Final exhibition featuring Professor Chris Vargas’s Art 495 students including Allison Bullard, Maddy McMurtry, Johnathan Horna, Lucy Lund, Aaron Kilgore, Cierra Coppock, Leah Adams, Michelle Cesmat, Mary Boyle, Colton Sampson, Thea Mroz, Suzannah Beller, Nico Olavario and Ruth Barnes.
Artist Statement / Allison Bullard
My work consists of collaged self-portraits and magazine clippings that illustrate solitude and disassociation. The covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated my dissociative tendencies and I am grateful to have an art practice that allows me to stay grounded. I make my work in my bedroom where the line between art and my personal experience becomes blurred. I eat, sleep, and make art all in the same place, my floor is littered with magazine clippings, paint, and photographs waiting to be picked up and plastered onto a large piece of paper on my wall.
My process consists of working from either one large piece of paper or a mid-size book of pages I have bound together. I create an image on one page before writing a quote or song lyric on another. I am very interested in utilizing photography to reimagine the context in which these found images were taken. Emotive facial expressions appear often in my work, and I often find myself developing a loose narrative as I work through various pages. The result of this process is a large amalgamation of images with high contrast illustrations of movie stills and bold, colorful text throughout. I am consistently expanding and adding to the narratives that manifest themselves on these pages as I lay down more photographs, paint more portraits, and write thoughts in big bright letters. The final result is a colorful, mixed media story book, and the end result is a bittersweet highlight reel of my daily happenings, internal thoughts and interactions with others. I want my viewers to look at my work the same way they might investigate an old box of photographs—looking for small clues or repeated characters until they come up with a story of their own.
Label Info:
Title: Ten Weeks In Particular No Order, 2021
Materials: Mixed Media Collage
Dimensions: Variable dimensions
Artist Statement / Maddy McMurtry
The art I create takes a dynamic look at human life and its interaction with nature. Often my images are abstracted to make the viewer question the reality, and imagine a different perspective. Working with a variety of mediums, gives me the opportunity to fully express myself. Recently I have been working in alternative photography processes to do this.
At the root, my work is inspired by childhood memories of reading various illustrated books, finger-painting giant rolls of butcher paper, dancing, playing dress up and singing. Memories of family being torn apart, feeling constantly compared to other women in my life, and the pressure to be perfect. These things influenced the way I think and express myself. There are a few teachers I had who taught me certain drawing techniques, ignited an interest in physical and social sciences, and created an environment for growth that I owe much of my influence to. I’m also largely influenced by my peers and the people around me, so I am currently influenced by artists and musicians that I follow on social media who are regularly putting out new work.
Title: Mom’s Tree
Size: 8×10”
Materials: Lumens print
Year: 2021
Artist Statement / Johnathan Horna
I am an acrylic painter and mixed media 2D artist out of Bellingham, WA. I enjoy working on medium to larger scale canvases with acrylics at my college house. My artwork focuses on value through color, expressing vibrancy and movement of form using different linework. I love depicting sunsets, water, and north-western landscapes. When rendering I lay the colors down to create fantastical palettes playing with some of the brightest hues to really exaggerate my love for color. The colors are carefully chosen and arranged to create highlights and contrast, working together to populate the canvas leaving little, if any, flat color. I avoid using black to allow the colors to shine even more when they are making up darker areas of the canvas, going for blues, purples, and even red instead. I am less concerned about accuracy of what is represented, opting for a more stylized approach highlighting expression, patterns, and directional movement of the light within the scene. I have always thought the magic in painting comes from the painterly styles of artists versus being able to paint from life so depicting emotion and color is what really draws me to art, thus being something, I feel naturally drawn to and push to incorporate in my own work. I have always felt like I loved all the colors I perceive more than people around me, and whether that is true or not I will never know for sure, but at least I am able to share it to some capacity.
Rooftop View- Acrylic- 20x24in.
Wavy Sunset- Acrylic- 18x24in.
Artist Statement / Lucy Lund
I create drawings, illustrations, and paintings of people, places and things. The line drawings displayed here are a part of a series. I’ve spent a lot of time working with dogs in collaboration with my local animal shelter. These pieces hope to convey the energy and personalities of individual canines that were left in my care. While I make art in order to communicate certain ideas and stories I also do it because I adore the creative process. My process usually just involves a blank piece of paper and pencils. I mainly work in small sizes – less than 18” x 24.” My preferred media are graphite, charcoal and watercolor, but I often find myself becoming inspired by disciplines beyond drawing. In terms of artistic influences, I’ve spent a lot of time visiting museums. I enjoy observing moments in art history spanning from the renaissance to modernism. I particularly like the surrealists. I am also influenced by pop culture, as many young artists are.
Doggos 1,2, & 3
2021
Approximately 11 x 7 in. each.
Ink on Paper
Artist Statement / Aaron Kilgore
I believe that most art can be simplified all the way down to being a message that is communicated. Now, those messages are as varied as the pieces themselves, and often, the creator may not have intended to share them. While much of my art has been made with no more thought than “hey, this would look cool!” I find that each work tells a deeper truth about who I am and how I view the world. I’m of the opinion that every single person has things that only they could do, make, or think of, and that these things are incredibly precious. I view my art as a way for me to share some of those statements that only I am capable of making, and recognizing the value in that, no matter how insignificant the statement may seem. I see a lot of beauty in the mundane, and find much of the inspiration for my art in the everyday aspects of life. I find myself drawn to the finer details of things that often go unnoticed or underappreciated, like fire hydrants, street signs, or plastic bread tags. I romanticize graffiti, and the ways that people interact with their surroundings, both intentionally and accidentally. I feel that influences from these fascinations can be seen throughout much of my work. I enjoy appropriating and adapting visual themes from many such things, and using them to communicate new messages to viewers. By presenting familiar objects in strange ways, I encourage people to build new connections with them. Much of my recent work also showcases the obsessive tendencies that I have. While many of the things I obsess over have not yet been turned into art, the ones that have often relate to my fascination with the ways we keep track of time and change, and how many different methods there can be of doing so. These often involve daily repetition, or a continued accumulation of objects, such as taking regular self-portraits, or collecting dryer lint and other debris from everyday life, forming abstracted calendars of sorts. Overall, I strive to make art that is interesting and engaging to others, while remaining true to what I want to create, and my own artistic voice. I strive to make art that is accessible to people outside of the art world, art that can be just as enjoyable at first glance, or to someone who doesn’t “get” art, as it is on a deeper, conceptual level. I strive to make art that expresses my thoughts, feelings, and experiences with the world. I strive to share things that only I could, and to inspire others to do the same. Ideally, my art will serve as an extension of who I am which encourages others to take a deeper look within themselves, and a double take at the world around them.
“ Soup Base ii ”
6 x 6 inches
May 2021
Foil Wrapper, Condom, Spray paint, Wood Panel
“Nearly Daily – 12 months in 12 seconds”
Timelapse
September 25th 2019 – September 25th 2020
Link to video:
Nearly Daily – 12 Months In 12 Seconds from Aaron Kilgore on Vimeo.
Artist Statement / Cierra Coppock
In a world saturated by images, I seek to recycle, appropriate and reclaim images that have already been created while highlighting the beautiful intricacies of the natural world. I work primarily with photography, both digital and analog, alternative forms of processing, as well as collage techniques such as acrylic transfer. My collage work centers around images of the natural world and the femme body. The juxtaposition of these subjects is pervasive in my work, as it helps me contemplate my own thoughts of gender expression, sexuality, and connection to the world as a queer woman.
The idea of being innately connected to the Earth gives me solace when I so often feel the weight of the perpetual male gaze. Laura Mulvey, in her paper Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, says, “Women stand in patriarchal culture as a signifier for the male other, bound by symbolic order in which man can live out his fantasies through linguistic command by imposing them on the silent image of woman tied to her place as bearer, not maker, of meaning.” This notion grounds my work and empowers the reclamation of the female form as I strive to be a ‘maker’ of my own ‘meaning’.
By layering and repurposing my photographs and images of the queer body, I build compositions that diverge from conventional photography. My photograms, or lumens prints, are created by layering photo negatives, flowers, and fabric on light sensitive paper and placing it in the sun to create an image. The process of constructing these works is a core part of my practice. Physically working with each piece, feeling the tactile sensations and textures, provides a more intimate experience than with “straight photography.” While large scale landscape shots are beautiful, my photography captures the more subtle aspects of the land, focusing on light interacting with geological forms, highlighting the texture and array of colors found in different rocks.
