The first exhibition of the art SMPs reflected the dedication and talent put into them over the past year. This exhibition showcased three artists – Mike Benjamin, Sarah Kramer, and Anne Rowan.
Mike Benjamin’s piece focused on the restoration of Chancellor’s Point, a site a few minutes from campus. He spoke about how he grew up with discovery – he learned from exploring and engaging in his immediate environment. He felt that in regular school, he and his peers were restricted by the cut and dry nature of his classes – all learning took place in the classroom, usually by reading. His piece was based on that idea – of bringing people into the site to learn and engage through a community setting.
Sarah Kramer’s piece, Flights of the Mind, played with the viewer’s perception. She talked about how, after reflecting on earlier work, she found continuities, such as the presence of the female form and hands and eyes. Her large charcoal drawings seemed to have captured her imagination: each element flows into another, many small parts make up a whole section, and you couldn’t view the entire piece at once without missing some intimate detail.
Anne Rowan’s piece was photography based and focused on the details of familiar faces and objects. Her work primarily focuses on bringing out the details of her subjects, making her viewers stop and look again and see a detail that they normally don’t get to. While reflecting on her work, she mentioned that she only takes portraits of people she knows personally but cited Richard Avedon as inspiration. I found this interesting as Avedon rarely knew the people he was photographing and only got close enough to them to spark a response and capture an interesting photograph.
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