No other department can display a wide range of material as
tastefully as the art department. This year’s Undergraduate
Juried Exhibit, on display in the Kinross Building now until Dec.
11, includes colorfully textured paintings, crisp photographs
examining everyday scenes from innovative angles and abstract
thought-provoking sculptures.
Photographer Christina Fernandez served as juror for this
year’s exhibit, which surveys art students’ recent work
across all disciplines. The juror is typically a professional in
the art world invited from off campus to select work for the
exhibition. Past jurors have included Russell Ferguson, chief
curator at the UCLA Hammer Museum, and David Pagel, an art critic
for the Los Angeles Times.
All art majors were able to submit two pieces for consideration
and roughly a quarter of the submissions were chosen.
Chair of the art department Professor James Welling was pleased
to witness the progression of his students’ skills and felt
the exhibit was a fair representation of the department.
“I was very happy with the show,” he said. “I
had a very good response from a number of students.”
Art students work in all disciplines, including photography,
sculpture, painting and drawing. This wide range of media forces
the students to expand their own artistic palette.
“Since artists don’t major in one particular
discipline, they are able to transfer ideas from one medium to
another,” Welling said. As a photography professor, Welling
was interested in seeing sculptures and paintings from his
photography students.
Junior Avigail Moss, who has had her textiles and drawings
exhibited as a freshman and sophomore, agrees that this
year’s juried exhibit stands out from those of previous
years. Moss’ textile piece on display this year deals with
aspects of epic space through its size, and the ideas of
physicality through the medium of felt cloth, ruffled ribbon and
thread.
“(Being selected) is sort of a crap shoot,” she
said. “It depends on the juror, and different jurors have
different biases. (But) I think Christina Fernandez set it up
pretty well in terms of arranging the gallery space with the way
she has pieces relating to one another.”
In addition to the annual juried exhibit, the department offers
several opportunities for students to present their work. Students
can enter a lottery at the beginning of each quarter to use the
Undergraduate Gallery space for one week to show their own work, or
curate the space.
Professor Welling stresses the importance of students displaying
their art as part of the creative process. “Once you get the
work outside of yourself, the artist sees it differently. The great
thing about having shows is not only about a sense of finality or
completion, but you get to see it as others see your
work.”
Unfortunately for the UCLA student art community, the majority
of campus is unaware of the Kinross Building’s location near
Lot 32. Its distance from the main campus makes it inconvenient for
non-art students to stroll into the gallery on the way to class.
Yet, Welling maintains that though the viewing audience is limited,
it is a more intimate and consistently interested community.
“It’s too bad that more students don’t come
down here, but we have a more engaged audience with the two
departments (Design | Media Arts and World Arts and Cultures) that
are close by,” Welling said.
For Moss, it doesn’t matter either way. “It’s
self-affirming when your piece is chosen. Plus it’s just nice
to show work with your peers.”