He crouched down on the floor with his back against the couch, laughing as we each yelled “Can you hear me now?” into the microphones of our respective laptops. Isaac Wright, a current senior artist in the Valdosta State, Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery exhibition “In Bold,” sat down with me to discuss his livelihood as a maker, as well as his work as a whole. Amid a pandemic that has shaken the world, it has become apparent that the arts are also not immune to panic and have felt the ramifications of a slowing world. Isaac discusses not only how his sleep schedule has been impacted but also his motivation, workspace, artwork, and mindset.
Alexis Bass, Scarf Me Up, Copper and Green Patina, 5″2″, 2019
Every semester there is a senior show, but this semester the COVID-19 pandemic caused the senior show exhibition to be moved online. Viewers had to rely on photographic images of the artwork. The show was formatted to focus on each artist and their corresponding subjects. Each senior had something to show about their growth as an artist over the course of their time in university. This year’s show was named “In Bold.” Alexis Bass describes “In Bold” as using her art to communicate her message without any fear. It’s about being confident in her artwork without the fear that it could make others uncomfortable.
Living between two countries, the UK and the US, has shown Blake Wise how different places handle different cultural situations. He has spent most of his life however living in the US. Blake plans to move back to the UK to continue his work and find an artist residency or a studio position near Birmingham. He knew that he wanted to be an artist because of an open moment he had with his art teacher in high school. He had opened up about some of his problems with dealing with his identity and she recommended that he put his emotional stress into a form of making.
Amongst the graduating seniors of Valdosta State University’s (VSU) class of Spring 2020 is Nariel Tribble, graduating with a BA in Art. Nariel was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, until she then later moved to Savannah, Georgia; she has lived in Savannah ever since being in the first grade. Valdosta State University has really helped shape Nariel as a person and, furthermore, as an artist. The small, family-like, intimate atmosphere of the Art Department at VSU has been an amazing aspect of college for Nariel due to being able to really get to know fellow peers and instructors. She explains that everyone knows everyone and that it is just a very close-knit place. Also, “it gives more opportunities for growth and to dive deep into the specific media you love”, she explains. Nariel was granted the opportunity to study abroad in Japan as well, deepening her knowledge of art and culture as well as aiding her in making many more new friends.
“Regeneration”, Copper, Brass, 3D printed plastic, 3″ x 1 1/2″ x 3 1/4″, 2018
Nariel, before starting her college journey, simply loved to draw on her own and just doodle; it wasn’t until starting her major that she discovered a love and seriousness for other medium. She soon came to realize that she had a deep love for sculpture and printmaking in particular and claims that the instructors she had for those classes really inspired her and helped her grow in the media.
“For a Walk”, textiles, dried grass, iron, and copper wire, 5 1/2″ x 11″, 2020
Nariel’s favorite thing in the world is and always has been plants and nature in general. Her love for plants sparked when she was a young girl. Nariel explained that, as a young girl, she felt so overwhelmed and distraught from all of the negativity around her in the world. She felt as though she couldn’t do much to aid in bettering the life of humans, so she searched for an alternative. This is when her love for nature started. She stated, “the natural world became my sacred ground in a society that lacked both sympathy and empathy. I wanted to protect nature since I couldn’t protect everyone else”. So, Nariel’s work in the Senior Show, and in general, reflect this idea and theme.
“Sweet Embrace”, lithograph, 9 1/2″ x 12″, 2020
In Nariel’s pieces, she analyzes not only the natural world but also the nature of humans and the commonalities between them. She states, “in my work, I address homogeneity between the disconnected worlds of nature and man. I visually express those connections by utilizing organic matter and the language of flora with sculpted forms, metal, and printmaking media”. She enjoys exploring ideas that cause people to stop and think about the world and the negative events occurring in our environment, both natural and human. She often “challenges the power dynamics of both worlds against each other, hoping it will influence us to be more humane”. Nariel informed me that there are no particular stories behind her individual pieces, rather, they all work together as a whole under this theme and idea.
Untitled (Decaying Flower), copper, sterling silver, 3″ x 5 1/2″ x 2 1/2″, 2019
Nariel’s work definitely gives its viewers a sense of both nature and the destruction within our beloved environment. Some of her works draw more attention to the beauty of nature, while others draw attention to the destruction within it. Regardless, Nariel hopes that her audience will find peace by experiencing some of her pieces and hope that they will also realize that there is so much cruelty being done to our world that, together, we can little by little fix.
Shelby Coulter, Big Strong Men, Silkscreen, 11″x11″, 2020
Shelby Coulter is currently a senior attending Valdosta State University, majoring in Fine Arts. Growing up in the small, humble town of Jackson, Georgia, Coulter attended the only high school in town. It was there she discovered art. Initially inspired by her high school art teacher, Coulter decided to major in Art Education. During her sophomore year of college, she fell in love with the process of creating. It was during this time she changed her major from Art Education to a BFA in Studio Art, with the dream of a career as an Art Director.
