by Jamil Oakford/se news editor
An interpretation of beauty is filling up NE Campus’ College Hall with an exhibit by faculty members in the art program.
Featuring artwork from associate professors Andrew Stalder, Cindy Hurt and Scott Parker, the exhibit is there to help painting students start the semester.
“Some nice visual examples of what painting looks like,” Hurt said.
Stalder is excited about his pieces in the exhibit.
“All my work these days exists for one purpose, and that is to make people happy,” he said.
The artwork featured in the exhibit may be stylistically different from one another, but they were all working with one theme.
“We’re dealing with some of the same content issues, playing around with beauty,” Hurt said.
Thinking about the meaning of beauty, they created artwork representative of their own definitions.
When asked what inspired them or brought them to the work they’ve put on display at the exhibit, both approached it differently.
“Beauty is in short supply most of time, so I try to bring a bit of it to the world,” Stalder said. “I’m tired of ugly painting.”
And Hurt said a couple years ago she’d had a personal epiphany that painting was about beautiful objects in culture.
These unique views on the topic created great contrasts within the pieces when shown side-by-side.
“Different styles, different interests, different compositions, all that’s going on,” she said. “I think the big picture is the dialogue about beauty.”
Hurt said she thinks it’s a result of the artwork being on display beside each other.
“What we’ve done is we’ve put a show up and then the result is …. a discourse about beauty,” she said.
Stalder would like visitors of the exhibit to remember the work he’s presented long after the exhibit has closed and the visitors are going about their everyday routine.
“If that happens, I think I have made a successful painting,” he said.
The art exhibit is open for anyone interested at College Hall (NCAB 1111) during normal operating hours.
