At Valdosta State University, a well commended exhibition is being shown at the Dedo Maranville art gallery. There have been numerous shows, but this show in particular strikes a special type of interest. I say the most because of the theme of the show. All of the works are being shown by the seniors who are art students. There are many pieces that stand out in the art gallery. Violet Ferree stood to bring an amazing showcase to the gallery exhibition.
What made her work much more interesting was the fact that it was not all one medium. There were a variety, and all were developed very well. Walking around to view her work, the work titled “Kindle” by Violet, was what stuck out to be a piece of slight disinterest. I wasn’t a work that stuck me as being visually appealing, even though there were plenty of meanings that went behind it. In her artist statement, she mentions that “her work is a reflection of her emotions and feelings that she continues to work through as a result of traumatic events that she has suffered.”
The work is shown on a canvas, and is done in oil paint. It looked to be 3 holes that were burned through the bottom, but it definitely was intentional. At the bottom of the canvas , there were burnt marks to signify the feeling of being broken. When something is burned, it is damaged, but she is making it into something that was meant to be beautiful. Beautiful in a sense of being torn, and overcoming your situation rather than letting it defeat you.
Looking at the different works of art, my next step was to get the full opinion of the artist, and their perspective directly. I met with Ms. Ferree in the gallery, and we began to discuss her work, and her intentions behind it. Being that “Kindle” was my least favorite, I wasn’t inclined to speak on that particular piece. As we sit down, I ask the first question with a smile. “I’ve looked though a lot of your pieces. What is your favorite medium? I’ve noticed that you’ve used a lot of oil on canvas in comparison to all of your works.” She laughs, and replies with “Yes. I do work mostly with oil. It is my favorite medium to work with.” I can see that it is an interest. My favorite piece of hers was of an oil painting titled “Self Portrait”. What stood out to me was that the shape was recognizable, but the face wasn’t. This spoke volumes of how she was able to get her message across without making any of her features identifiable. “I really liked your piece titled “Self Portrait”. Could you explain a little in depth about your process, and how it was established?” “Sure.”, she replied. “If you look at “Self Portrait” by itself, one might simply think of it as a self-portrait, maybe slightly sad or distant. Without seeing my other work, there might not be any questioning as to why I show this painting. It speaks in a sense of internal pain, and not external. The nakedness of the body is to represent me being completely open and vulnerable.” Taking this into consideration, I did notice that there were no external marks which I could see.
We talk a little more about all of her pieces, and my final question comes out to her at the very end of our conversation. “Which is your favorite piece?”, I asked. She responds with, “My current favorite piece is “About Forty: Connected.”. “Why?!”, I quickly respond without realizing it. “It would have to be that this is a milestone for me. This work talks about all of the people that one is connected with. All of the people that are your support when going through challenging times in your life. It is also my favorite because it was challenging for me, and because I feel as if it is the start to something new that I will be pursuing, both in topic and medium.” Hearing this gave me a lot to think about, and opened new doors to a lot of ideas for future works of art. Her work is more relatable and grabs her viewer more in the sense of emotion and meaning rather than aesthetics. With a lot to ponder, I leave the gallery with knowledge of the artist sought after, and a new perspective on what our seniors have to present this year.
