Art can take on different meanings to many different people, whether it be by having art for culture's sake, for the community's sake, for that spot on the wall you need covered up's sake, for one's own sake and even for art's own sake.
The Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) accepted 23 diverse Longwood senior majors to showcase what art means to them and how their four years at Longwood contributed to themselves as artists.
This past Saturday, April 14 marked the opening reception, lasting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibition will remain open in the Bishop and Sully Galleries until the closing reception on Saturday, May 12 from 2 to 3 p.m.
The featured senior artists of Longwood University included David Abbott, Brittany Claud, Jessica Cox, Sarah Croughwell, Andrea Damiano, Alan Dunaway, Colleen Festa, Kyle Fowlkes, Irene Girgente, Amanda Haymans, Taryn Langmead, Colleen MacRae, Michelle Maddox, Nancy McDonald, Stefanie Pishock, Kristen Rawls, Darlene Rogers, Alan Satkowski, Kaitlyn Smith, Megan Spencer, Emily Staskiel, Alyssa Strackbein and Beth Thompson.
The group of exhibited art seniors ranged from graphic design to photography, from sculpture to papermaking and more.
Satkowski's installation "Persona" featured two art pieces, "Ruin" and "Genesis," constructed by fabric, ceramic and metal wire.
Freshman Makenzie Matthews and junior Gary Steele modeled outfits made of red and blue ceramic pieces, respectively, to reflect the piece each was conveying, standing in front of both artworks as a part of the installation and a reflection of it.
Satkowski said, "I wanted it to be more of an installation, symbolizing more of the artwork being kind of alive, having a persona of their own ... It's all about conflicting forces." The artwork, according to Satkowski, is meant to reflect the binary between control and chaos.
Satkowski added, "Having to study architecture and engineering before becoming an art major really kind of took that one side of being in control, living, purity, in a sense, and then you have that more chaotic side. And I kind of wanted them to have a life of their own sense. So, it's kind of a representation of creation and life for the blue piece, but is more destruction and death for the red piece."
McDonald modeled her digital art senior project to be an awareness campaign for homeless veterans. "I went on a community service trip a few years ago, and we went to Washington, D.C. and worked with the homeless community," said McDonald, adding, "I just wanted to do something close to my heart, you know?"
One of McDonald's digital pigment prints, "House of Congress," depicts Congress with the words "Congress has a house. Why don't all of our veterans?" McDonald said a benefit of her project is"Raising awareness for [homeless veterans] because a lot of people know it's an issue, but not maybe as bad as it is, you know."
View these artists and more at the Longwood University Art Department Senior Exhibition at the LCVA, free and open to the public until May 12.
The LCVA is located on 129 N. Main Street and is open and free to the public Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, go online to the LCVA website or call (434) 395-2206.
