As a culmination of their time at Colgate University, seniors with a concentration in studio art displayed their final semester-long project. Titled “Reverberations,” the exhibition featured seven displays, each dealing with their own unique interpretations of the “reverberations” theme. The installments featured compelling painted works, photography, 3D displays, monotype prints and technological co-creators to help realize each of the artists’ unique vision.
Senior Elizabeth Armstrong commented on the process of participating in the exhibition.
“When the artists participating in this exhibition began working on our individual pieces, we weren’t given a specific theme to connect our works,” Armstrong said. “The development of the show’s title and overarching concept came much later, towards the end of our creative processes. As a group, we brainstormed potential words that could encapsulate some aspect of all our artworks, and we unanimously agreed upon ‘Reverberations.’”
Senior Lauren Stewart’s exhibit, “Binding,” featured two long sheets of painting paper that hung on the wall and sprawled out on the floor. Each sheet was decorated with unique patterns created by ink and oil, some patterns resembling clouds or mountain ranges, like ornate needlework. Stewart utilized the AxiDraw plotter, a pen plotter machine, to create her piece. In totality, “Binding” creates something strenuous and delicate.
“I guided its movements through defined parameters while embracing randomness, glitches and the machine’s inherent decisions, which pushed the visuals beyond my direct control,” Stewart wrote in her artist statement. “One scroll captures the collaboration between my hand and the plotter […]. The other reflects the plotter’s imperfect attempts to mimic human strokes.”
Two contributing artists decided to document the complexities facing women in modern society. One of which was senior Olivia Dorian’s exhibit, titled “Three Heists.”
“[My piece] overlooked the experience of adolescent girls and reenact[s] stories of stealing as a rite of passage, as well as an act of transgression,” Dorian said.
Dorian presents three separate storylines that contain intimate scenes within strangers’ lives that evoke empathy and thought from the viewer.
“I intended to show how girls steal each other’s coats in a way that creates a cycle of continued stealing, but also that this is a pretty common experience — at least at Colgate — so as not to pass moral judgement on the thief,” Dorian commented. “In that sense, it is mildly amusing since the pair of girls would probably do the same thing in such circumstances. I tried to convey shock [and] discovery rather than mockery.”
Another exhibit examining women in modern society, senior Leia Francis’ exhibit “Intersections,” celebrates the long history of women advancement in the field of science by honoring five modern female scientists and celebrating their accomplishments. Francis’ four oil paintings depict, in the order displayed: Dr. Ronke Olabisi, a tissue engineer and professor at the University of California Irvine; Dr. Rebecca Metzler, professor of physics at Colgate University; junior Gisele Tjan; Dr. Maura McLaughlin, an astronomer and professor at West Virginia University; and Dr. Jenny Magnes, an optical physicist and professor at Vassar College.
“Women of diverse ages, expressions, ethnicities and poses look outwards as if engaging the viewer in conversation,” Francis wrote in her artist statement. “This work is deeply autobiographical. I attempt to make space for all young women who resonate with my experience as a female scientist by narrating the journeys of five remarkable scientists who have advanced their work despite the gender bias in their field.”
Other works deal with various social issues. Senior Aleza Falk’s work, titled “Unveiled: the 2021-2024 Archive,” shows embossments of multiple articles of clothing, all sourced from wasted clothes in various wardrobes. Falk creates this “ghostly apprehension” as a potent reminder of the waste of the fashion industry and the fast fashion trend.
Senior Sophie Cucinotta’s exhibit examined the harsh conditions farm animals that are bred and slaughtered endure, specifically chickens. Cucinotta features various depictions of chickens, one where a myriad of chickens expands infinitely beyond the horizon in an ever-narrowing coop towards a bright light that culminates in a whirl of confusion and cruelty.
Senior Caralyn Schmidlein’s exhibit, titled “Intimate Strangers,” displays three mixed media depictions of riders on the New York City subway using oil paint, pastel and spray paint. Schmidlein’s work immediately creates a sense of deep empathy for the obscured characters.
“Each composition dances along the lines of abstraction and figuration, creating unique moments where unexpected colors, textures and lines meet, drawing out a shifting sense of movement, spontaneous connection, intimacy and rest,” Schmidlein wrote in her artist statement. “The New York City subway is an environment teeming with diverse, anonymous lives, simultaneously giving riders a sense of anonymity and profound intimacy. I want these paintings to foster a sense of mutual recognition, challenging viewers to resist judgement and instead see the riders as individuals living lives as vivid and complex as our own.”
Lastly, the work by Armstrong, titled “What Breaks, Blooms,” is a beautiful display of existential displacement and confusion, as well as deep desire and uncertainty. Armstrong displays hanging, colorful 3D objects that have a hard exterior, but soft and inviting interior. These “organic” and seductive blooms hover over a quote by Sylvia Plath that portrays the many things one can be and the many paths one can take as figs that dance around the author. Each is incredibly inviting, rendering the author incapable of choosing. Therefore, the figs begin to rot and fall at her feet. The overall effect of Armstrong’s display is profoundly moving.
“The perils and beauty of choice and possibility inform this installation,” Armstrong wrote in her artist statement. “Each of these forms embodies the seeds of struggle and opportunity but also warn of the purgatory prison of indecision […]. What does it mean to hunger in the face of endless options, and is this hunger a necessary part of understanding one’s purpose?”
The exhibition overall has a tremendous effect. The works put forward are both emotionally and intellectually challenging, as well as aesthetically beautiful. It is a worthy capstone of the hard work and effort that the outgoing Colgate seniors have put in.
“[It] challenged us to evaluate what we keep close and what we let go,” Falk said.
