Unseen Connections
Senior Thesis Art Exhibition on display at Neil Britton Gallery through May 14
By Leona Baker | April 19, 2011
It’s tempting to think of math and art as completely incompatible disciplines—one concerned with the objective, the other with the subjective. But they’re actually quite compatible, argues senior VWC art major Ashlee Edwards.
Edwards’ mathematically inspired art (detail at right) joins the work of two other Wesleyan students in “Seek, Interact, Connect" or “SIC” for short, the 2011 Senior Thesis Exhibition on display April 20-May 14 in the Neil Britton Gallery on campus.
“Both the arts and mathematics aim to give us a representation of reality,” writes Edwards in her student abstract for the show. “Mathematicians use formulas; artists use perspective.”
In Edwards’ work, that perspective is created with string, wire, yarn, twine, pushpins and wood in three-dimensional, mixed-media pieces dominated by geometric shapes and planes of muted color crisscrossed by mazes of string. The result is orderly yet uneasy.
“The goal is to be able to take intangible ideas or notions in mathematics and represent them in innovative ways using artistic techniques,” she explains. “As a culture we are trained to view art as something beautiful and subjective, and mathematics as objective and straightforward.”
The students whose work is displayed in the show chose three action words, “seek,” “interact” and “connect” as a way of describing their process and used the words as the title of the show. Edwards’ work is represented by the word “connect.”
Schaeffer Gayle’s work has an entirely different feel, represented in the show title by the action word “seek.” His surreal, graffiti-inspired pen and ink drawings, some with singular bold color elements, are a tangle of trees with eyes and other anthropomorphic figures devouring one another (right). Gayle says his work is more about exploration and asking questions than any specific statement.
“I am motivated to seek some sort of meaning in life, but also to sort out what seems to evolve on the paper when I draw,” he explains. “The mystery of life is that we do not have all of the answers but we can still appreciate what is true and real, like plants and animals. In a lot of my images there are creatures that are either eating each other or that are connected to another creature or some other part of the drawing.”
Samantha Bull’s imagery is decidedly quieter with its visual focus on color and pattern—rhythmic repetition created with splotches in yellow, black and white or other minimal palettes. Her paintings are complemented by a striking installation piece made to look like a lava flow of paint dripping over the side of a wall and onto the floor (right). Her inspiration was the interaction between human beings and substances.
“It is a reflection of my interest in how we are affected in unseen ways by the chemicals around us,” she writes. “As much as we try to control these items, sometimes there is no choice but to watch what will come of them.”
The annual Senior Thesis Exhibition is a requirement for art majors and always produces a wonderfully diverse collection of work.
“This cohort presents distinctly varied perspectives on the creative endeavor,” says John Rudel, Associate Professor of Art and Curator of Exhibitions for the gallery. “I hope everyone will have an opportunity to see this show.”
A reception will be held in the Neil Britton Gallery on April 20 from 7-8:30 p.m. For more information, contact John Rudel with the Art Department at 757.455.3257 or e-mail jrudel@vwu.edu. This event is free and open to the public.