Toothbrushes made of real teeth, stacks of Alden Library books, tangled wires and a cascading melted-wax nest containing light bulb eggs line the walls of the newest art exhibit at Ohio University, alongside many other pieces of various mediums.
The Undergrad Student Juried Exhibition opened at the OU Art Gallery in Seigfred Hall last night. From the seventh annual exhibit, 13 prizes were awarded to students.
The awards included four juror awards, three president’s awards, two awards endowed by OU School of Art alumni, one art director’s award and two Athens-area awards.
One of the locally awarded pieces, ”Hillary Clinton” by senior Mike Sobeck, received recognition from Lamborn’s Studio and Custom Framing, a family-owned store located at 19 W. State St. that has been active in the local art scene since the 1940s.
The piece is just one of a series of political figure paintings Sobeck created. So far, he’s also painted Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush.
“I’m trying to present them in a way that’s not propaganda,” said Sobeck, who is studying painting. “I’m just presenting them as how they are.”
His thesis exhibit will show May 6 in Seigfred Hall.
One of OU First Lady Deborah McDavis’s favorite pieces, “Galthop-Object Made Font” by senior Gavin Thompson, received a President’s Prize in Art award.
McDavis said she selected her top three favorite pieces in the quiet of 9 a.m. yesterday, free from distraction.
Thompson’s piece contained different words all spelled from a printed font comprised of tiny eyeglasses.
“It caught my eye — no pun intended,” said McDavis, an eyeglass wearer herself.
Out of the 245 pieces entered by 101 different students, including one group piece, the exhibit accepted 81 pieces by 74 students. The most common mediums in the exhibit, in order, were printmaking, sculpture, digital and painted pieces.
In addition to OU undergraduate students submitting artwork, students from the Southern and Chillicothe campuses also submitted pieces.
Guest judge Dina Helal, director of interpretive media from the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, also gave a lecture during her visit.
She spent a few days in Athens moving through pieces to select which would hang in the exhibit. She said she kept an eye out for pieces exhibiting wide creativity with out-of-the-box mediums.
She also commended OU School of Art students and faculty for the students’ showcased talents.
“Whether freshman or seniors, I am particularly impressed by the students’ tenacity and willingness to explore, experiment and hone their artistic practice from the largest gesture to the smallest detail,” said Helal in her juror statement.
sd476308@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCulture
