The art department is getting ready to launch its annual Bachelor of Fine Arts show, opening on Sunday, April 10, and going through Sunday, May 8. Seniors Laura Steinbacher, Patrick Maguire and Owen Fifield will be displaying their works in the AMC as the final step toward their degree.

“It is basically a showing of our thesis work,” Maguire said. “This ‘thesis work’ might be a showing of a series, or it might be a companionship of the artists’ past works. The show is the final product of what most BFA students spend their four years attaining.”

The show is the last of many faculty reviews that these students have undergone, as they are required to submit portfolios at the end of each semester. Art faculty members then assess the students’ work before deciding if the student should remain in the program.

“The BFA is a pre-professional degree, and the students must present a show that is cohesive, showing the fruits of a disciplined and systematic personal investigation via their art,” Ron Pederson, Art Department Chairperson, said. “Their focus can be ideational (centered on concepts), visual (centered on similar images or similar visual dynamics), or material (working with a particular medium and process). Usually, each artist employs all three.”

According to professor Kurt Kaiser, the students have been focused on their work for the show throughout recent semesters, with the faculty there to help push their pieces to the next level.

“We want them to develop a kind of personal style,” Kaiser said. “We feel like we do a pretty good job of giving them a foundation in art, but then are they running with that, are they taking that and orienting it toward a direction that really represents themselves.”

Students visiting the show can expect a range of forms on display. Fifield will be showing his series in photography, while Steinbacher and Maguire (who's image is featured above right) will both be showing a series of paintings. However, other forms will also be on display, as the three students show their talent in sculpture, drawing and print as well.

“There will be a wide range of works in many different mediums, but with each artist they will have a theme that connects all their works together,” Steinbacher said. “This show will be amazing with so many strong works. I’m really looking forward to having it all put together.”

All students are invited to celebrate the works of these graduates, and are encouraged to do so.

“I think you’ll like our art,” Fifield said. “If you don’t, we love that too, because you’re reacting to what’s in front of [you] – being human. In a world where people are becoming like machines, I would rather that you hated my art and knew why you hated it than to not see the art at all.”