Megan Callahan Spectator staff writer  

The Annual Foundations Exhibition opened Sep. 9 at the VSU’s Dedo Arts Maranville Fine Arts Gallery 

Usually when you think of an Art Exhibit, you think of various paintings, sculptures, each containing one artist. However, what was different about this particular exhibit was, the pieces were collaborated on by each class, and the people who came got to contribute to the pieces.  

The theme of this exhibit was ‘Time,’ so the art faculty got together and brainstormed everything they could think of that had to do with the concept of time. They came up with five different pieces that the students got to contribute to. 

 “We wanted to create more assignments to include in the list of elements, so elements being shape, color texture, space, and the form of time. “Craig Hawkins, Professor of Drawing and Painting 

The first piece was called “Simpler Times.” How it works is there were blocks on the floor that the students could build towers with,. just like they used to do back when they were kids. There was definitely a sense of nostalgia that came with this piece. 

The message of this piece was to help students remember a time in their lives when things weren’t so hectic and complicated. Thats why the piece is called “Simpler Times”, it allows the students to reminisce about the simpler times in their lives. A lot of students got to think back to when they were little kids by playing with the cardboard boxes on the floor.  

“The fact that the theme is Time, is kind of nostalgic. It kind of brings you back. So, I did the little block it definitely brought me back to my childhood.” Demia Hartwell, Sophomore, Psychology major 

The second piece was called “The Shred and Release: Roadblocks to Rainbows.” How it works is students put down worries and anxious thoughts that they have and shred the piece of paper. Once the exhibit is finished, the art students would take the excess shreds and make a rainbow out of it.  

The message of “The Shred and Release”, is it gives students a sense of control when it comes to whatever they choose to write down and put into the shredder. It also gives the students a chance to be a part of the piece by just writing down an anxious thought or worry.  

Hawkins also stated that, “You can take that paper, shred it over and over and over again, and create a big pile. But with the input of everyone writing something down there’s almost like an emotional release. Then at the end of the exhibit, we will dump out the reds and make a rainbow of all this emotion.” 

The third piece is called “The Chrono-Loom.” How it works is the students add to the loom and by the end it will have a whole new design. Each student gets a new piece of yarn that doesn’t have any connection and adds to the piece.  

Jim Reiman, Photography and Graphic Design Professor, stated that, “I had the idea to do something with a neon screen, but then when I presented it to the class we came up with a bunch of concepts that matched together to interpret the main focus. “ 

The fourth piece is called, “Pencil Tango.” How it works is two students pick up two pencils connected to a rubber band and the students got to draw on the paper. The students were challenged to trace the shapes on the far side of the paper while their partner tried to do the same thing simultaneously on the other side.  

The 5th and final interactive piece are called “Quarter Bounder.” How it works is you dip the quarter in charcoal powder and spin said quarter onto the piece of paper. Then wherever the quarter ends up, trace out a circle using the quarter.  

All of these pieces have a message having to do with the theme, “Time”, giving students an opportunity to add to each piece causes the artwork to change by the end of the exhibition. 

Hawkins made a statement in his speech saying that” This exhibition has the potential to be the most visitor engaged exhibition we’ve ever had. It’s designed that way.” 

This begs the question, what kind of exhibition do you guys think the art department will come up with next? 

If you want to check out the exhibit, it is at the exhibit in the Dedo Arts Gallery at the Fine Arts. This exhibition is open from September 9th– September 25th. So come check out these innovative pieces while you still can.