Shibboleth: Not easily defined

Art is not easily defined by a single word, phrase or definition; art is multifaceted, diverse and encompasses everything from paintings and sculptures to digital projections and clothing designs - it would be near impossible to condense something so wide-ranging into a single, faithful definition.

The same can be said for the group of 35 graduating seniors from UB's Department of Visual Studies; these students are as equally multifaceted as the artwork they create. While all of these seniors are art students, they cannot be easily defined or demarcated.

The thesis works of these student artists - which the students have worked on for the past two semesters - has culminated into the presentation of a large group exhibition, entitled Shibboleth, which opened this Saturday evening at Hi-Temp Fabrication in downtown Buffalo.

The fourth floor of the Hi-Temp Fabrication warehouse was filled with the likes of interactive installations, digital projections, large-scale drawings and paintings and student-designed clothing, some of which was for sale. The variation in the work is a testament to the multi-natured aspect of art and art making.

Stephanie Rothenberg, an assistant professor in the visual studies department, worked with several of the students in the exhibition throughout the year to guide them in their journey as artists. Rothenberg is pleased with the multidimensional nature of the students' work.

"I like the fact that [the exhibition] is interdisciplinary," Rothenberg said. "People are painting, drawing, sculpting, casting [and] performing ... that is the mission of the visual studies department."

Take, for example, the work of Caroline Kopesky, a bachelor of fine arts (BFA) student in the general studio program. Kopesky's work, "Simulations in Hypertext," focuses on the simplified forms of graphic novel artwork combined with elements of fine art drawing. Kopesky begins by drawing in pen and ink and then uses digital processes in the computer to complete her finished drawings.

The result is a display of 18 letter-sized panels - laid out like a storyboard - that feature the narrative of a young girl who becomes acquainted, and soon absorbed, by the Internet when she develops a close relationship with an anonymous young man over the web. The overall work is eye-catching, intricately detailed and socially relevant to today's world.

Brittney Dullin, a BFA student concentrating in communication design, presented her work in the form of a digital projection accompanied with audio. Her work, entitled "Ceremonies," is a comment on the modern world of surveillance.

"I titled it 'Ceremonies' because it's about the daily surveillance 'ceremonies' that we go through in our lives," Dullin said. "We don't pay attention to [them] much ... [They're] things we do all the time and don't realize that we're being watched."

The digital project displays nine panels of different visual forms of Dullin's personal identity - an image of where she lives, her fingerprint, a photo from Facebook. Each of these images is fragmented to make them slightly indiscernible. Additionally, the accompanied audio features a narration in a robotic voice, much like that of Microsoft Sam. The narration is a comment on the Patriot Act of 2001, which lessened restrictions regarding surveillance and intelligence gathering within the United States - another aspect in which we may not know we are being watched.

Teke Cocina, also a graduating BFA student, incorporates performance into his work. Cocina's work, entitled "1/6084" features several of his prints mounted on a large, draped red cloth. Many of the prints feature images of people with animal heads - a comment on the "masking" of one's own identity in social media, where one can pick and choose how they want to represent themselves online.

A table and two chairs are placed in front of Cocina's prints, where Cocina sits with a deck of tarot cards waiting for his next "client." Audience members can interact with Cocina and receive their own personal tarot card reading. The use of the tarot cards extends Cocina's comment on our own identity. It is our investment in the tarot reading that forges our identity.

"It's a meaning system that is dependent upon the subject's investment into that meaning system," Cocina said. "The tarot are tied to archetypes and a lot of vague adjectives; from there, people can put themselves into it, or [not]."

The tarot is a parallel to social media where both depend upon our efforts to sift, conceal and reveal certain aspects of our own identity - an identity that often isn't faithful to our own selves.

Ian McCrohan, a BFA student with a concentration in painting, works three-dimensionally creating sculptures and installations. His work, "Scheme No. 3: Revolving Interventions," is an installation made of wood, metal and found objects such as bricks, an amp and a record player. The sculpture features lights and revolving pieces that spin from the mechanics of a deconstructed record player. For McCrohan, his work signifies the breaking down of technology into its most basic derivatives.

"It's essentially about this idea of deconstructing technology into something that's more understandable," McCrohan said. "It's about making technology more relatable ... and tearing down the line between the audience and object."

Reflecting on the outcome of the senior thesis exhibition, McCrohan is quite impressed. He feels the work of his fellow graduates is quite notable overall. The vast diversity of the 35 different artworks makes it hard to come up with a certain theme for the entire show, according to McCrohan. For McCrohan, the title of the exhibition, Shibboleth, is quite perplexing and hard to define.

"Maybe that's what shibboleth means - there is no theme," McCrohan said. "Variety is a key word to this whole show and the search for some sort of unity in that variety. I think that's what art is about sometimes - biting the ether and going with the unknown."

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com