Justin Pierce draws in a deep breath, while Pat Nieler readies his camera. On the count of three, they both burst into a Knox lecture hall filled with hundreds of unsuspecting students who are concentrating on the professor before them.
"Everyone, listen up!" Pierce shouts, as a wave of faces turn towards the back of the room. "My friend Tom needs your help. Go to savetom.com!"
The act of classroom disturbance was a part of Nieler's senior thesis project, the final artistic endeavor for the senior receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Nieler and Pierce, both senior communication design majors, will be among 35 artists exhibited in "Intersecting Spaces" at The Buffalo Central Terminal this Sunday, April 15, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
"It's essentially the capstone of their whole studio education," said Becky Koenig, assistant to the chair in the Department of Visual Studies.
With no limit on creative authority, the seniors' projects fail to fit into a cookie-cutter definition of art. Instead, the exhibition will house interactive performances, video, and electronic simulation, along with the classic painting, sculpture, and photography.
Nieler's goal was to expose the extent of alcohol abuse on college campuses and to test the effects of viral marketing. Viral marketing is an unconventional advertising method used to spread information by word-of-mouth.
Nieler created a Web site, savetom.com, around his friend Tom, a 24-year-old unemployed graduate of UB with a drinking problem. Videos of Tom posted weekly showed his responses to viewers' comments on his wellbeing, or lack thereof.
Without monetary funds, Nieler tapped into his creative resources to get the word out about his Web site. Neiler hyperlinked "savetom.com" on Facebook walls, and distributed stickers with just the Web site name and no explanation, so those who saw it would want to know more.
The opening scenario was a solution to technical difficulties in another abnormal advertising scheme. Nieler, with the help of Pierce, projected the Web site name on the walls of random lecture halls, without permission. When the light bulb in the projector died, the pair bombarded several unsuspecting classes screaming their Web site rant.
Seniors had a year to formulate and create a thesis project, meeting twice a week with professors and classmates to help critique and implement ideas.
"The project doesn't have guidelines because an artist isn't assigned something, they have to be self-driven," Koenig said.
This is the third year the annual exhibition is being held at the old train station, which was previously the heart of more-bustling Buffalo. The name "Intersecting Spaces" incorporates the multiple themes of art that are being displayed, as well as the notion that the building was once a crossroads for people from all walks of life.
"It's quite a privilege to get a chunk of the terminal's history, to be a part of the timeline," said Chris Lynne, a senior graphic design major.
Lynne's project combines his love of the outdoors with an eye for graphics that led him to develop a clothing company called Mended Threads-an offspring of a line he created with a few friends when he was 18.
The idea is that old t-shirts from thrift stores can be made fresh with an up-and-coming artist's design imprinted on them, and re-sold without using up any new resources or harming the environment.
"Help us bring back muddy footprints," the Mended Threads mission statement, encourages the consumer to kick off their shoes and explore the world beyond the drone of "the suburban sprawl" in their one-of-a-kind t-shirt.
Pierce, Nieler's accomplice in the "guerilla marketing campaign" in the classrooms, approached his own senior project through a more scientific method.
His thesis question: "Can anyone become famous?" spurred the Thomas Troy Project, a 30-day mission for Pierce, self-described as lacking in money and talent, to become famous.
Going incognito as Thomas Troy, a wannabe-celebrity in sunglasses, Pierce set various goals for himself each day like "Gotta have sexy photos" and "Gotta party," and then broadcasted his ambitions in a video diary on YouTube.
By marketing himself in public venues with a video camera following his every move, Pierce hoped to prove his fame by getting at least 200 people to attend a party downtown on the final day of the project.
A compilation of his videos will be shown at the exhibit on Sunday, where viewers can witness whether or not his efforts paid off, and what he learned in the process.
"I wanted (my project) to be more than a piece of artwork to look at," Pierce said. "I wanted it to be an experience."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
