“Pink Electric Chair” by Ivan Navarro Courtesy
Internship gives art student real-world experience.
By Ansley Lewis
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Seven students from this college’s art history and art appreciation courses will present research papers 10:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m. Thursday in Room 120 of the visual arts center.
Students will give a 10-12 minute PowerPoint presentation on their chosen research topic, and a reception will be afterward.
The students’ research papers were selected from more than 1,000 entries from spring, summer and fall semesters in 2013. Twenty entries were chosen from that selection, which were reduced to the final seven papers.
Fine arts Professor Debra Schafter and fine arts Adjunct Marleen Hoover, who served as two of the judges, began sponsoring the Art Symposium 15 years ago.
Schafter said only papers that were above average were chosen to be represented in the symposium.
“This is a chance for students to learn about different topics and use students as role models,” Schafter said. “It is also an opportunity to show administration that we take these classes seriously. We want to be able to push students.”
Hoover hopes those who are participating in the symposium “gain experience in an upper-class, graduate and professional presentation format.”
Schafter said a winner would not be chosen because all symposium participants are considered winners.
Fine arts sophomore Denise Mojica wrote “The McNay Experience” for ARTS 1304, Art History 2, on interning at the McNay Art Museum during the summer of 2013.
Mojica also is designing the symposium’s poster and program.
“I was at the McNay four hours a day for eight weeks,” Mojica said. “My primary focus was to do the marketing for College Night. I was in charge of getting in contact with the college newspapers in San Antonio and getting the word out about College Night.”
College Night Nov. 22 provided undergrads interested in art a chance to mingle with like-minded students. It included food, music and activities.
Mojica said working as an intern at the McNay allowed her to take what she had learned from the classroom to the real world.
“I don’t think a lot of students get to see how what they do in class benefits them outside of the classroom,” Mojica said. “A lot of students work, but their work isn’t related to what they are studying.”
Mojica hopes students who attend the symposium will gain knowledge, experience and growth from being able to see other students being successful while in college.
Pre-nursing sophomore Jessica Madsen wrote a paper for “A Closer Look At the Construction of Beauty” by artist Walton Ford for ARTS 1301, Art Appreciation.
“It was challenging to write the paper, but in a positive way. I found the subject very interesting and wanted to convey that clearly in my paper,” Madsen said.
“Any opportunity that allows students to explore different interests in the arts is a positive one because it encourages new and different ideas and celebrates powerful works of art and the artists responsible for them,” Madsen said.
Fine arts freshman Vianney Vega wrote “Post Modernism: Art Against the Future for the Future” for ARTS 1304, Art History 2.
“Here in San Antonio, we are fortunate to have such a diverse array of art to fit every taste,” Vega said. “As a strong believer in individuality and expression, I have always been attracted to the art and ideologies behind post-modernism.”
Other students chosen who were unavailable to speak to The Ranger are pre-nursing sophomore Alice Perez, who will present “Femicidio On the Border Through the Lens of Contemporary Art”; fine arts sophomore Maria De Abril Ramirez, “Japanese Woodblocks: From Ukiyo-e prints to Byobu”; liberal arts student Michael Perez, “Doors to the Persian Past”; and fine arts and communications student Ariel Vargas, “On the Razor’s Edge: An Examination of the Japanese Wasakashi.”
For more information, call Schafter at 210-486-1042.
