When Corinne Romano ’15 first proposed her idea to represent Mayan hieroglyphs as real-life creatures for a senior studio art project, she said that some members of the faculty did not understand the point of view she hoped to present through her work. Despite the uncertainty of some professors, Romano was intrigued by the concept — which built on her interest in “creature concept design” — and she decided to commit to the idea.
“I worked nonstop for two terms on that piece, and over spring break as well,” she said.
Romano’s work is now on view as part of the senior majors exhibition, a showcase of work by graduating seniors in the studio art department that is open to the public in the Hopkins Center’s Jaffe-Friede and Strauss Galleries and the Black Family Visual Arts Center’s Nearburg Arts Forum. Two weeks removed from its May 12 kickoff, the exhibit will remain open until June 21.
Janine Leger ’15, a honors major in the studio art department whose work is also displayed in the exhibition, said that studio art professor and head of exhibitions Gerald Auten headed the selection process for the showcase, which allowed students to submit pieces of which they were particularly proud for potential placement in the show. Professors then selected work for the showcase, Leger said, focusing less on organizing the show around a particular theme and more on selecting students’ best and most interesting work. Pieces were selected close to the beginning of spring, she said.
Noah Smith ’15, another honors major in the department, said that he had six pieces chosen for the showcase. Describing his selected pieces as slightly “random,” he said they still captured the thought behind his thesis, which examines the experience of African-American males who choose to affiliate in mainstream, predominately white fraternities.
“[The professors] did a really good job using my work to get at the heart of what my thesis was,” Smith said. “It’s been really cool for my friends to see a snapshot of what I’ve been working on.”
In addition to sharing their work with friends, those students featured in the showcase have also had the opportunity to receive feedback from gallery viewers over the past two weeks, Leger said. Leger had four pieces in the show, including an 82 by 52-inch paining titled “Calm Catastrophe.”
“I’ve been asked to submit work to a gallery called ‘Castle in the Clouds,’ which is in New Hampshire,” Leger said. “Someone has even offered to buy one of my pieces…You get a lot more feedback over an extended period of time versus just one day when everyone goes to see it.”
Romano, who eventually decided to present her hieroglyph-inspired creatures in the Victorian style as a “cabinet of curiosities,” also said that she has enjoyed sharing her work and receiving feedback.
“A lot of the community was really excited to be able to touch and interact with the piece,” Romano said. “My professors very much enjoyed it, especially the level of detail.”
Work in the exhibition, which includes work from 16 other student artists in addition to Romano, Leger and Smith, spans various styles — from interactive sculpture to Leger’s paintings, which she described as abstract and “similar to American expressionism.”
“My work is very textured,” Leger said. “It’s more about people getting a sense of light and texture and tone out of the work...versus a physical object that they see.”
In discussing their work, all those interviewed mentioned how exciting it has been to share their work with peers and community members. Romano described the wide viewership as the most meaningful part of the exhibition.
“This is my first gallery showing at this scale, and it feels really damn good,” she said. “Just to be able to put my work forward and have people react the way they did is so gratifying.”
