:ROOM 249:
A selection of artworks from the Arts Administration Students at UO.
Administration is not usually a word associated with art. There is probably good reason for this. I was decidedly skeptical when approaching this show. I read the little blurb on the wall (so very very small) and it said that these fine people made art to "maintain [their] connection to the creative world". Oh ho, I thought. Time to judge and judge I did.
There's good news and then there's bad news. Replace 'news' with 'art' for maximum effect. First the negative
side. There was a good effort/showing put forth. Some of the pieces had a decidedly 'sketchbook' feel to them. Apparently the artist thought that putting a fancy frame around them would detract from their study-like nature. Valiant effort chaps. Other pieces, like Kyryhan M. Rodriguez' acrylic work "Sunglasses and Make-Up" had promise but have been done
before. Choose a topic that is more provocative, refine your skills a bit and that large, bright, acrylic format will burst forth, spewing artistic goodness.
Speaking of spewing. Let's talk about Simone Coker's "Celebrity Babies" series. (Get it? Babies? Spewing? Ohhohoho.) These bright, wild headshot paintings of the cultural elites' offspring stand out among the rest. But not always in a good way. Sure this is a good style for the artist and the execution is relatively respectable, but all of this chokes and dies because of the presentation. Seriously. What. Sloppy black paint behind pieces that are screwed directly to the wall. Killed it. Let's not ever do that again. Thanks.
Don't get me wrong, this show was not all bad. Not in the slightest. Directly askance of the aforementioned lil' introductory walltext are a series of collagraphs and woodcuts by Nicole Riewe. Their minimal aesthetic is, for lack of a better term, quite zen. Understated colors on backgrounds that recall the glory
days of the beige era of computing. A bit decorative, but loads better than being punched in the eye.
On the opposite side of the doorway are a series of four digital c-prints from Kate Nosen. The larger format pieces are ok. Although there are creases in the print from folding or rolling. "Birthday Shoes" is one of the smaller, square format prints. It has some kickin' reds and a nice, artsy angle.
Well played Kate, well played.
Now on to the star of the show. Lauren Suveges certainly has her stuff together. Well presented. Well executed. "Heroine and Hero", her oil and pastel on canvas piece has a decidedly unfinished quality to it, but the "Requests" pieces are some good work/art/stuff on a wall that we like to look at.
Apparently enlisting the knitting skills of her Grandma Mary (there are no artists' statements in this whole show, c'mon guys), boxy forms are covered in a soft blanket of...knittedness. Little trinkets here and there are included for some reason or another. I'm sure there is some kind of personal meaning behind these works, but no one thought it meet to tell we the viewer anything via the walls. Suveges' best piece is "Requests #3-12". Like Coker, she too has decided to paint behind the piece on the wall. Unlike Coker, she actually pulls it off with a pleasing and complimentary effect.
tl;dr: This show is better than I was expecting. Some shining stars of Arts Admin saved it. But I think it's going to come down at the end of the week, so you'll just have to take my word and my camera phone's word for it. Until next time, judge'd.
-INTERNET.COM
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INTERNET.COM is a freelance guerilla critic working in Eugene, OR. His award-winning reviews have garnered him respect and adoration the world over. And if anyone wants to hire him for money, leave a comment. Thx.
