Pitt student art finds home in Frick

Art lovers don’t have to venture off campus to see pieces by some of Pittsburgh’s best and… Art lovers don’t have to venture off campus to see pieces by some of Pittsburgh’s best and brightest new artists. The University Art Gallery in the Frick Fine Arts Building plays home to a juried exhibition of the Studio Arts Department’s student works.

Department chair Delanie Jenkins explained that seniors are required to submit up to six pieces of work to a faculty jury. There are criteria for how works are presented, giving them a taste at what it’s like to submit work professionally.

‘This show is a little bit deer-in-the-headlights for students,’ said Jenkins. ‘It’s the culminating moment, they’re almost over the threshold but not yet, so it’s a moment of awe.’

While the exhibition is an exciting opportunity for the artists, it also requires stressful preparation — something students learn to handle during their undergraduate training.

‘There are rigorous critiques. People who are expecting the studio arts major to be like high school art classes usually get scared pretty quick. It’s all about learning the skills,’ said Jenkins.

The show includes work by a few underclassmen but primarily focuses on seniors. Submitted pieces were narrowed from 220 to 127.

‘It’s the biggest show we’ve ever had and it’s chock-full of really great artwork,’ said Jenkins. ‘We have an awesome group this year. Every year the show gets better. This is the mark, the end of their time and they get to see what has been acknowledged by faculty as successful. We’re really proud and excited for them.’

One such artist is Tanya Swartz, a senior double-majoring with English writing and a winner of the Betty Blockstein Levine Memorial Award. She found her passion for art at a young age, spending summers with her grandmother and taking art classes.

One of her most interesting pieces in the gallery is a paper-filled corner of the room. Upon further inspection, the paper is actually pages from the Bible folded into small fortune tellers.

‘The piece was for an installation sculpture class and is really open for interpretation. My dad is a minister, so I’ve been around the Bible my whole life,’ explained Swartz.

Her interest in using text as art carries over to her other pieces. Two are composed of her name written repeatedly on canvas in colored ink, while the other features the Constitution.

Kristi Jan Hoover, a senior double-majoring with history of art and architecture, said she originally came to Pitt to study medicine. After taking a few art classes, however, she realized her heart belonged in a more creative field.

In addition to some of her photography work, Jan Hoover has three installations in the gallery, all revolving around a theme dubbed ‘What eats us up.’

One piece is a provocative dining table setting, with each plate filled with mirror shards, bullets and pills.

‘In a literal sense, it’s about the things you put on your plate and the effects they have on you,’ said Jan Hoover. ‘The mirror shards represent how you think about yourself. It can either push you forward or eat you up.

The napkins are bills because everyone has a gripe with money. The bullets represent the violence that is part of our life.’

Another artist is Nancy Egger, a senior double-majoring in English literature and studio art. Her abstract self-portraits, made for an upper-level painting course, feature a large photograph of her back. After cutting the picture into strips, she collaged them onto a painted canvas.

‘I was really interested in cutting up the body, not in a harsh way, but to take the focus off of the whole,’ said Egger. ‘I wanted to stretch the picture to fit the canvas, instead of vice versa, to change the image and your perception of the body.’

Egger admitted that while submitting pieces was very stressful for the students and faculty, the reward was worth it.

‘The show is the culmination of our four years of hard work here. It’s impressive to see our class’ body of work together and say, ‘Wow. This is what we’ve done.”

Students will be available in the gallery on Wednesday at noon to discuss their pieces.