Thirteenth Perspective
Fine Arts Grad Show creates art for art’s sake.
A more immersive experience is what’s in store for visitors to this year’s KPU Bachelor of Fine Arts graduation show, 13th Perspective. Taking place on April 17, in an enormous studio space provided to the fine arts department at the Cloverdale campus, the event will feature 12 graduating students exhibiting mixed media and painted works ranging in a number of mediums including sculptures and installations.
Organizing the event alongside the fourth-year students are Kent Anderson, professor of sculpture and 3D studies, and Sibeal Foyle, professor of painting and drawing. As Anderson explains, the students’ final exhibition, “would be like a final concert or an end-of-the-year test that encapsulates everything, but in this case it’s kind of encapsulating about four years of education.”
An artist’s inclusion may only be a single piece, but overall the show will feature multiple works that deal with the theme of urban decay. These include both architectural and theatrical works, with the majority being paintings along with a few ambitious sculptural pieces. Students generally take a “whole year to kind of tease out their own personal vision,” says Anderson.
Authored by the class itself, the name 13th Perspective arose out of recognizing not only the 12 artists in the show, but also the audience who is in this case invited to become the 13th participant.
“You’re after some kind of dynamic response, provocative responses,” says Anderson. “BFA shows are to be judged on their energy and experimental nature because these students have been pushed to make art for art’s sake.”
For Anderson, the public should view the show as a laboratory of research around visual art, “as opposed to emphasizing how ‘much does that cost?’ Art has to reflect life, and life is political.”
Students and the public are invited to the opening night reception that will include both live entertainment and an awards ceremony. The exhibition will showcase work by: Alan Canning, Alyx Essers,Angelai Lai, Caitlan Gray, Gunilla Kay, Jenine Sarchet, Katie Sture, Mark Stewart,Merry McMullen, Miriam Severson, Pauline Tiongson and Rosaura Ojeda.
