Detroit junior Andrew Hawkes was one of many student artists whose work was featured in the 2010 Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition at Central Michigan University's Main Gallery. GCM photos by Ashante Thomas

Her fingers were nimble, her brush was quick, as her artistic eye placed students' abstract thought into a tangible brown book of dreams.

Midland senior Allise Noble won the Grand Award for the 2010 Annual Juried Central Michigan University Student Art exhibition for her piece called "Underneath." 

"I was trying to show that dreams or ambitions are just as valuable as any other," Noble said. "(This) shows diversity of the human thought. Dreams and ambitions that are deeper ones are usually unshared and that can say a lot about a person, we should embrace uniqueness."

"Robot African" will be on display until March 27, 2010, in Central Michigan University's Main Art Gallery.

 

About 120 attendees went to CMU's Art Gallery: Main Gallery on Feb. 27 to view 53 student exhibits.

Art Gallery Director Anne Gochenour said the exhibition is always a big hit. 

"A lot of different artists are in the show and students will come for friends. We have been doing this annually for at least for ten years," Gochenour said. 

She said there has been a great interest in art since the beginning of civilization; art has been the medium of speaking.

"Art is a means of communication and self-expression. It could be considered one of the oldest forms of communication beginning of a language," she said.

There were five categories students work could be selected to win: honorable mention, merit award, purchase award, juror award and grand award.

Vicki Wright of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and Ty Smith, a professional designer from Midland, sat in on the selection process as the two jurors.

Remus senior Kathleen Krueger won a purchase award for Residence Life and Honorable Mention.

"I feel very honored, honored just to be in here and part of the show, there are so many talented artists," she said.

One of her exhibits features two side-by-side pictures of CMU's Park Library in the spring and early winter.

Krueger said it is reaffirming to hear somebody liked her artwork.

The 2010 Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition included handmade plush art like "Wolves in Wolf Clothing" from East Lansing junior Cassie McCarthy.

New Boston junior Kady Jesko composed two art pieces with the central theme of death and dying. One piece is on seven cherry colored wood blocks with one word written on each, such as "cold," "fatigue," and "pain."

Jesko said seven is an important number.

"The seven words are seven rules that you don't want to happen to you when out in wilderness and if you end up feeling any seven at any time they can lead to death," she said. "Nature is a never-ending cycle.

Detroit junior Andrew Hawkes won the Public Choice Award for his piece called "Secret" where replicas of leaves hung on a string from a mobile-styled design.

"I did it during the fall of 2009. I wanted to extract leaves so they could hold something and no longer just be a leaf," Hawkes said. "I took a walk with my boyfriend and we both picked leaves off the trees and I wanted to encapsulate it so it can be anyone's memory. It can be spoken through anybody. That is what I was going for."

By Sherri Keaton

Please login to post your comments.