Inspiration Strikes
![Sammy Holden '18 (art & art history, political science) works on a new painting in the Goodyear Gallery.](/images/GoodyearArtStudios_20171004_6456_700w.jpg")
Sammy Holden '18 (art & art history, political science) works on a new painting in the Goodyear Gallery. Photo by Carl Socolow '77.
Student-artists gear up for midyear exhibition
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Senior year is a big moment in the lives of studio-art majors—a time when they pour all that they’ve learned at Dickinson into a major body of work. In the spring, they’ll present a major joint exhibition. But there’s a significant milestone before that—the midyear preview, providing a tantalizing peek at the momentous event to come.
This fall’s show, Works Unknown, runs from Nov. 8 to Dec. 8 in the Goodyear Gallery, with a reception on Nov. 15. Like the spring exhibition, it is curated, designed and hung by the student-artists—in between homework and midterms and, in the case of those with double majors, other thesis projects—even as they continue to create new works.
“So there’s a lot going on, but whenever you get stuck, you can just go to someone else’s studio to talk it out. There’s definitely a lot of exchange,” says Amanda Patterson '18 (art & art history), noting that because senior studio-art majors and their professors work in Goodyear studios throughout the year, brainstorm sessions with fellow artists are always just a few steps away.
Works in progress. Photo by Carl Socolow '77.
"It’s a built-in support system,” agrees Julianne Gortakowski '18 (art & art history, biology). "Even though we all have different styles, we're all on the same page."
That collaborative atmosphere can take an artist’s work to new places, says Talia Amorosano ’17, the department’s 2017-18 post-baccalaureate artist-in-residence, recalling her own capstone exhibition last year, while critiques from professors and visiting artists further encourage continual growth. Weekly seminar meetings keep the group on track as they work together on the exhibition and catalog design and develop an overall theme for the midyear and end-of-year shows.
“We’re held to a high standard, in terms of output, quality of art and quality of discussion,” says Rowan Price ’18 (art & art history, environmental studies). “And if you’re held to a higher standard, you go far above what you thought you could do.”
The senior studio-art seminar exhibition will be on display in the Goodyear Gallery (Cedar Street entrance) Nov. 8 to Dec. 8, and a reception for the exhibition will be held on Nov. 15. Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday, 3-5 p.m., Saturday 2-5 p.m.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published November 6, 2017