Not only is there an exhibition that can truly convince people that art is for everyone - it can be found right on North Campus.
"The Octet Art Exhibit," compiled from works of eight first-year MFA Visual Arts students, offers a gentle reminder that art is not only for other artists. The gallery opened this Thursday in the University at Buffalo Art Gallery.
Appropriately named "Octet," the eight artists dazzle viewers with their different talents, skills, and views of the world through distinctive forms of media.
"As an artist, I definitely think that more students should come to these exhibits," said Mitch Candreva, freshman photography major. "We have some really talented artists at UB and they demonstrate a lot of hard work that should be recognized. You don't have to be an artist to see and appreciate art. You can find meaning in anything."
In one corner, Jim Paulsen's three puzzle-like acrylic portraits, "Beyond Edge," "It all accumulates" and "February 2007" offer gallery-goers deeper meaning through splashes of color.
"I liked the three pieces by Paulsen," said Nicole Gens, a UB freshman psychology major. "They really made you think and that's what good art is supposed to be about."
Joel Brenden, a Washington State native, presented some very atypical art in the exhibit with three intriguing pieces: "Buffalo Gals," sheet-music photo copy on paper, "Uniform is Never Beautiful #1-25," a colorful pattern on different colored T-shirts and "The Case," a prototype.
All of Brenden's original pieces stir viewers in the gallery as his creativity is pushed to the forefront.
Another artist, Colleen Cunningham, presents a total of nine pieces in the exhibit. Eight of the pieces are collages of superheroes set in various locations. Her work is a humorous portrayal of the unattainable roles that movies have been praising for years.
A very different artist, Gerald Mead, uses slides of Niagara Falls as a main focal point in his artwork.
Mead brought five pieces to the exhibit, all which offers the viewer a story. Even though Mead uses old objects, the idea behind his art is very contemporary.
However, Kevin Kline, Anne Muntges, Stella Marrs, and Foad Mozaffari represent the majority of the contemporary artwork category in the "Octet" exhibit.
Kevin Kline specializes is mixed media and digital photography with his pieces entitled "Apple Abdominalplasty," "The Dismissed," "Ticker 1 (granny smith)," and "Ticker 2 (red delicious)." His modern display and photography are extremely thought provoking and appealing to the eye. Kline's themes, fruit and time, are evident in his photography and mixed media display.
Anne Muntge offers viewers a very different perspective through her art display. Different ethnic toy dolls named "Protest Patti" line the walls in two columns: one column for pro-choice and the other for pro-life.
Muntge's political digital display draws attention with ease and helps viewers decipher the true meaning of her work. Spectators can sense the innocence in the display, but understand the overall importance of the issue.
Stella Marrrs also graces gallery-goers with contemporary art through digital media. Her display is an audio and visual clip of a girl who talks about simple things such as "milk," "sharpies," "owl" and "wealth."
Similarly, in Foad Mazaffari's short film "You Should Not See What I See," viewers are able to decode a mixed meaning in just under eight minutes.
Mazaffari videotapes his frightening journey through a mall. Intense sound effects make commercialism seem horrifying through the eyes and ears of the viewer.
"It's an interesting point of view through motion with a voyeurism type-feel," said Nick Colacicco, a senior communication design art major at UB.
"Overall I liked the toy exhibition, along with Colleen's photos... and the T-Shirt design by Joel. But everyone did a great job," Colacicco said.
The UB Art Gallery featuring "Octet" is located on the second floor of the Center for the Arts. The exhibit will be open until March 10.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
