The opening of the Select Student Works exhibit offers many New Media and Arts Technology (NMAT) students the opportunity to show off their best pieces.
Surrounded by the sound of feet shuffling from one piece to the next and whispered voices discussing colorful themes, IU Kokomo students, staff, and community took in all the crafted works.
Some hand-made pieces even came equipped with their own smell. That’s the case for Escapism by Abigail Carman. The record player, which is covered in real moss that she sprays with water daily, is meant to represent the connection she feels to nature and music.
“I spray it every day to give it more of a life-like quality, and it has that natural, earthy scent too. I like bringing in senses to art that add to the experience,” said Carman.
Through the majority of her work with the NMAT program, Carman has found a love of incorporating natural substances and processes in her art. Also on display in the gallery are several of her pieces that were developed using a cyanotype method that allows ink to formulate under sun exposure.
Carman isn’t the only NMAT student benefiting from the student gallery. Emsly Breisch, a freshman in the program, was elated to see many of her friends and classmates’ pieces on display.
“I would like to stay with the program and see my own art on display in the future,” Breisch said.
The exhibit inspires Breisch to keep creating with the hope of her instructors one day choosing her works for showcasing.
The new art gallery coordinator, Carrie Baxter, shared her perspective of the exhibit and its impact on students. Specifically, the student workers who helped her pull everything together prior to the opening.
“It’s been really great working with them because they are also learning things about how to install works and think about them in terms of where they are placed,” said Baxter.
Baxter’s background is in art collection and management, and she looks forward to “figuring out new types of exhibitions that we can have” and showcasing more student and faculty works alike.
The art gallery exhibit will be open until Feb. 15, Monday through Thursday from 10-5 p.m.
