Faculty Art Show Makes Way for Upcoming Senior Art Show

Kendra Johnson, Arts Editor

Oklahoma Baptist University’s Division of Art and Design’s Faculty Art Show closes Oct. 4 to make way for Katrina Steven’s upcoming senior art show titled, “Hvad Liggur Framundan: what lies ahead.”

Corey Fuller, an associate professor of graphic design and chair of the OBU division of art and design explained the purpose of the faculty art show.

“The main reason behind the art show is just so that we’d have something in the gallery in the fall. So in the spring we always have senior art shows,” Fuller said. “It’s very eclectic and we have different media; represent a lot of different folks.”

Faculty members whose work has been on display during the faculty art show include assistant professor of art Julie Blackstone, Lynnette Atchley, Steve Hicks, and assistant professor of animation Benjamin Baxter.

Baxter said that this is the first time he has had the opportunity to display his work in the OBU gallery and explained that much of his previous work was created for moving images, so in order to display prints of his animation he had to go through a long technical process to convert them from the form needed for moving images into the form needed for prints.

One of the images took 160 hours to render.

“I spent like 700 hours of render time,” Baxter said. Completing all the images and re-compositing took about a week.

Since much of Baxter’s work was originally done for a company called Third Millennium, it focuses around religious themes.

According to Third Millennium’s web page, “Church leaders need advanced education in theology, biblical studies, and other Christian disciplines. That’s why we’re here. Think of us as an enormous online library of seminary instruction and research tools.”

“All my stuff typically sort of has like a Biblical theme or at least an undertone to it. For example, like David’s throne room is in there,” Baxter explained. “Most of it sort of has a Biblical base.”

The fall faculty art show may become an annual event, providing faculty members like Baxter with continued opportunities to display their work.

“This may become kind of a tradition we do every fall,” Fuller said.

Fuller explained that the art building gallery almost always has an exhibit on display, and the gallery is open Mon. through Friday 8am-5pm.

The faculty art show will be removed from the gallery just inside the main doors of the art building starting Oct. 4 to make way from the upcoming senior art show.

Fuller said that senior art shows are a graded assignment for graduating art students, but are also an opportunity for the campus art community to celebrate the student’s achievements.

“The opening is kind of a celebration of what they’ve been doing here,” he said.

The students make big decisions about their shows.

“It’s really an event,” Fuller said. “They put everything together, where they hang the work is up to them; the kind of work they put in is up to them.”

Senior art student Katrina Steven’s art will be held Friday Oct. 6, from 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. It will remain on display in the art building for several weeks after the opening, and the public is welcome to come and view the exhibit in the art building gallery any time during open hours.

After the senior art show, the division of art and design will hold art on the Hill Oct. 28, and Angel OBrien’s senior show will open Nov. 11, with more senior shows going on display during the spring 2018 semester.