Upon entering the exhibition, “Enchanted Forest Fire” by the artist, Raina Belleau, the viewers are immediately shown a big sign that bears a resemblance to common national park signs that typically indicates the rise in risk of a forest fire. The viewer might assume this will be another innocent exhibit that goes on about the dangers of forest fires or what-not. However, the second you pass the sign, you see the true distress of the exhibition.
Meet Javian Williams, a creative and talented senior at Valdosta State University who will be graduating in May 2023. Originally from Thomasville, Georgia, Javian relocated to Valdosta to improve his artistic skills and expand his knowledge. During his four years at the university, Javian’s artistic style has undergone significant changes. From recreating cartoons to tackling serious issues, his art has evolved.
“My work is for the people that are a little eccentric,” said Gloria Townsend as she answered questions in preparation to show work in the Valdosta State Senior exhibition. Townsend is graduating from Valdosta State University in 2022. She, along with many other art students, have had the pressure of balancing school life and creating their art. When in a classroom Townsend works at her own pace and world. Often found to be quiet while working with her headphones on; she will still have a friendly conversation with anyone who approaches. Her slight awkwardness is endearing as she is asked what she is working on and asks back the same question with sincerity. Townsend may be shy in person but her art is not. Her interest in horror, fantasy and representation shine through. She identifies as a queer black artist and is inspired by stories, fiction, animation, and providing representation for people like her.
Jenifer Arellano – Mendoza is a student at Valdosta State University that is displaying her work at the In Situ exhibition. Starting her journey in life, the artist grew up in Brunswick, Georgia. The area that Arellano – Mendoza grew up in was not easy, which taught her how to be strong and independent. Growing up in this type of lifestyle made her want to connect more with others, especially minorities. With her parents being immigrants, Mendoza wanted to break the cycle of having things they usually did not have. Her first step in that was being the first person in her family to go to college. So, she used art to express herself and her feelings. Mendoza stated how she used photography as her words when she could not speak for herself. Before college, she was shy and did not know how to express her feelings when a loved one or friend passed, which also resulted in her not creating art. The artist felt as though she had no purpose to make art and no voice in art that helped with these issues. Attending VSU gave her that opportunity to learn more and process things she held back. The school gave her a fresh set of eyes and constructive criticism from her peers to improve as a person and artist.
DaMea Hughes is a senior at Valdosta State University graduating in May of 2022. She is from a small, country town called Cedartown in Georgia. When asked about the effect of where she’s from on her work, she states, “art really isn’t a big thing there.” She began her college experience as a criminal justice major with art as a hobby. After realizing her passion for art as a career, Hughes changed her major to interior design. However, in the summer of 2021, Hughes couldn’t get enough and changed her major again to strictly focus on her art. Hughes is part of the senior exhibition titled “In Situ”. This is a Latin phrase that translated means, “the original place”. Hughes states that all the seniors have come together during their college career as artists, and created their own original place within the gallery, hence “In Situ”.
The Senior Exhibition is a way to showcase the art from the soon to be graduating seniors. It takes place every semester towards the end in the Dedo Gallery located in the Fine Arts Gallery. The Student Myles Halcomb was the focus of this assignment to discuss his artwork inside the gallery and getting a better understanding of him and his interpretation. Myles Halcomb was born/ raised from Metro Atlanta , Georgia and currently resides in South Georgia. Aiming for a Bachelor of Arts with a focus of Graphic design. Growing up for Myles, Art has always been in his life growing up, he got his inspiration from his grandfather who was a Artist and created artwork as a hobby , which was a big asset to Myles life.
While interviewing Myles he stated that his focus was “To Rebrand the discontinue of Coca Cola, and bring awareness of my own interpretation of Coca Cola”. He plans to use his graphic knowledge to sell the idea and sell his ideas to the higher ups and individuals in charge of the graphic design of the Coca Cola brand to help allow opportunities. “Untitled” a self portrait of Myles Halcomb created in March 2022, with the mediums of Screen-printing, Ink and Printmaking paper was displayed in the Senior show and Myles stated that while creating this artwork he was going through a depression phase and practicing Expressionism with the use of colors , the Red represents Anger and Blue represents Sadness.