Cultivation, 4 in x 5 in, Photosensitive paper, acetate photo negatives, flower petals. 2021
Liberation 4 in x 5 in Photosensitive paper, acetate photo negatives, flowers, fabric, 2021
Artist Statement / Leah Adams
I am a mixed media artist that engages with themes of human hybridization with nature and the
non-human. In engaging with these themes, one singular medium is insufficient for me, and I will
incorporate any number of strange materials into my work. The effect that results from the mixing of
two materials is entirely unique and surprising. I never know what I am going to end up with and it adds
a thrilling element of surprise to the making process. Oil painting is often present in my work, but I also
utilize sculpture and drawing. With sculpture, I can add a physical 3D element or build an oddly-shaped
canvas to create an illusionary 3D painting. The blending of techniques and materials supports the
themes present in my work. As I combine a human body part with a natural object, I mix paint and
collage. The visual differences between the media used in each artwork highlights the conceptual
differences between the human form and a natural object.
Themes of human form hybridization are central to my work. Throughout my Biology studies in
the Biology/Mathematics major, I have grown increasingly aware that people are more connected to
their environments than they realize or would like to admit. Like all living things on earth, we came from
the same single bacterium millions of years ago. We share a connection to all that is alive and are called
to be caretakers of it. As humans, we tend to center ourselves in our perception of ecological processes
which ultimately leads us to proclaim superiority over other organisms. We do not own the earth or the
creatures within it but we do have a duty to protect it from ourselves. I aspire to create art that reflects
my desire to destroy this restricting egotism. In my work, figures are broken down into abstract forms or
blended with nature to become something both human and not. Humanity can be humbled when we
connect ourselves to that which is beyond our physical bodies. We are beings of an incredibly complex
and beautiful world and I aim to meld this world with humanity to reveal both the reality and potential
of our connection to it.
Eve, 2021
Acrylic, oil, and collage on canvas
10’’ x 10’’
Head Full O’Flowers, 2021
Oil, acrylic, and collage on canvas
14’’ x 18’’
Artist Statement / Michelle Cesmat
The drawings and paintings I make are a way for me to reflect on the intricacies and commonalities present in people and nature while simultaneously extending beyond my internal self and into the outside world. I am fascinated by people in general, but my work focuses mainly on those which have had a great impact on my life. Nature is also a major focus of my work, particularly plants that communicate with their shapes, forms and colors. These subjects are rendered with various colors, forms and descriptive marks to highlight their uniqueness as well as the way they appear to me. Through drawing and painting, I can document my internal experiences such as how I feel when observing a particular object or subject. It is important for me to not only share my own perceptions through my art but to also better understand that which is outside of myself such as other people and the natural world. My drawings and paintings are also focused on investigating the awe-inspiring complexities within daily life and how they are often hidden in plain sight. Various types of color, line and composition come together to aid in conveying my amazement of the beauty within the natural world. These elements also allow me to visually describe the deep emotions which may be observable from a person’s face. Each drawing and painting, whether quiet and muted or bold and dynamic, all represent aspects of my internal existence. I am inspired by nature’s complexity as well as its multi-dimensional aspects. For instance, the things of this world such as buildings, people and animals are all a part of not only my reality but the world outside of myself. My work strives to create a bridge between the two dimensions in the hopes of creating connections and drawing parallels. I seek to describe the passion and wonderment I feel toward people and nature and translate it visually through my art. Like a song or the written word, drawing and painting have become my language of choice for sharing pieces of myself and making connections with others.
Oscar, 18” x 24”, colored pencil on paper, 2021.
Christa, 18” x 24”, colored pencil on paper, 2020.
Artist Statement / Mary Boyle
I am a narrative illustrator primarily creating digital artwork (using both photoshop and procreate) concerned with illustrations that connect together to create one big universe. I am also interested in ideas that go along with this concept, such as the word Sonder, the idea of The Hero’s Journey, and Art as Escapism. In order to push these ideas, I often make series of paintings based off one narrative.
The concept of creating a universe in storytelling where all of your creations are living simultaneously is something that I’ve been chasing in my artwork for a long time but didn’t always understand it. My interest in this concept most certainly starts off with the idea of Art as Escapism, and the need I’ve felt to depict things that might ease the daily struggles of living. I’ve more recently come to understand and build on this idea using the term Sonder, meaning the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. Upon learning about this term, I felt a sense of dread and anxiety, but that quickly turned into an ever-changing wonder of the world around us. Also, an appreciation for how we all uniquely live our lives. Sonder has leaked into my artwork, and sort of shaped how I view narrative illustration as a whole. Although, I am not interested in depicting real events, these narratives that I compose are all happening simultaneously. The Hero’s Journey isn’t a linear battle. The main character isn’t facing a journey all alone in the world. In fact, there are multiple main characters in this story, including you. There are multiple hero’s on multiple journeys. The narratives don’t cease to exist after I stop making artwork about them. There doesn’t have to be a definitive beginning and end at all. Life goes on for the Hero of our story, as it will for you.
