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- Art and Art History major and minor requirements [PDF]
- Art brochure [PDF]
- 2008 Senior Art Exhibition
Senior art majors display their creative works April 24 – May 15 in the Neil Britton Art Gallery.
By Tia Butts '09
Dark Angel by Hillary Armstrong
Virginia Wesleyan College is surrounded by art, both on-and-off campus.
Located in a major metropolitan area rich with museums, art centers and working artists' studios, the College has numerous off-campus opportunities for students to explore and study the creative process.
On campus this spring, senior art majors will showcase their inner creativity and personal artwork during the Senior Art Exhibition on display April 24 – May 15 in the Neil Britton Art Gallery in the newly modernized Hofheimer Library.
Seniors Brian La Barr, Charlyn Dahilig, Pattie Shockley, Ryan Billy and Hillary Armstrong have created a variety of artwork ranging from wood sculptures, to photography and paintings. The exhibition is the capstone experience for all art students and also includes a gallery talk about the thematically focused body of work.An opening reception will be held from 4 – 6 p.m. on Friday, April 24 in the Neil Britton Art Gallery.
"The senior exhibition showcases each student's individual research into materials, techniques, form and content, and presents their findings to the community," said Professor of Art Phil Guilfoyle, who has been mentoring the students throughout the spring.
Brian La Barr from Newport News, Va., has coined the term up-cycling to describe his artwork. La Barr uses wood pieces from old furniture, random objects, and even his neighbor's garbage to construct his up-cycled pieces. Most of the wood found in his artwork is kept in relatively close condition to the way he found it; however, he will occasionally sand down the materials to give them shape.
I only have eyes for you by Brian La Barr
"Each piece of artwork is a work of art in and of itself," said La Barr. "To make them unique and give them life, I use different elements of wood."
While La Barr loves variety in his artwork, he currently enjoys making his woodwork symmetrical. "In the past, people have argued that I should make my pieces more asymmetrical, but right now I enjoy playing with symmetry," he noted.
Charlyn Dahilig from Virginia Beach, Va., takes an ordinary photo and turns it into the extraordinary. Using Adobe Photoshop, Dahilig turns simple pictures of her friends into masterpieces. In one piece, Dahilig used digital imaging to change the background of a girl lying on a pillow to look as if she were sleeping in the Antarctic.
"This type of art shows that people often look at a photo and think it's reality, when in actuality it is not," said Guilfoyle during an art critique of the students' work.
Bitter Cold by Charlyn Dahilig
Dahilig, who is doing her senior research paper on Photoshop and how it used, said she is fascinated with the software and how it is used in everyday life.
"In magazines, we see pictures of so many celebrities who have their pictures altered so that they can look a certain way," said Dahilig. "This type of manipulation can be a tool and a weapon at the same time."
Pattie Shockley from Cheriton, Va., receives inspiration from her garden and her daughter. Her technique is to photograph her flowers and then paint from the photo.
"My father is also a painter, and he absolutely hates to see paintings that are cropped," said Shockley. "It's interesting because I like to crop all of my paintings… it goes to show that each artist is different."
Ryan Billy from Virginia Beach, Va., has been pushing his artistic abilities this semester. Billy, who typically draws objects, decided to draw a large picture displaying the side profile of his face.
"It's easy to stick to doing what you are good at," said Billy. "I wanted to do something that I was not completely comfortable doing and the projected picture of me was challenging." For the exhibition, Billy will display his drawing and his pottery.
The Senior Art Exhibition will be on display April 24 - May 15 in the Neil Britton Art Gallery during Library operating hours. Opening reception will be held from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on April 24.
04.15.09