The Hastings College Department of Visual Arts is featuring the work of four junior art students April 23-30 in the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center (JDAC) gallery. These students are completing their junior thesis, which prepares them to finish their senior thesis the following year.
A reception is scheduled at the JDAC on Wednesday, April 25 at 5:00 p.m., with gallery talks beginning at 5:30. Following the reception, Integers:1, a new music performance series featuring professional musicians and organized by Hastings College band director Dr. Louie Eckhardt, will have its inaugural performance.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Gallery hours in the JDAC are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
The 2018 junior thesis show features art from Jake Arnett of Arlingon, Nebraska; Jordyn Brandt of Exeter, Nebraska; Clark Livingston of San Juan Capistrano, California; and Jeric Minton of Atlanta, Georgia.
Arnett used represents the four elements in glass creations.
“I have created glass sculptures representing the four major elements of earth, wind, fire and water,” he said. “All of these elements are necessary to work with glass, and have turned around to make them out of glass.”
Brandt conveys the impact of locations on experience and emotion through paintings.
“Experiences and emotions have shaped my life and personal identity. I have created paintings to show how my experiences through time have affected my physical body externally through locations and internally with feelings,” she said.
Livingston said he explores the theme of fear in his video work.
“For my junior thesis I decided to do a video on a subject I know all to well, fear,” Livingston said. “Fear is a subject we can all relate to because if you are a human being you’ve been afraid at least once in your life.”
Minton looks at the duality of nature and self in a series of sculptures.
“My current work is an exploration of the dualistic nature of self. Heavily influenced by sculptors of the Renaissance era, I take a contemporary approach with both material and composition,” he said. “Combining figurative and abstract elements, this piece relies on dramatic posture and stylized clothing to capture the contrasting character of both individuals while maintaining a link in the form of consciousness that binds the two together. With no clearly established beginning or ending, the viewer focuses on the interplay between the figures and may contemplate on the existence of duality and balance.”
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With more than 60 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
