After venturing through Europe, capturing creative moments through various forms, students of the summer HUF-Art program displayed their works at their own art show Oct. 9.
The show was presented in the Stevens Art Gallery from 4 to 6 p.m. for visitors interested in seeing the pieces that students produced and to receive the opportunity to potentially purchase certain selections. Graphic design, interior design and fine art majors within the HUF-Art group were present to answer questions from guests. The exhibit will continue to be on display through Oct. 19.
Students of the program spent seven and a half weeks of their summer living in Scandicci, Italy, traveling throughout the country and concluding their short semester with a 10-day trip to Milan, Paris and London. Multiple art classes were offered and taught by visiting professors, Dr. Amy Cox and Stacy Gibson. Courses such as photography, multimedia and global literature were learned quickly and intensely, according to sophomore graphic design major Randi Owens.
“I had a camera in my hand, strapped to my wrist for two months straight,” Owens said.
Through her photography course, Owens said that she was able to consistently capture God’s beautiful creation. She entered work in the show including her personal, large-scale photography prints. Designs from each student within the group were on display and included photo prints in various sizes, works in pencil, ink, watercolor and papier-mache; multimedia pieces varying in a conglomeration of materials and journals that students kept throughout their studies and travels.
Each student was required to record their experiences within the journals through what Owens said was more of a scrapbook than solely words, since the group consisted of art majors. Students wrote essays, studied art styles through different time periods and chose an individual theme for their journals.
Through their writings and artwork, students sought to convey to their audience what they witnessed and learned throughout the semester.
“It’s really cool to see what different people saw,” Owens said. “They’re all really different; everybody put their own little twist on things.”
Junior graphic design major Mere Rowlett said that seeing the works of famous artists helped her to gain an understanding and freedom from the given rules and guidelines of her usual art classes. Students utilized this liberty to render their original compositions, many of which were displayed in the group’s showcase.
“Everybody likes stuff from foreign places and they like to experience it even through objects from someone else’s point of view,” Rowlett said.
Though the semester may have been have been brief in length, the amount of work that HUF art students created and the experiences they expressed through their art were long-lasting.
