Imagery & The Arts

This year’s annual Arts Festival was an awe-inspiring three-day event featuring student talent in a multitude of artistic mediums. Performances by various skillful and inspiring dancers, vocalists, musicians, actors, and sketch comedians filled the massive outdoor tent in O’Neill Plaza, while a classic and appreciated visual art exhibit stood on display next to the tent, and in Bapst Library. Every piece was perfected by BC undergraduate students, and each was specifically chosen by members of the BC Art Club from a massive collection of contributors within the underlooked art scene on campus. The Art Club is led by its board, consisting of Jordan Mendoza (president), Maggie Mansfield and Bailey Budd (vice presidents), Moira Notarstefano (treasurer), Preston Landers (publicity manager), Jennifer Brubaker (secretary), India Winter (external events), Liz Moy (internal events), Megan Pietruszka (director of music), and Carolyn McCrosson (director of photography). These nine talented individuals organized and curated an elegant showcase of BC students’ diverse and refined creative ability. In particular, upon entering the Bapst Library exhibit opening showcase last Thursday evening at seven in the evening, I felt welcome and relaxed. Spending time among the members of the Art Club was rejuvenating—they were amiable company, and it was apparent that they were proud of their hard work.

I am not an art critic myself, nor a practiced visual artist, but I am a dancer and musician, which gives me the ability to appreciate and identify with other artists and the products of their efforts. The diversity of mediums used in the Arts Fest exhibits was astounding. As a dancer, it is difficult to master many different types of dance, and this leads me to assume that it is difficult to become adept at different artistic mediums as well. As a result, the diversity of talent in the visual arts department at BC was very impressive. An assembly of both oil and acrylic paintings hung along white walls in both exhibits. Additionally, sculptures graced corners and were elegantly placed throughout the display by the student curators. There were also a variety of photography pieces, digital imaging projects, innovative collages, stimulating sketches, and expressive screen art positioned thoughtfully by the Art Club for the public to enjoy and/or purchase.

Each interested student artist was asked to turn in up to four pieces with a title and set price for each submission. The high amount of talent on campus allowed only a limited amount of space in the exhibition rooms for submissions, and as a result, not every submission was selected for the festival. This meant that the displayed artwork was “the best of the best” of BC’s admirable artists. After selected, the art was entered into two contests. The first was the Critic’s Choice Award, in which a panel of professional artists judged the quality and appeal of each piece of original art. To be fair, there was also a Viewer’s Choice Award, for which guests directed their votes toward their favored pieces. The fluidity of talent seen in the arrangement of artwork must have made these decisions especially challenging. I was unquestionably fond of an exemplary piece hanging in Bapst Library of a man sitting in and staring out into nothingness, but the brush strokes do not allow you to make out his expression—you must decide that for yourself. The oil painting, with dark hues of red and brown, allowed me to relax in my own thoughts as I appreciated the hard work he put into creating this striking canvas.

The Art Club of BC coordinated, yet again, another successful showcase of student artwork on campus. This year their organizational skills and style were even more professional than the last, which makes me believe that we can only expect an even more moving show in 2013.