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Where: Wriston Art Gallery

What: “Senior Art Majors and Minors Exhibition”

When: Now – July 5

Cost: Free

The hype: After four long, tedious years working endlessly in Lawrence’s art studio, the studio art majors and minors of Lawrence University finally present their final college masterpieces. Between the majors and minors, almost every possible medium you can think of is represented in this gallery. From graphic design to sculpture to collage to photography, this gallery has it all and done to the best ability.

​”Out of Context” by Alli Sickinger

Meet the artists: Lucy Bouman, an artist whose work is in the exhibition, created a photography piece that encompasses an element of her minor, psychology, as well. She states, “My piece, ‘The Psychology of the Subject,’ focuses on what goes through the subjects’ mind before going into a photo shoot.” Along with her large pieces of photography, there is an entire book of additional portraits that had the subjects answer a few questions about what they were thinking as Bouman was photographing them. After the exhibition is over, Bouman intends to keep the photos in her archives, “in case I ever want to show them again or sell them in the future.”

Another featured piece in the exhibit is a series by senior studio art major, Htee T. Moo. The striking photographs resonate with Bouman. She states, “I love all of Htee’s photos; they’re huge, beautiful self-portraits. Venus I and II are particularly amazing.”

Fellow senior studio art minor, Alli Sickinger, shows off her talent in the gallery with a series of collages, one of which is titled, “Out of Context.” The series of pieces combine oil painting, as well as words and phrases taken out of 1950s lifestyle magazine ads. “Honestly, the concept formed while I was just flipping through old magazines, and I (thought), ‘Wow, a lot of these slogans sound really dirty,’ and I kept finding more and more,” Sickinger states. “I assume that, for the most part, the slogans weren’t created to be sexual, but when taken out of context and viewed from our modern perspective, they become a bit pervy, which, to me, is hilarious.”

What’s next: From July 15 – Aug. 16, Wriston will host the annual Summer Exhibition Series. This exhibition is intended to engage the Fox Valley community further with Lawrence. Additionally, it hopes to engage other artists and artworks of the Midwest with members of the community. Stay tuned to learn more information regarding the exhibit by visiting lawrence.edu/wriston/exhibitions.

Bottom line: This article only highlights a miniscule amount of the talent that has been brought to the Wriston gallery; go check out the rest of the seniors’ work, this is an exhibition to be experienced, not just read about! For further information on the graduating seniors, visit lawrence.edu.