Student artwork using subtractive process on display
An exhibit featuring students’ three-dimensional design and relief printmaking artwork will be displayed at the TSC Skyroom Gallery until Oct. 30.
Kathy Puzey, assistant printmaking professor in the art department, said while there are different forms of art represented, they were all made using at least some of the same techniques.
“All of the artwork included in the exhibit incorporates the subtractive process of carving,” she said. “(The artists) remove material using sharp tools to create the artwork.”
There are two forms of art featured at the exhibit. One is the sculptures or three-dimensional design. The sculptures are examples from assistant professor of sculpture Eileen Doktorski’s class.
“They were given an assignment based on abstract and essence. They had to select an object in nature then abstract from that,” Puzey said.
The other form of artwork shown at the exhibit is the relief printmaking artwork. Puzey teaches the relief printmaking class and the prints in the exhibition are from the students’ final projects. She said for this assignment, students picked their own subject matter and created a two-dimensional printmaking piece.
Matt Nelson, senior majoring in art, is one student with pieces in the show.
“I had two projects featured in the show. One was a series of three portraits and the other was a large urbanscape. Both were done in woodcut,” he said. “The process is essentially taking a sheet of plywood and making a big stamp. You carve what you want white and leave what you want black. Next apply ink, lay a piece of paper on it, run it through a press and voila. You have a print.”
The exhibit opened on the Aug. 25 and will continue until Oct. 30. Puzey said another exhibit will be installed following this exhibit and will be works from a photography and a sculpture class. There will be two more exhibits in the Skyroom Gallery next semester from a different class.
Puzey said the exhibit is free to everyone.
“Anytime we get to exhibit student’s work it’s beneficial for the students and also for the public. It’s just a great way for students to show their work and it’s great for the art department to show the different things taught in their classes,” she said. “It’s also good for the public to see these young talented artists at work.”
Nelson said he thought the experience was “superb.”
“It’s always kind of surreal to see your own work hanging on a wall,” he said.
He said it is important for students to be able to show their work to the public.
“It gives my life and what I’m studying a sense of ‘truth.’ A large part of being an artist in the ‘real world’ is to have your work displayed one way or another. Taking part in exhibitions like this brings me out of the ‘I’m just a little kid playing with my crayons’ and gives me a taste of what post-graduation life will be like,” he said. “It’s exhilarating but it makes me a lot more self conscious too, knowing that other people are going to see it. To a certain degree it feels like someone taking a page out of my journal and displaying it for all to see.”
The exhibit is located on the fourth floor of the TSC at the Skyroom Gallery. Admission is free to everyone and the gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
–s.k.b@aggiemail.usu.edu