South art faculty members are stepping into the shoes of their old mentors by showcasing their works to students at the fall Faculty & Staff Exhibition, on display through Oct. 2 on South Campus.
Assistant professor of art Humna Raza, who is also a former TCC student, said displaying her work at the faculty exhibit is an important moment for her. She remembered how her instructors on NW Campus would show their work.
“Being able to see their work when we had the faculty shows over there was always just an important moment like, ‘this is the work of my teachers, you know, the professionals in the field that I want to rise into,’” Raza said. “It feels like a full-circle moment for me to now kind of be in their shoes.”
The exhibit featured 26 pieces of art created in varying mediums like painting, drawings, prints and hair.
The exhibit does not feature any specific themes, and the 13 participating faculty members were invited to share their newest works.
Joshua Goode, the chair of the fine arts department on South Campus, said the exhibit is put on every few years to give students the opportunity to see what art the faculty were making.
“Often we are the ones who are providing critique and advice and insight into their artwork,” Goode said. “[The exhibit] allows us to turn the tables and let them see what we make and have the opportunity to also critique it.”
Raza has two of her pieces on display, one of which uses some of her own hair.
The piece features a long braid of synthetic hair hanging from the ceiling with a decorated bowl tied to the end with an almost thread-like section of hair. The image on the inside of the bowl is of the top of a woman’s head with many braids dividing the white space. Little braids of Raza’s real hair are attached to where the drawing of the braids ends.
The piece, named “Hepta-Braided Bowl in Tension,” is part of an ongoing series Raza has been working on since her time at the University of Texas at Arlington called “Tangles, Knots and Vines.” Raza said the process of creating the piece and her art series as whole was cathartic for her.
“My body of work and the work I practice in has always been about kind of like the ideas of anxiety and how we deal with it and process it,” Raza said. “It’s just like I get, kind of, to breathe out when I make the work.”
South assistant professor of art Courtney Googe has six art pieces on display. Googe is primarily a printmaker and draws inspiration from history, mythology, jazz music and pop culture for her prints.
One of her prints from “Already Been Chewed: Poster Series” shows two hands intertwined above the words “I chose to eat the pomegranate seeds,” a reference to the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.
“I’ve been interested in ancient civilization since I was a kid,” Googe said. “Started with Ancient Egypt and then learned more about the Minoans and the ancient Greeks. I liked the stories very much.”
South student Nicole Narvaez attended the opening reception of the exhibit on Sept. 4 after her teacher, Googe, told her students to come before their class. Narvaez said she thought Googe’s prints were nice.
“You can tell she made that with love and passion,” Narvaez said.
Goode said he hopes students would leave the exhibit impressed with the artwork created by the South art faculty and become inspired to take classes with them.
“I’ve seen a lot of students are coming up, and they’re getting excited about artwork, finding out the faculty member who made it, and then wanting to already take their class in the spring,” he said.
