“Strong as Steel – Visceral Affliction” by Kara Zimmerman dominates the entrance to the exhibition. Credit: Nicholas Youngblood | Lantern Reporter
Thirty Ohio State BA and BFA art students were awarded scholarships of various amounts in addition to a spot in the campus art gallery this week at the Undergraduate Art Scholarship Exhibition, which opened Monday in the Hopkins Hall Gallery.
The featured artists were picked from a total of 70 who applied. The students submitted work from many disciplines, including paintings, sculptures, digital art and video. The exhibition represents a major accomplishment for undergraduates just getting their start in the art world.
Area coordinators from all seven areas of art helped select the strongest applicants based on a submission of three works and a personal statement. Those areas include art and technology, ceramics, glass, painting and drawing, photography, printmaking and sculpture.
Laura Lisbon, a professor in the painting and drawing program, said the scholarship money can help with supplies, but the confidence boost from the exhibition is just as valuable. Lisbon was one of the faculty members responsible for selecting pieces to feature in the gallery.
“If it’s a student that just got into the major, I think it’s an added incentive or a feeling that they’ve accomplished something that gives them some confidence,” Lisbon said.
One new art student at the university agrees. Serena Yoakum, a first-year in studio art, had her sculpture selected for the exhibition.
“It is very encouraging because in high school … I applied to certain contests and competitions and I never really won something, let alone a scholarship,” Yoakum said. “So, it feels very rewarding to be recognized and have my work shown.”
Yoakum’s sculpture represented one of her first attempts at three-dimensional art, made during her Introduction to 3D art course. Encouraging artistic growth is a focus of the exhibition, as Lisbon said that applicants are judged not only on quality, but also range of work and ambition.
This focus seems to be paying off. Yoakum said the recognition has encouraged her to keep exploring her artistic direction at the university.
“I’m not actually that experienced with 3D art — I’m very new to it,” she said. “I’m finding that maybe I can make very strong work with that because it was a very foreign thing to me until my class last semester. So maybe I’ll explore that more.”
The exhibition runs through March 29 with a reception in Hopkins Hall at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
