Jules Jones

The Fervent and Incredible Preservation of 

the Good 'Ole Days

2018

10'x8'x7'

Family Bible, Sewing Machine, Toy Rifle, Naked Barbie, Football Helmet & Shoulder Pads, Antlers, Life Vests, Pillow, Stocking

Inspired by objects found at my home, this piece became a representation of the surrounding area in which I grew up, as well as the rural south as a whole. I chose and manipulated objects that I believed addressed the current political uprising and preservation of outdated ideals and culture. Where I grew up there are confederate flags still down my road, and this country rural lifestyle is something I have been steeped in. Being away from it I can look back and see how problematic and systemic the culture is to the progress of oppressed peoples. Further, I wanted to create a work that embodied my fears of the upcoming election, where I anticipate the Good Old Party will float on the "blue wave", bibles and guns clutched in hand.

John Halligan

What If

2018

2'6"x1'6

wood, paint

For my second piece, i wanted to continue my exploration in carving wood. Unlike my previous carvings i forced myself to only work from a solid block of wood and log to make the hands, which was a fun challenge. I also really expanded my knowledge on types of wood and really worked on getting things perfect. I still need more practice. But my idea behind this 3 dimensional portrait was a thought really relevant to my life at this time. The thought of missing out on an opportunity or moment and just sitting their and thinking about that moment and what could of been if you actually had done something about it. The lower hand represents the moment, the upper hand represents me reaching out for that, but never being able to  actually touch that moment because i let it go by when i could of actually touched it. As human beings we all have moments like this, of things we regret and wished we did differently or could just go back and do at all in the first place if you never acted on it in the first place. I don't want to let moments just pass by and then later down the road just sit there and think about it because their is nothing i can physically do at that point. Its unreachable at that point, and id rather know at least i didn't miss out whether if it worked out for me or not, it would at least not be left at what if and I can sleep much better at night with that thought.

John Halligan

Beauty Isn't Always Good

2018

2'x 1'4"x4'

wood, metal, foam, flock

I ended the last semester carving wood for the first time and wanted to explore that going into this year. One night in the summer at 4 am i found myself drawing what came to mind and i drew a hand making the gesture of a gun. It made me think of the saying "people kill people" because people will use that as an excuse of mass shootings and not gun regulations themselves. Yes a person has to pull the trigger in order to physically murder someone, but why not just make it so the gun never ends up in the persons hand to decide in the first place? Guns get glorified and for what, they look pretty, they're fun? A guns only true purpose is to kill and implement fear and order. So i decided to work from that sketch of the hand gesture and combined real aspects of a gun to make a wooden hand gun(pun intended). Then i made a special case for the hand to rest in and gave it a finish. This was important for me for the piece because i wanted it show how something that can look so beautiful, is truly pure evil. No matter what excuse you use, its main function is meant to kill, and we need to do better to regulate it, period.

bailey toman

3ft x 4ft x 3ft

Wood, canvas, moss, mixed materials

Joe Wojciechowski

CIRCLES OF LIFE

2018

38" X 36" X 12"

 STAINLESS STEEL ROLLED WITH A WOOD BASE

Circles of Life represent my life from when I was born to the day I cease to be. It starts with the small circle when I came into this world, began to grow and go to school to learn how to play and communicate with my peers. A time to learn of wants and needs to live and grow stronger. Leading into the second circle is growing into adulthood. The time to seek companionship. For me it was to be a lasting relationship, with kids to teach what I had learned. A time to explore the world. A time to challenge myself to see just what I could accomplish. As I grew into the largest ring, I was getting much older. The excitement was still there to accomplish great challenges, but the years take a toll on the body. It's a time to slow down. A time to relax and enjoy what I had accomplished. A time to reminisce about the old days. They always seem to be better than what is going on today. As the large ring progresses around, it leads back to the beginning, where life starts all over again. 

Deanna Marino

This piece was a second attempt at the same basic concept- a metal breastplate with a fabric cape. I was challenged by the idea of conveying delicacy through such a rigid medium while not betraying the dichotomy of strength. I found inspiration in my usual aesthetic of nature, the eerie/ominous, and femininity, but took it in a more elegant route rather than my usual rough, haphazard, creepy preference. I was proud of the way I tackled the installation in a way I had never tried before and really put thought into the way it was installed. The breastplate was much neater and more structurally sound than previous pieces, and though I struggled with logically thinking my way through the process of creating it, am very pleased with the result.

Untitled

Chris Giuliano

3'x3'

This piece continues my concentration of displaying how pollution affects ocean life.  The tangled web, the gathering of trash, including metals, bottle caps, and plastics, tie together to represent the consequences of not recycling 

Jules Jones

The Call

2018

Photograph, Size Varies

Inspired by iconography from the past, especially the 50's era, I created a set to be staged, acted in and photographed. The set was created from a chair, stool, and lamp and I reupholstered and desecrated respectively. They are imperfect and unusual, lending to the subtle unsettling atmosphere of the image. The chair has three head-like shapes protruding from the top, the lamp has a creepy clay mask hanging from the side, and the stool was made out of a table to match the chair. The backdrop is fabric I draped to create a room. I am interested in using sculpture to supplement my main interest in photography and set design.

Adele Kaczmarek

Xanthan

2018

11' x 40" x 8"

MDF board, water-based primer, wooden dowels, clear glue, 

baking soda, contact lens solution, blue food coloring

Exploration of seamless wall installation to create a suspended surface. After working a lot with contained liquids I wanted to experiment with gravity and viscosity. Different ingredient combinations, led to a desired consistency that would move with gravity at the desired rate. This piece speaks through its vulnerability, movement, and curiosity it gives the audience through the attractive texture. After letting the substance stand for a few days, it turned into a completely different material making me eager to explore further into destruction and aging. 

Lia Eisenstadt

Call and Response

2018

el wire, mdf board, plexiglass, steel, acrylic paint

Living in an era of constant accessibility has removed a layer of privacy that was taken for granted prior to smart phone technology. An abundance of information and media outreach, from friends and family to major corporations has left the individual with a new responsibility of engagement at all times. We find ourselves in two places, longing for constant interaction and instant gratification, or obsessing over perfect representations of ourselves through words and images that will last in the digital cloud, long past our lifespans. The anxiety that pours out of these dilemmas is undeniable and unifiable across the spectrum. These floating luminescent bubbles, glowing like LED screens and mimicking the two dimensional iphone chat in a tactical form, explore this emotional human experience. The call, an abundant herd that blinks with urgency is suspended above our heads and out of touch, and a frantic response, neither word or image, is nestled low to the ground, vulnerable and unprotected by a thin screen. 

Lauren Alexander

TRAP

1st iteration

steel plates, 3/8 in. round bar shaft, 3/8 in. ball bearing

24 in. x 24 in. x 8 in.

2018

Working with movement, fluidity, perspective. Trying to create something simple in order to further more complex ideas. Balance and gravity are both in play. The viewer can spin the structure or let it move on it's own. In theory, would operate outside and be powered by wind. 

Erin Erskine

Preservation 

2018

60"x15"x7"

Steel, Hair, Wood

In Victorian times, families would keep locks of hair from the deceased as a token to remember them. When preserved, hair will last centuries while the body begins to quickly deteriorate. The dead remain in our hearts and minds, but time takes its toll without notice. We cannot control the turning of time, so we pump the bodies of our loved ones full of Formaldehyde and other embalming fluids to try and prolong the inevitable. We try to salvage and control as much as possible to shield us from the reality of our own mortality. But time waits for no one, and eventually what comes from the earth must return to it.