Dozens of students, faculty and supportive loved ones gathered at the Ice House Gallery for the December Senior Show reception on November 30. This event celebrates the work done by those majoring in art with a concentration in photography. It lasted from 7 pm to 9 pm. Refreshments were served.
Walking in the door, viewers were greeted by three different photography series. Samantha Suchavski shot the “Amplified Tendrils” series, Nicole Armitt was behind the “Longing” collection and Rebecca Lennon took the “Torsi” sequence. All are art majors with concentrations in photography.
Suchavski’s work showed nature at its most raw level; by photographing a variety of branches, she was able to use contrasting colors- or the lack thereof- and different degrees of depth to engross the audience.
“It’s about entanglement, about getting down to our roots,” Suchavski noted. “It’s simple, yet at the same time, so complex.”
Armitt’s photos featured old radios, which most might not look twice at, sitting in fields or other wild settings. The shock of seeing that one item sitting alone in the middle of nowhere was great at evoking the feeling for which the images were named: longing. Headphones rested below most frames, allowing the viewer to put them on and listen to a broken tune that would likely be playing from such a discarded device.
“Longing is about broken relationships and the symbolism involved,” Armitt commented, adding that the songs playing could be seen like a couple’s song after the couple broke up- sad, even mournful, with no one left to listen.
Lennon’s collection was a series of photos of the human torso from a variety of angles. She captured the contours of the human form in black-and-white stills, giving each a simultaneously removed and engaging sense of her art.
“I really love dealing with the human form- the torso, to be exact. I wanted to give a way to look at the nude body without shame, so I abstracted it. I love the body in its purest form and wanted to remind people of its beauty,” commented Lennon.
Anne Massoni, specialist professor of photography, was very excited about the event. “Students in their senior year are required to take a portfolio class. They develop a single body of work which they exhibit here, with the department. It has to […] have technical merit and a conceptual underpinning. They make work that they feel passionate about,” Massoni said.
This particular exhibition had a second function though; over this past summer, a senior photography major by the name of Paul Chrzaszcz passed away. The lower level consisted of an arrangement of his pieces, selected by friends and family, in memory of his life. Ribbons were available for those in attendance to demonstrate that they’d known and cared for him.
Chrzaszcz had also been a volunteer fireman; members of the fire station attended the event as well.
The memorial exhibit consisted of paintings, photographs, sculptures and collages, demonstrating all manner of art, from abstract to classical images. Regardless of the image itself, there was no doubt as to Chrzaszcz talents.
“He was an advisee of mine,” Massoni said. “He was as joyful and enthusiastic on the first day I saw him as he was on the last. He always had a smile.”
Matthew Miranda, a friend of Chrzaszcz, helped to organize the event. “We wanted to make sure his family had a big say in it.” He then added, “We were supposed to do the senior show together; he didn’t have enough credits at the time.”
Paige Chrzaszcz, Paul’s sister, tearfully explained their selection of his work. “A lot of them weren’t finished. We didn’t pick the ‘best’, we picked the strongest,” she said.
Looking around at the crowded lower level of the Ice House Gallery, it was clear that Paul touched many lives in many ways; the incredible depth and variety of his work reflected this life of experience and understanding.
There are many different forms of art. It can be light or dark, flat or three-dimensional, realistic or abstract, but it is always an expression of a person’s creative expertise. Knowing the care and effort each person puts into their work is what made going to the senior exhibition such an experience. Remember to get out there and support your fellow Hawks.
