SUU Art & Design Students to Present Their Best Work at SUMA

Published: March 16, 2017 | Author: Lola Taylor | Read Time: 3 minutes

The SUU Department of Art & Design is proud to present the Senior Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibit at the Southern Utah Museum of Art. The artwork of 27 graduating seniors will be on exhibit from March 23 to April 29, 2017. Each student will be presenting their best work in their area of emphasis, including ceramics, illustration, graphic design, and painting/drawing/printmaking. The museum is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00-6:00 p.m.

Michael Lee, candidate for a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design, said, “For me, the Senior BFA Exhibition is an opportunity to go above and beyond when it comes to the application of my concept. I’ve always been one to try to stretch myself as a designer. The BFA show lets me take that part of me and apply it to a large scale project. It helps me work through as many problems that could come up in a real-life scenario.”

As part of an artist’s learning, they study the human figure to learn how to best represent the human form in two- and three-dimensional art. A few pieces of student art on display in this exhibit offer a presentation of the nude human figure in their work. We encourage concerned patrons to view the exhibit before bringing children into the museum.

Jeff Hanson, the SUU Art & Design Department Chair, said, “A BFA in the Visual Arts takes time. Lots and lots of it. Students started this journey as children and stuck with it through adolescence, when many abandon the habit of creating visual things. They continued that journey by choosing our university and have spent countless hours of their undergraduate experience making and remaking, and then making objects again and again. All this effort and time is spent simply learning timeless processes that take thinking, and skill, and mastery of tools. They have now mastered their talent. This is the students’ show, their opportunity to exhibit a lifetime achievement, to use their visual voice to make a statement about the world they live in. Artist and designers alike share what it means to be a part of their generation through their individual exhibits.”

The most important part of a student’s education is overcoming the fear of doing something different and challenging, something they do not have answers to, allowing them to explore the different paths available to them to bring about personal fulfillment in a project. Hanson continued, “Mastery of materials and tools are important, but it’s the thinking evident in the final work, the personal experience made universal through sharing it with an audience, that is critical for each student to experience.”

Graphic Designer Bridgette Burr came to SUU for the smaller class sizes that allowed for a more personal education and one-on-one mentorship from her professors, which helped her grow into a better designer. When asked about her time in SUU’s Art & Design program, she said, “I think this program is really empowering. As I've moved forward through my time here, I've become more confident about myself, both in a personal way and in a professional, artistic sense. I now feel like I can be successful as a designer, and that I can find real enjoyment in my (not so distant) future career.”

For more information about SUU’s Department of Art & Design, visit www.suu.edu/pva/art.

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