By Kelli Londono/entertainment editor
Photos by David Reid/The Collegian
The delicate, wild and mysterious sides of girls and their femininity are on display in Girls, the exhibit in South Campus’ Carillon Gallery in the Joe B. Rushing Center for the Performing Arts.
Curator Erika Duque has returned to TCC to curate her first art show. The alumna of both TCC and the Art Institute of Chicago displays the meaning behind women and the meaning of feminine.
Duque said she handpicked four different professional artists and their pieces specifically for the exhibit. She said she didn’t want the message to be too serious.
“I just wanted something very girly, and I just like the theme,” she said. “I like girls. And I’ve been watching that HBO show Girls, and I thought this would be wonderful. You know, I guess my inner feminism came out, and I thought, ‘What a beautiful way to represent a girl and represent women.’”
The show consists of different media ranging from acrylic on canvas to animation. Duque has even included her own zine, a self-made publication on the artists that includes a photo of each artist and a few lighthearted interview questions asked by Duque herself.
Charlie Brand, a Fort Worth artist, said he created a series on his iPhone called Women, which helped Duque pick him for the show. Although he started out trying to duplicate his iPhone series, he said he soon started experimenting with crude lines for his other two pieces.
“I love the female form,” he said. “The curves of a woman are just beautiful. And, naturally I guess, I’ve always been fascinated with that. But [as I] got into, like, nude women and really learned a lot about human form and especially the female form and the curves and the female body, I really enjoy painting women. And I’d done that series, so I just wanted to take that to this.”
Photos by David Reid/The Collegian
Chicago artist William Bacarella brought three pieces for the show: an animation and two digital paintings. His pieces revolve around Americana culture, iconic teen films like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, images from the ’50s and the relationship between automobiles and females.
“The idea behind cars and women are very similar,” he said. “You know, the stereotype of a very male identity is very, like, cars and women! The way vehicles are designed, actually a lot of designed objects in the world are very feminine features. You know, a lot of people talk about their cars and be like ‘Yeah, she’s my girl.’ So it really wasn’t that hard to have these pieces fit within the context of the show.”
Duque said, no matter what, she hopes students just have fun with the show and enjoy the art.
“I just think women are just beautiful,” she said. “So that’s why I wanted to show them in their natural beauty. They’re just so delicate. That’s why I handpicked these pieces. They just have really beautiful, delicate qualities. It’s not like crude or anything, pretty and cute.”
The gallery is open Monday-Thursday by appointment only. For more information or an appointment, contact Joshua Goode at 817-515-4641.
