Artsy fartsy fun

Last night I got the chance to do three of my favorite things: look at art, talk to creative people and drink wine.

Thursday night was the opening night of the 2008 Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Show in the Ritter Art Gallery at the Boca campus. The show, dubbed “Peripheral Vision,” featured 22 graduating seniors from the College of Arts and Letters. The works are on display at the Ritter (above the Breezeway) now through May 2.

The show is the culmination of the students’ semester in the senior seminar class, a course required for graduation for all art majors. It’s also the first time all art majors – graphic design, studio art, sculpture, ceramics, photography, printmaking and painting – come together for one class.

As part of their final exam grade, the students were required to feature a piece of their work in the show. Some students used their class projects, others created brand new works and some even made site-specific projects for the show.

Here’s a look at my top five favorite works:


“The Eighth Continent”
By Alex C. Mescher
Graphic Design

Materials: Resin, found plastic debris and sand
Time to complete: Four days

I might be a little bias because this artist also happens to be the assistant art director for the UP. Yet, I was not the only one to admire his work. Many other gallery onlookers agreed the piece was “very powerful.”

This molded number eight took nearly four 32-ounce cans of resin and cost around $120 to complete. The items inside the eight were all found at Boca’s Spanish River Beach and include a plastic bottle, lighter, toy car and plastic rope.



“Large Lidded Jars”
By David McKenna
Ceramics

Materials: Ceramic and stone ware
Time to complete: 20 minutes for each pot, almost three weeks total including drying time

In an attempt to join organic nature and mechanical techniques, McKenna said he decided he wanted to create lidded jars for his final project. The jars were created with perfect precision, all three incremental sizes were smooth and shinny. The lids from all four jars were also removable.

If these jars were on sale, I would have bought them on the spot.



“I am not confused, I am just well mixed”
By Natalie Nelson
Graphic Design

Materials: Aluminum
Time to complete: Four days

This metal wall-mounted piece was done entirely in aluminum. The jumbled letters represent all of the words (and letters) in the Robert Frost quote for which it was titled. All of the aluminum used was donated, but according to the artist it would have cost upwards of $500 to purchase all the materials.



“Introspective Nebuli”
By Chris Glanzman
Graphic Design

Materials: Digital print

This artist self portrait was made up entirely of words – all of which are lyrics to from songs that hold personal meaning to the artist. Lyrics from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coheed & Cambria and Jimmy Eat Word can be found around his eyes, nose and chin.



“Untitled”
By Filiz O’Brien
Ceramics

Materials: Ceramics and wire
Time to complete: On and off for two weeks

These 37 ceramic pieces represent the five main parts of the human digestive system. Each rectangular shape had a part of an organ. According to the artist, her interest in biology and anatomy has always helped her to be aware of how the body works and this work displays that structure.


Click HERE to view more photo's from the BFA Show opening night.

Want to check out their art for yourself?
The Ritter Art Gallery is located above the Breezeway on the Boca Raton campus and is open Tuesday through Friday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.