By MATTHEW POREMBA, The Spectrum
Teeth-grinding, bone-munching monsters are taking over the Lower Gallery in the Center for the Arts.
The monsters on display in the Lower Gallery of the Center for the Arts might seem frightening at first, but their visages are meant to provoke thoughts on the human condition. Kainan Guo, The Spectrum
Associate professor John Jenning’s semiotics class worked together to create a new gallery for the Lower Gallery in the CFA. Even though contributors from outside the class were allowed to participate, the gallery was very much a construction of the students.
“The
The Medium is the Monster gallery was originally scheduled to open with a reception on Nov. 20, but a snowstorm in the area moved the gallery’s opening to Nov. 25. The reception was rescheduled to Dec. 4 from 5-7 p.m.
Jennings collaborated with his student Tommy Nguyen, a first-year arts graduate student, on a pair of colorful and visually stimulating prints called Tupilaq 1. They were created with a digital mixed media format and are visually scary and pleasing to look at.
“A lot of the works turned out extremely strong,” said Natalie Fleming, the visual resource curator for the department of art. “This is largely due to the fact that it was a very collaborative project. The class started a Facebook group to help each other with their pieces.”
Jennings prefers using a closed Facebook group instead of UBLearns or Blackboard because it’s easier for students for show off their work and provide feedback.
The class’s use of group feedback has blossomed into a tremendously fun exhibit visually. The Medium is the Monster contains a wide variety of pieces, from creepy stickers to photographs of zombies to book covers and everything in between. The concept of using monsters as the theme for the exhibit comes straight from Jennings.
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