For such artists as Vincent Van Gogh and Camille Pissarro, gaining recognition in the art community took an entire lifetime. The 25 participants in the Art History Undergraduate Student Association’s upcoming art show are not willing to wait that long.
The free exhibition, entitled “Under the Radar: Undergrads Do Art” opens tonight in Powell Library with a reception in the Powell Rotunda. The show features six artists, 12 curators as seven students in charge of installing the artwork, for all of whom this will be the first time taking part in an exhibition.
“What is so exciting about the exhibit is that it is new all around,” said Roxanne Coble, fourth-year art history student and president of the association. “The artists, the curators, and the viewers will all have the chance to simultaneously experience a first-time thing.”
The association is comprised of students from all majors who enjoy art and want to gain practical experience in the field.
This exhibition is their second annual, and it is the first time the show has featured student art.
The exhibition will display a variety of media, ranging from pencil drawings to film projections, to digital art. Without an overarching theme, what keeps the show unified is the idea of the artistic self-determination. The exhibit will allow eager undergraduate artists and curators a chance to share their talent and hone their skills.
“This exhibit is our way of showing that undergraduates can produce great art. Undergrads are the future of art; we are the vanguard of the art community,” Coble said.
Such gusto and initiative is needed as an undergraduate in the art scene because when grappling for artistic experience it can be easy to feel like the underdog.
Pan Narkprasert, a first year art student with three pieces in the show, understands the feeling well.
“It is definitely hard to be an undergrad artist. It can be very intimidating to be surrounded by so much talent. Showing your work for the first time is like being naked in public,” Narkprasert said.
Trepidation aside, however, Narkprasert knew submitting his art to the exhibition would be an invaluable opportunity.
“I knew it was time for me to get some exposure as an artist and see the response to my work,” said Narkprasert, “As long as people appreciate my art, however they appreciate it, I am happy.”
Association members and participants in the show are not only forging their own way in the art world, but are redefining the parameters of artistic culture for themselves.
“People assume that art shows are only for the elite upper crust,” said curator Rosie Marquez, a third-year history and art history student and vice president of the Art History Undergraduate Student Association, “But this show is going to give everyone a chance to be recognized. Not only the student artists and curators, but the members of (the association) as well.”
As the association’s biggest event of the year, “Under the Radar: Undergrads do Art” aims not only to foster a memorable artistic experience between artists and curators, but to wow viewers as well with a refreshing artistic perspective.
“A lot of the art world is who you are or who you know,” Marquez said, “But if you are good, you are good. People are going to be astonished at what students can do.”