The Senior Exhibition is a way to showcase the art from the soon to be graduating seniors. It takes place every semester towards the end in the Dedo Gallery located in the Fine Arts Gallery. The Student Myles Halcomb was the focus of this assignment to discuss his artwork inside the gallery and getting a better understanding of him and his interpretation. Myles Halcomb was born/ raised from Metro Atlanta , Georgia and currently resides in South Georgia. Aiming for a Bachelor of Arts with a focus of Graphic design. Growing up for Myles, Art has always been in his life growing up, he got his inspiration from his grandfather who was a Artist and created artwork as a hobby , which was a big asset to Myles life. While interviewing Myles he stated that his focus was “To Rebrand the discontinue of Coca Cola, and bring awareness of my own interpretation of Coca Cola”. He plans to use his graphic knowledge to sell the idea and sell his ideas to the higher ups and individuals in charge of the graphic design of the Coca Cola brand to help allow opportunities. “Untitled” a self portrait of Myles Halcomb created in March 2022, with the mediums of Screen-printing, Ink and Printmaking paper was displayed in the Senior show and Myles stated that while creating this artwork he was going through a depression phase and practicing Expressionism with the use of colors , the Red represents Anger and Blue represents Sadness. The Artwork was meant to be a realization and coming to terms of letting go of his past emotions. Myles was very influenced by the anime and comic style of art and it connected him in different ways to improve his graphic designs. He included in his Artist Statement “making art let’s me express my full range of emotion.”
Myles Halcomb, Busy Hands, 18×24, Charcoal and Soft pastel, March 2021
With “Busy Hands” his focus was to play with abstraction and get a better understanding of how to play with different contrasts and textures to create variations. He was big on finding different ways to balance his emotions after difficult times he experienced and incorporates the emotions into his artworks. The line works emulate brushstrokes which gives it emotion. Music played a big part in his life and it’s his best way to express his emotions. Being a huge audiophile to different sounds from all over was good to help him improve his craft. With “Untitled” the expressive texture from the black ink layered on top of the red and blue which allows the blank expression on the portrait evoking strong feelings. The Artist Statement also talks more about his influence from his grand father and his mother who pushed him to a place , where he couldn’t even push himself. True art connects us in the never ending story of humanity and that helps inspire other individuals to express themselves in there own way, this helps make art unique. To conclude Myles wants to continue to be an Expressionism artist and interpret his love for music, comics, and anime in his own way to gain the recognition he wants to rebrand popular brands.
Nicholas Grier : Senior Profile, Valdosta State University with a Bachelor in Art, 2022
The “Living in Color” exhibition features 20 art students graduating from Valdosta State University with the idea of exploring the use of art as communication. The exhibition contains a wide variety of mediums and art styles supporting the individual talents of each graduate. The graduates are diverse in background and personality that signifies the uniqueness of Valdosta State University students. The introduction notes, “Our title ‘Living in Color” represents each one of us as individuals and unique artists, and although these colors are different, we still can find the allure in them” (Dedo Maranville). The “Living in Color” exhibition gives these artists an opportunity to show their favorite and most representative works to show the range and depth their artist have developed.
The “Valdosta National 2021”, is an event held by the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery at Valdosta State University, and many artists from all over the United States are represented at the “Valdosta National.” In an interesting turn of events due to the Coronavirus Outbreak, the “Valdosta National” is shown online for the first time in the show’s history. There is now a possible international audience to the show due to the better visibility of the show. Everyone with internet access across the world can view the “Valdosta National” at any time at their leisure. In some ways, however, there is a disadvantage to the “Valdosta National” being solely online. People cannot get a closer look at the art, especially with the three-dimensional artworks like the sculptures. There is a variety of artwork in 2021’s “Valdosta National,” as paintings, videos, sculptures, mixed media, photography, textiles, lithographs, and etchings are included. Cash awards were given to the top four winners at this exhibition and Claire Dempster was the juror and judge of 2021’s exhibition.
The Department of Art and Design of Valdosta State University is presenting the Spring 2021 Senior Exhibition at the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery, “as the semester comes to a close, 20 art students graduating from VSU have worked together to create the digital gallery show ‘Living inColor’” (VSU Gallery).
“The Valdosta National 2021” was hosted by Valdosta State University Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery. It is an all media competition that was shown virtually this year due to the pandemic. The juror and judge for the competition this year was Claire Dempster. Some of the featured artists in the show were Amy Broderick, Samuel Dunson, and Martha Underriner.
