College of Charleston SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

Young Contemporaries from a student perspective

Guest writer and Art History student, Milena Berman, will periodically discuss some of the School of the Arts events she attends and share her experiences:

In the Young Contemporaries Exhibit at the Halsey, College of Charleston Art students had the opportunity to submit their art for judgment. Mary Jane Jacobs, curator and professor at the Chicago Art Institute chose for exhibition pieces of all media ranging from room-filling sculpture to film to charcoal drawing. The gallery was filled for the opening on April 1st. Student artists had drawn inspiration from a wide variety of sources and delved into themes, for example, of self-image and post-modern culture through magazine clippings paired with drawing, or painted, ink, and sculpted portraiture. I noticed many portraits, but Jacobs also chose photojournalistic pieces, abstract works, as well as landscapes.

I was personally impressed by the talent I saw in charcoal and pencil drawings. The pieces were very expressive and displayed what I found to be good samples of the imaginative work created in the art school. I was also drawn to a particular collage-esque work composed of a collection of library cards upon which were drawn colorful images of birds, human forms, and motif. The Halsey exhibit is wonderful for audiences of art students to recognize and study their peers, for College of Charleston students to learn more about the studio artists, and for the outside community to engage with a juried show. The exhibit will continue through the 27th of April.