CONCORD UNIVERSITY PRESENTS A VIRTUAL SENIOR ART EXHIBITION

ATHENS, W.Va. – Concord University’s Arthur Butcher Gallery in the Fine Arts Center is closed due to COVID-19, but select pieces of artwork from members of the class of 2020 are now available to view on the University’s website.

During the week after midterms, art seniors arrange for a jury with all full-time members of the Art faculty. The student presents the faculty with work to be considered for an art exhibition in the Arthur Butcher Gallery. If the faculty agree that at least six works are representative of professional level artwork, the student will pass the jury and make final revisions guided by the faculty before displaying their final work.

Traditionally, the exhibition is physically installed at the Arthur Butcher Gallery by the students who created the artworks. They agree on a time with the Art Department and arrange for a reception. These events are public and offer students the opportunity to share and discuss their artwork with friends, family, and people who have supported them.

Jamey Biggs, professor of Art, department chair, and director of the university gallery, says, “For Art students, the exhibition reception can be as important as commencement.”

Racing against stay at home orders this spring, students rushed to pick up their works and faculty shipped works to others who were unable to make arrangements. Work that would have been completed with University equipment had to now be completed at home.

“The students had to become experts at documenting their works without the benefit of direct faculty help,” Biggs says.

As they worked, students emailed images and statements to the Art faculty, who then arranged OneDrive folders for the artworks to be viewed simultaneously. The faculty held Zoom meetings to discuss the student works, make selections, and then make recommendations. The results were delivered to the students via email.

Since a reception was out of the question, Art faculty worked with Concord’s web developer to create a page where student work could be displayed.

“The web page is not intended to supplant the exhibition reception, so the completing seniors are invited to participate in a special invitational exhibition in the fall,” Biggs says.

This year’s exhibition includes watercolor paintings, mixed media images, computer graphics, ceramic sculptures, mixed media sculptures, pyrography, and photography. The web page dedicated to these works displays one work and a statement from the student that describes their work and intentions.

“The Art Faculty at Concord are very proud that the spring class of 2020 was poised to overcome the unique challenges of this point in history. We as a faculty are grateful to these students for choosing Concord University and contributing to the artistic discourse during their time here,” Biggs says. “The Art department traditions will continue to change and evolve. We are looking forward to hearing of our students’ future accomplishments.”

To view this year’s Senior Art Exhibition, log on to www.concord.edu/seniorart.

-CU-