Metro Pulse/Artbeat/Double Vision

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What:
Double Vision

Where:
UT's Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Boulevard

When:
through April 4. Call 974-3200 for information.

Selected fine art students share their work and again raise the bar

by Heather Joyner

Double Vision, the title of UT's 55th Annual Student Art Competition, is an odd choice. And for those of us from the Cold As Ice-cold hard cash-oriented era, it's downright painful to hear Foreigner tunes buzzing in one's head when visiting the Ewing Gallery. If not intended as a formula pop reference, Double Vision indicates distorted vision—certainly no handicap for exhibiting students. A more promising take is that Double Vision refers to various levels of perception that, when combined, result in layers of meaning. Of course the show itself matters more than its title, but words chosen to describe it could better reflect how generally terrific it is. Really.

As one of the country's oldest competitions of its kind, UT's event has this year drawn approximately 400 submissions from almost 200 students. Although art history papers and graphic design projects are included in the mix, this review is limited to fine art selections (given that papers should speak for themselves, and that my saying "nice leading" regarding design is hardly sufficient). Herein considered are student films and video, paintings, drawings, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, and photography juried by UT alumnus and internationally recognized artist Wade Guyton.

Entering the gallery, we're confronted with an imposing collaborative piece created by "ISBN"—a multi-paneled installation on wheels reading "What will you do when all you use will cease to function [?]." Its in-your-face message, a timely comment on confusion about art's purpose in a technology-driven culture, sets the tone for a show that is mature and aware of its references. Large-scale paintings pay homage to Motherwell and deKooning without being tired. Sculpture is playful with an edge (in one instance, literally). "Floor #2" by Thomas Sturgill is a dark section of flooring removed and propped against the wall. With a pacing circle of shoe and footprints in chalk gray, it is "chance art" at its best. Even the requisite "non-art art" is clever, albeit missing Bryan Baker's telephone book installation—removed for repair after someone at the show's opening reception—let something other than their fingers do the walking through its pages.

Alisha Kerlin's sculptural construct titled "Sit" inhabits the Ewing's southeast corner like an aged pasha. Made from Schlitz-colored '70's dinette chairs swathed in vinyl resembling crinkled Velveeta, Kerlin's chaise with attached lamp looks like something from a trashy beauty parlor. Its function delightfully unclear, "Sit" imposes Duchampian wit on an all-too-familiar form. Kelly Bukovsky's big orange platform loafer fashioned from spray-painted model car parts is likewise brilliant and amusing. Emily Clayton's untitled mixed media piece with knives attached to a spindly dead tree echoes the kind of mean weed found in Jersey lots where mafia types meet up. Rachel Jane Senefeld presents "Music In November," a squared-off grouping of warped and patched-together phonograph albums by the likes of Jane Fonda and Cheap Trick. Rounding out the female-dominated sculpture selection is Kim Young Sundberg's "Feminine Form #4," covered with brightly-colored miniature pompoms. Unnervingly pettable, viewers will have to keep their hands in check with this one.

Whereas much of the photography in the student competition is weak, ceramic pieces are decent but few in number. Stand-outs are Trent Berning's large untitled vessel resembling a lumpy greenish pinecone and Adam Poulck's nasty "Dildo Pot With Lube Pump, Sans Dildo and Lube" (that it won a cash rather than a purchase award might be due to concerns about respectability). I could describe it, but it must be seen to be truly appreciated. Student works on video are also few—films that could not be transferred to videotape were shown at the opening reception only—but what I saw was intriguing.

Julia Hungerford's semi-erotic short titled "Les Deux Esprits" features a girl in different guises slipping an egg in and out of her Lolita-esque mouth, and pairs of legs parting to reveal a variety of panties. It could probably earn her a fortune online, yet the humor behind the voyeurism might be overlooked. Hungerford's French titles only add to the artsy mirth. Andrew Witt's "Standpoint" utilizes a split screen throughout its Tarantino-tinged narrative without being annoying. Quite an accomplishment. Rachel Payne Hall's "Nurse's Outfit" is the only pure drawing, and the relentless childhood message it presents regarding roles women-to-be should play is scary and effective. This is, no doubt, one of the best student shows in years.

Alas, I have left the paintings for last, and space is limited; suffice it to say that almost all are exceptionally strong. Justin Stamper claims the lion's share of accepted entries, and his canvases are swift and decisive as well as sensitive. His feel for line, color, and surface is shared by numerous other student painters, and the whole melange is a delight to behold. Whether it's Marc DeBose's urban saint, Justin Lindsay's glowing "Elephant #9," Adam Fotos' unusual corner diptych, Lee Marchalonis' visual language for a quiet world, or Megan Adamson's calligraphic homage to Abstract Expressionism, we have much to consider and enjoy.

I am pleased to report that sponsorship of awards for entries has increased, reflecting the generosity of professors as well as area institutions and businesses. However, support from people like designers Joan and Chuck Thomas and photographer Gary Heatherly put other prosperous but uninvolved art-dependent businesses to shame. After all, local individuals and sponsors such as the Marble Slab Creamery and The Hairdressers have less to gain from wooing students than do art and art supply dealers, no matter how appealing we find sugar and fetching hairstyles. In the future, perhaps more members of our community will encourage student artists. If the current show is any indication, such students certainly deserve our support.