Students display individuality in Senior Art Show

Laura Streyle

It is thought-provoking, awe-inspiring and delectable; it provides palate-pleasing alimentary morsels along with refreshing drink; it is a great way to top off the eighth week of third term; it is the Lawrence Senior Art Show, and it is happening at 6 p.m. today, Friday, May 22.
Over the past few terms, a group of 14 gifted Lawrence seniors, who have undoubtedly evoked feelings of envy, admiration and wonder among their peers, have been covering themselves in artistic media such as plaster, ink, film and paint. These seniors are finally presenting visual representations of their creative views of people, places and things.
Although all the artists do generate a large portion of their work in the confines of a single building – Wriston, a friendly place conducive to the flow of creative juices – the refreshing individuality of each artist’s work is evident in the myriad forms of expression used to create each project.
Care for an enticing sampler platter of Lawrence’s artists?
Madeline Shadduck uses lithographs, ceramics and several smaller prints to portray “the ways in which people affect landscape, whether it be physical changes to the land or social acts that influence a city” in her piece.
In the project, “ISOLATION: Suburbia and the American Dream,” Sarah Page explores the effect that suburban growth has had on its inhabitants, using video and color photographs as her media. When asked how she felt about her finished product, Page answered that there is still more to come: “I’m hoping to take the free time I have next year to continue my exploration … maybe with a big road trip tour of America’s suburban landscapes.”
If Page does take her road trip, it would surely be wise for her to carry a map. After all, maps are helpful for finding one’s way. The complex simplicity of this statement is probed in April West’s art project, which looks at the connection between maps and propaganda. Using printmaking, painting and ceramics to craft her piece, West unveils the convoluted forces that influence a cartographer’s work and the amount of power that the map has in allowing people to navigate.
Whether they are wandering or they are familiar with the path, people are the main focus of Mara Hagopian’s project. Using mixed media to create her abstract piece titled “Core,” Hagopian said she “deals with the human body and our perceptions of our own body, as well as the people around us.”
Erin Campbell Watson focuses on a different aspect of people and the power of perception in her three-dimensional piece that was on display in the Mudd gallery earlier this term.
“My work examines the impact of perceptions on self-presentation and the control we have over our own image and the hope we have for adequate self-expression through our art,” said Campbell Watson.
Travel from geographical landscapes to the topography of human perceptions; explore images that cause questioning and suggest possible answers; sink your teeth into a piece of cheese and raise a glass to the masterpieces before you, while mingling with their creators. It is all possible at the Senior Art Show opening.
And if it should happen that you have already scheduled your big date for Friday evening, you will still be able to experience the art through Aug. 2 during regular gallery hours – the only exception being that you will be responsible for providing the cheese and the good company.