By: Madison Connolly
“Art Spoken”, the Valdosta National exhibition, located in the Dedo Maranville Gallery was recently hosted January 10th through February 9th. This year’s annual show has been receiving mixed responses from students due to the selections of artwork by juror Olivia Richardson. Juror Olivia Richardson writes a bold statement, expressing her reasoning behind her selections, stating that she is representing the “underrepresented voices” and showing vulnerability in order to show progression within our society. While researching the history of “Art Spoken” it is known that the artists that are supposed to be represented in these shows are supposed to be people of color, which is why me and many other students were confused when they read the Juror statement. While there is a small selection of artists of color represented in the exhibition, a majority of the pieces do not even speak on any of the problems within those communities.
When you first enter the exhibition you are welcomed with a bright open area with different pieces spread out along the walls. All of the pieces are well lit and presented well which helps you navigate all the pieces easily. Something that was not included in the show were artist statements from every piece. A couple of the pieces that did not have artist statements did not even have anything online. There is a binder at the front of the gallery with a couple of artist statements but I think in order to navigate the show easier, having them next to the pieces would have helped more. With having such a strong purpose for the show it would have been helpful to have artist statements to help understand the meaning behind some of these pieces especially for someone who wants to get the full effect of “Art Spoken.”
Seongmin Yoo, For The People by The People, ink oil and rice paper on canvas, 2022
The first piece you are presented with when you walk in is Seongmin Yoo’s painting For The People by The People. This piece is part of the cover of the show so when you first walk in you are introduced with what has been advertised. From what I have interpreted I think that it has some form of political meaning with the word “My Body” seen in the painting and the form that looks to be like an infant. I even tried to Google information about these pieces or artists and was unable to find anything. Across the gallery there are two more pieces by the same artist. I wish these pieces were shown next to each other to help create a stronger message from the artist.
Shelby Hammock, Jalen Spriggs, Oil on Canvas 2023
(Left) AJ Williams, Kate Bryant, Oil on canvas 2023. (Right) Simon Gunnarsson, Jasmine Prado, Oil on canvas 2023
As you keep walking through there are many pieces in the exhibition that seem out of place for instance some of the students work. Artists Shelby Hammack, Simon Gunnarsson, and Adjani Williams, all students of Valdosta State University, exhibited portraits of people of color. While they are representing people of color within the paintings, there seems to be no meaning behind these portraits of people of color. In order to represent the meaning behind these pieces I would have enjoyed seeing paintings by POC or paintings expressing problems or talking about what is trying to be expressed by Art Spoken.
Something else that stuck out to many people in the juror statement was Richardson’s comment about Palestine. This shocked many people by bringing up such a controversial topic while not choosing any artworks that represented the problems in those communities. “Art Spoken” should have been an opportunity for underrepresented communities to speak through their artwork and be shown in ways that most art shows are too afraid to do.