New exhibit shows works from all disciplines
By Will Underhill
The student exhibit in the visual arts center is by invitation only — for the artists, that is.
The show, on display until Jan. 25, features selected works from all disciplines. “This show is different from our annual student show because it is the best works,” said Qing Liu, professor of digital design.
In the annual spring show, students enter art work to be judged by a panel of professors.
If all judges agree on a work, it enters the show.
In this exhibit, however, students were not asked to submit any works. Instead professors selected works from each class they teach.
“We planned to have five pieces per class, but it depends on space and individual faculty,” Liu said.
“It’s a teaching gallery to talk to students about related disciplines,” she said. “Students always enjoy the shows.”
One piece is a series of charcoal signs by Melissa Garza, head of the Student Art Guild, for ARTS 2324, Drawing 4.
It shows old billboards that have new advertisements with old advertisements still visible beneath them. In one, an advertisement for an adult video store is visible behind the new advertisement for Living Way church.
“It is something I can connect with because it can be hard to use letters and text,” said Mark Gelatt, a fine arts sophomore who created a mixed-media work with dice that was used in the promotional poster for the exhibit. “San Antonio is like a strip mall city. There are churches in places like old Albertsons buildings.”
Still, Gelatt is complimentary of the college.
“The caliber of the art program here at SAC is greater than the funding the program receives,” he said.
Many of the works in the gallery are unconventional such as Abby Renaldes’ piece for ARTS 2326, Sculpture 1. Her work includes a classically sculpted plaster arm with a metal hinge in the wrist and a series of photographs showing the arm in different positions.
James Woodland has many works that incorporate the pedestal as part of his art.
In one, a wooden pedestal shines a light out that is reflected by an adjacent pedestal with a mirror face. Seen at the right angle, it is hard to tell which pedestal has the mirror and which shines the light.
“He is playing with the idea of gallery presentation and the way art is meant to be seen,” Gelatt said. “Where does the pedestal end and the art begin?”