Gallery Visits

Patti and Rusty Rueff Gallery: Studio and Technology, Fine Arts and Photography - Senior Exhibit

Once again, I am absolutely amazed by the work of these Purdue University students. My face lit up immediately when I entered the Rueff Gallery on Wednesday, April 19th to view the work of the seniors in the Studio and Technology, Fine Arts and Photography program. The first thing I saw when I walked in was a giant camel head made out of Camel cigarettes; how clever. I enjoyed the work of Dillon M. Mills. He had pen and ink sketches, mixed media work, and sketch books, which were my favorite because I always doodle on my notes in class, but they are not nearly as impressive as his “scribbles” (I use that word loosely). As I walked around, I enjoyed reading the concept behind everyone’s artwork. Some had messages to send, some were inspired by other artists; either way, they were all impressive, and I found myself jealous of their talent and abilities. Some of the other pieces that stuck out to me were Sara Kramer’s Untitled work made with graphite and acrylic on mylar. From the front, the mylar looked like a regular painting made with light pastel colors that were blended together in an aesthetically pleasing way. Then, I saw something peek out from behind the painting. I soon realized that it was a mirror unveiling what was on the back side of the mylar. As I looked closer, I saw two different faces on the material. I thought this was so interesting because I had never seen anything like it. I also liked how the exhibit had a mixture of different types of artwork. There were a couple videos playing on the televisions, there were photographs printed out, there were woven pieces, and there were even sculptures. I thought the copper and brass sculptures made by Ziyan Cheng were really neat too, some geometric and some hammered into a more teardrop shape. Altogether, I had a wonderful time viewing the artwork created by these students; I was thoroughly impressed.

Patti and Rusty Rueff Gallery: Art and Design Undergraduate Exhibition

I visited the gallery on a Tuesday, right when it opened at 10 am. It was very quiet because no one else was there except for the receptionist. The calm atmosphere allowed me to really analyze each piece of artwork. Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with what I saw. I did not know what to expect. I enjoyed the fact that there were many different types of artwork created on different mediums; the eclectic spread of work was refreshing because I did not feel like I was staring at the same thing the whole time. I was very impressed by the object and furniture design pieces. I am not used to see that type of art, and it made me wonder how students my age could create such amazing things. I also found it interesting to see the interior design layouts.My least favorite piece was tied for two black and white pictures hanging next to each other. One of them was titled Life at the Square by Amanda Schori, and the other one was titled Just a Staircase by Alexa Poynter. I thought both of these photographs were mediocre. To me, it did not look like they put much effort into their work because I felt that anyone could have taken those pictures. Schori’s image was a photograph of a hallway inside an apartment complex with a square window shining onto a staircase. I do like the black and white edit, but I feel no connection to this picture, and it does not draw me in or keep me interested. The same goes for Poynter’s photograph of a staircase, which looks like it was taken in an academic building I’ve been to before. I was not drawn into the picture, and it did not hold my interest. I also thought the edit could have been done a little better because the light and dark colors do not contrast enough, in my opinion. I found it really difficult to choose my favorite piece out of the whole exhibit. I really enjoyed looking at Zoe Lang’s Mixology because of the pure idea of the designs and all of the bold colors. I also had fun interacting with Sarah Gordon’s Growing Hair simulator on the computer; that was very different from anything I’ve ever seen. Two other pieces I connected with were Walker Mardis’ Self Portrait because it was mixed media with many beautiful drawings and shapes and Morgan Cook’s Woodland Creature because of how intricate the pen marks were. However, my favorite work of art in the Undergraduate Exhibit was Connection by Jessica McDaniel. It immediately grabbed my attention and tempted me to come closer to examine the work. An almost completely naked figure mysteriously sits on a log in the woods. There are large lightly-shaded bubbles overlapping the scene, and the detail of the tree bark is impeccable. My favorite part of this piece is that there are water marks on the trees, bubbles, and person, which melt the colors of the pen(s) together and add another layer of texture to the picture.