Senior Exhibition Opens April 23 in the University Gallery

ART IS THIS, the 2014 Senior Exhibition at Pacific Lutheran University, will begin with an opening reception on Wednesday, April 23 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in PLU’s University Gallery. It is featured as the last event in the 2014 SOAC Focus Series on Entrepreneurship.

Visitors will see a wide variety of media from graduating artists in the Department of Art and Design. Works will range from ceramics and sculpture to print work and photography.  Due to the wide variety of work, finding a theme or title to rally around was difficult for students. The title ART IS THIS was their common ground.

“It made sense to come up with something that would allow us to encapsulate everyone’s belief, therefore leaving it a little more open-ended allowing each senior to fill in their ART IS ____ word,” Hannah Kreutz ‘14, submitting artist, said. “It is also a great way to communicate to the viewers that art can be what you make it, one senior’s piece may speak more to an individual than another and that’s okay.”

This exhibition is unique in that it is completely student driven from the advertising and catering, to the exhibit installation; the unique entrepreneurial nature lends itself well to this year’s SOAC Focus Series theme.

“I’ve been told that, ‘if the art is good, people will come’ and I choose to take that with a grain of salt, because so much of being an artist today is not just about creating compelling work but marketing it and yourself in compelling ways too,” Sam Hosman ’14, a submitting artist said.  “As artists we want to be recognized for our work, and we can’t do that if we’re not promoting ourselves.”

Peterson also believes entrepreneurship is an integral part of being an artist.

“To truly make it in the art world, you have to know how to represent yourself, defend your work as well as create opportunities for success,” Lauren Peterson ’14 said, who is submitting work to the show.

Peterson will be submitting prints, from the past year’s body of work. Hosman is working on a project that illustrates the history and towns in the Black Hills of South Dakota through various print materials and Kreutz is working on a family tree of sorts with wood silhouettes.

Awards are given to artists and announced at the opening reception on April 23. Awards are determined by Art and Design faculty and include first, second and third place along with a number of honorable mentions, if faculty see fit.  The dean also gives an award, which is titled Dean’s Choice.

The exhibit will be open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (or by appointment) through May 26, 2014 at the University Gallery in Ingram Hall at Pacific Lutheran University. Admission is free and open to the public.