Sometimes in the business of life we all feel the need to take a break and think.
This year’s studio art seniors wanted to make their show about humanity and the importance of reflection, and so they titled it Pause.
“It’s about life,” senior Margaret Pasztor said, “which is very general. But each of us chose a different aspect and even used different mediums.”
Pause came to the upper level of the Sargent Art Building on March 18 and will remain there until April 10.
The show features the work of six senior studio art students who took the theme and came up with diverse, yet related material using charcoal, mixed media, oil paints and more for their mediums.
All six students were surprised about how many of them created portraits.
Pasztor’s work deals with waiting.
“I focused on the Scripture’s ‘peace that passeth all understanding.’ My work features serene portraits that people can look at and gain a sense of calm,” Pasztor said.
Anna Rench’s work is about her heritage as a woman and her personal heritage through her family.
“I made a series of pieces that incorporate old family photos and found vintage textile items made by women in the past,” Rench said.
“I was inspired by women in my life, specifically my mom and my grandma who died two years ago, as well as women in general.”
She feels that there is a lot to learn from “the strength and poise we find exemplified in women throughout history.”
Benjamin Pitts’ work focuses on the general basis of emotion.
“It’s a very direct portraiture of life,” Pitts said.
Ruth Woo Ree Kim’s pieces are all about the challenges Christians face.
“I want my work to tell people: ‘Aren’t you feeling the same struggles? Look to God!”
Cait Schoolfield’s work uses mixed media to talk about vulnerability. She said it is about the way we perceive ourselves.
“My art is about aliens,” Jaquica Smith said. She said it’s sort of a revamped version of taking a second look.
“At first people may see them as strange, but in the second look the viewer begins to see that they have very human characteristics.”
“We spent a lot of time brainstorming,” Kim said laughing. Pitts agreed. “It was a very long process,” he said.
Kim and Pasztor said that the group spent a long time discussing various philosophical terms until they decided that the theme should be about humanity but with a focus on introspection and retrospection.
They want their viewers to take a break and reflect on their lives.
“We stayed away from the heavier philosophical terms because we want this to be casual, and life is more than academics,” Pasztor said.
She also stressed that she hopes people will really take time observing each piece of art.
The group members began their work two years ago and have worked tirelessly through semesters and breaks to bring everything together.
Beginning with the theme, they then weaved their projects into the various other assignments they were given in multiple art classes.
The artists encourage viewers to come in and take time on each work. Each piece, they said, has emotions invested in it that they want people to discover.
And the group? “We are a family,” Kim said, “even though we do look very different from each other.”
