Art museum celebrates 100 years of art
Throughout the school year the art department has been celebrating its 100 year anniversary through exhibits, lectures and other ideas that celebrate art and education, said Carolyn Cardenas, art department head.
This celebration is closing with one final exhibit, called the Distinguished Alumni Exhibit. Seven alumni who have become successful in their artistic endeavors were nominated and selected by art department faculty to share their work with current Utah State students, faculty and community.
“This exhibit really represents 30 years of education. Some of these alumni went to school together, but their education is spread across a 30-year span. It’s an exciting preview of what’s to come,” Cardenas said.
The exhibit features seven artists, each representing the different areas within the department.
The distinguished alumni highlighted in this exhibit are Heather Ferrell, who graduated in 1984 with a bachelor’s of fine arts (BFA), representing the art history department; Abbigail Knowlton Israelsen, who graduated in 2000 with a BFA, representing the printmaking department; Sheila Nadimi, who graduated with a master’s of fine arts (MFA) in 1995, representing sculpture; Jon Rappleye, who graduated with a BFA in 1992, representing the painting department; Scott Rockwood, who graduated in 1975 with a BFA, representing the graphic design department; Brad Schwieger, who graduated with an MFA in 1984, representing ceramics and Steven B. Smith who graduated with a BFA in 1986, representing photography.
The exhibit began Monday and opened with Ferrell speaking about the display, Cardenas said.
She said it was a moving opening which many people attended, with more than 100 faculty, students and community members in attendance. Cardenas said she enjoyed seeing the interaction among those who came.
“To see people putting arms around each other that haven’t seen each other for years and talk about their lives and things they have learned was really great,” Cardenas said.
Ferrell spoke of her time at Utah State and how it helped to lay a good foundation for the rest of her artistic career.
“Definitely, as a foundation, my education at Utah State was pivotal. The combination of my background in photography and interest in art history provided for a holistic experience,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell, who helped to design the layout of the exhibit and the catalogue for it, spoke of how she enjoyed her education at USU and how it helped her to become more competitive for graduate school and in furthering her career.
“The idea of mentorship, you get that attention at Utah State that you don’t get anywhere else,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell applauded many of her past professors and said they helped her to discover different routes she could take in her life.
“Sometimes students don’t realize that you can go in and talk to your professors. Mine would ask me about what I wanted to do and would tell me about things I didn’t know and would want to pursue,” Ferrell said.
As the director of the Salt Lake Art Center, she said her mission has become similar to the goals of Utah State’s art department and the exhibits they display, about awareness and diversity.
“Our mission is to bring contemporary art to the Utah community by bringing in contemporary artists who focus on social aesthetic and civil issues,” Ferrell said.
Cardenas said she has a similar hope to make people aware of and celebrate differences.
“We have a year full of events that ties the theme of crossing boundaries together, by highlighting people who have successfully negotiated boundaries in their lives,” she said.
Next year’s and this year’s themes center around celebrating diversity in people, ideas and art, Cardenas said.
“Seeing the blend of the museum’s constituency and the constituency of students and community, it was intriguing to see them interact and to note the art department has a lot of potential,” she said.
The end of the celebration of 100 years of art is only the kick off to a new century of art to come and this exhibit perpetuates this idea of advancing forward, Cardenas said.
–beck.turner@aggiemail.usu.edu