaking because he enjoyed the process of creating a print. On the other hand, Bond enjoys both acrylic and oil painting. The versatility of the medium is appealing to Bond as well as how forgiving the paint is if you make a mistake.
Jackson finds that photography allows him to “create art in the moment.” His works are focused on nature and the emotions it elicits.
Both Bond and Burdette state that being adaptable to change is one of the most important concepts they learned while in the art department. The process of creating is not always a fast process and sometimes patience is the best response, according to Bond. She stated that she has grown more patient as she’s worked in the studio and that creating art has caused her to approach problems from different angles in order to achieve her desired result.
“Stuff isn’t always going to turn out the way you think it is, but it can still turn out good just not in the way you expected it to,” Burdette stated.
Testing your limits is what Jackson has taken away from his studio art minor.
“This basically means to give it your all with whatever you’re creating. Don’t be afraid to test your limits,” said Jackson.
The artwork by Bond, Burdette and Jackson will be displayed in the Stocksdale Gallery on the second floor of Brown Hall. The exhibit will officially open April 9 at 2 p.m. with an artist’s talk beginning at 3 pm.
Cover photo courtesy of Drake Burdette