This year the senior exhibition for BFA and BA graduates had to be moved online due to COVID-19; however, this did not stop this amazing group of seniors from displaying their artwork. Each of the seniors in the show has put quite a bit of time into growing their career and expanding on their skill set. Some of the media included in this show are ceramics, printmaking, digital illustration, drawing, and many other media were all represented. The show titled In Bold, showcases the work of 15 seniors graduating from the College of Art at Valdosta State. The form of this years exhibition threw some interest curve balls at the students, but each of them overcame any obstacle presented to create a digital exhibition that will be viewed for years to come.
Chelsea Klewicki’s “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”, Oil on canvas, 4′ x 4′, 2020
“Being a mom is hard, it’s constant work, its emotional, and its just…its just hard.”
Growing up, Chelsea Klewicki was diagnosed with autism and feared that she would not be able to have a family of her own and struggled at times with communication. Overcoming the obstacles of autism, Klewicki will graduate this spring not only with her bachelor’s in fine arts, but as a successful mother and wife. Today, Klewicki, a senior at Valdosta State University, displays her motherhood inspired series in the Spring 2020 Senior Exhibition before her graduation. As an Expressionist, she shares her story of going from a college student, to a mother through her paintings and sculpture.
It Takes a Village to Raise a Child is an oil
painting of two women standing back to back, at a side view, feeding babies.
Standing on the left is an African American woman in a burnt orange dress,
bottle feeding a Caucasian baby. One the right is a Caucasian woman in a green
dress, breast feeding an African American baby. Both stand before an
ultramarine background. With an image as strong as this, what is the general
response from the audience? Klewicki is thrilled that the overall response is
positive, but she acknowledges how it could be perceived as controversial to
some. “I was told to second guess this painting, tread lightly, and that it
could be interpreted as harmful.” That’s far from Klewicki’s intentions. She
sees it as a motherhood, a union of women supporting one another and their
offspring. Its not the nurturing of one child, but all. An “all in this
together” mentality. After the birth of her child, she feels this motherly
instinct to all children, the desire to want to protect them and keep them
safe. In her work, she addresses multi-racial relationships, donor mothers, and
even adoption.
Chelsea Klewicki’s “Life”, Oil on canvas, tile grout, 24″ x 13″, 2020
Klewicki goes beyond addressing social topics, and visually
depicts emotional experiences. As the pregnancy experience changes your body,
it also changes your mind. She describes pregnancy as “beautiful,” “whole,” and
“hard.” Her painting Mother of Three expresses all of those. It’s a half
profile of a naked woman’s body painted cobalt blue. The blue symbolizes the
deep, intense struggles of postpartum depression. The model of this painting
was insecure of her body after birth, the physical changes such as weight gain
and stretch marks altered the way she thought of herself, ultimately leading to
postpartum. Physical changes were acknowledged in Klewicki’s painting Life.
Its of another woman’s naked torso, but this time painted in red. The red
expresses the intensity of the physical pain. There are several deep, textural
cracks in the breast of the woman. Although some may see them as stretch marks,
Klewicki uses these cracks to symbolize the pain when the breasts develop milk.
Blind Woman demonstrates fainting spells through a painting of a woman
whose eyes are covered with a white blindfold.
Chelsea Klewicki’s “Blind Woman”, Oil on panel, tile grout, 24″ x 16″, 2020
Using striking colors and texture, Klewicki visually communicates not only her own physical and emotional experiences with pregnancy and motherhood, but the experiences of others as well. She doesn’t shy away from potential controversy and covers social, physical and emotional topics. Klewicki explored expressionism through this series and plans on venturing deeper. Upon graduation, Klewicki wants to continue working at her son’s day care and teaching color to children. She plans on getting a degree in teaching and continue to share her knowledge and experience with others.
Marissa Parks is a Bachelor in Arts senior at Valdosta State University. Upon graduation, she plans on pursuing a career as an Assistant Curator in a museum setting.
Logan Lott’s Good Hope, Digital Pinhole Photography, 8”x10”, 2019.
Logan Lott was born and raised in Valdosta Georgia by a family with not much interest in art. She says, “I am the oddball of the family for sure. No one in my family or extended family has ever had much interest in the arts beyond craft projects.” As far as she can remember, Logan has always had a passion for art. She grew up as a big fan of pop artists such as Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein. She is also fond of Frida Kahlo, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, and many other women artists. Logan is heavily influenced by many different art movements such as Dadaism, Surrealism, Pop Art, Postmodernism, and Contemporary art.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, the senior show exhibition has been put online along with the rest of classes at Valdosta State University. The Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has ravaged the world and has managed to put everything at a halt. Classes have been fully moved to online, stores are being closed or put on tight restriction, and shortages of necessities are scaring masses of people. Despite all these setbacks, students are living on and working around the challenges of the virus.
In her artist statement Margi Weir talks about how her body of work, The Politics of Hue, is not meant to change anyone’s opinion on the chosen socio-political topic. Rather, Weir wants viewers to leave questioning their own thoughts. This exhibition, located at the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery in Valdosta, Georgia, like many of her work, has underlying meaning to it. All the works presented in the gallery involved Weir’s response to and engagement with the world around her. Her works are visually inviting to the viewer. The repetitive patterns and bold color make viewers wonder how deep the symbolism goes behind her pieces. Many of her works are based around the idea of textiles, or rather stitching together digital patterns to make them visually appealing. She brings these ideas to life by using acrylic, Plexiglas, and vinyl.