Feed the Fire Spirit II (2021) 2048x2732px Procreate and Photoshop
Feed the Fire Spirit III (2021) 2048x2732px Procreate and Photoshop
Artist Statement / Colton Sampson
I have been conditioned to understand that.
It is not masculine to be nurturing.
It is not masculine to be affectionate.
It is not masculine to need help.
And It is not masculine to be vulnerable.
I identify as male and, these traits are deeply important to me. In my life I want to be associated with
these traits, but to the passerby on the street, my broad shoulders, strong chin and hairy body act to
prohibit that from happening. To many people gender and sexuality are attached to traits that they can
identify with. So as someone who presents male it is hard being affectionate and nurturing without
someone believing these actions make them either feminine or gay. In my childhood the way I acted
always lead to being questioned or bullied for “acting” gay. I was just a kid and did not want or care to
think about my sexuality, but because of the people around me I had to continuously ask and re-ask
what my sexuality was. The people around me were defining my actions as my sexuality which they are
not! Gender, sexuality and character traits are independent matters from each other.
My artwork is here to help clear and guide my path to untangling all these associations. I express this
learning in my work, by diving into my interest in whimsical and ethereal world building. I use these
worlds to work through my emotion. The Main focal point is representative of my feelings or thoughts.
The Objects outside of the central focus are viewed is mental work or emotional trauma that will have to
be faced to reach a understanding. Some pieces the figures are breaking free from these chains and In some they are still completely bound, it is all part of the process working in 3D the worlds slowly grow into chaos as layers and layers of objects are added to the scene. Each piece starts with a clean slate then is built up one model at a time. I Start with the essentials of the scene then start to add supporting elements. Building up the composition while having the ability to manipulate and move objects at any moment creates endless possibilities. My process is not linear and a piece takes on many lives before the final. Pieces oscillates between being built up and broken down. Slowly rendition by rendition I discover each necessary element Until finally the piece is finished.
Chasing
1590×1907
Blender 3D Modeling
2021
Bound
960×1440
Blender 3D Modeling
2021
Artist Statement / Thea Mroz
Through various practices such as drawing, painting, and sculpture I explore the broad ideas of identity, memory, and death. I use a variety of mediums such as charcoal, oil painting, and photography. I am inspired by visual artists who explore their unconsciousness through dreams and nightmares, such as Louise Bourgeois, David Lynch, and Ingmar Bergman. My work reflects broken identities and hazy memories. Exploring these tumultuous aspects of my life has helped me find my voice as an artist and build an identity for myself that I otherwise feel I lack. My process is slow and meticulous. Art making is my form of meditation, I can let any feelings and thoughts flow through, while still creating my work. Recently I’ve explored these ideas through photography and painting. I use polaroid and black and white film to express the concept of memory. Polaroids can often make subjects indiscernible, which serves my ideas quite well. When painting I will make the subjects distinguishable, but within an indistinguishable space. When reviewing older work of mine, I noticed I’ve explored these ideas and ways of communicating before, mainly through drawings. I want to continue my explorations using the multiple mediums I’ve picked up since my time at Western.
3×3 memories-Wood, spray paint, wire, alligator clips, Arduino board, polariods, speaker.-3’x 4’ and 1.23 minutes-December 2020-9 boxes made for 9 polaroid photographs attached by copper wire to an Arduino board that when touched, play an audio recording of when the photograph was taken.
Green and Red curtains-Oil on wooden panel-24”x 32” -March 2021-Drawn out like a shattered mirror reflecting red and green curtains.
Artist Statement / Suzannah Beller
My work explores the relationship between escapism and emotional realism. Using multiple mediums including, drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture, I create miniature static scenes inside of a confined box. These scenes, which at some points take on surreal qualities, use found objects to create an environment in which the viewer is actively engaged with the contrasting nature of memory and experience.
A fuel to my art has always been my need to consume content from the early to mid 20th century. Illustration, animation, music, and objects from this period in American history reflect a shared nostalgia and represent a collective memory. In particular I find myself drawn to vintage greeting cards, toys, and other media that was aimed primarily at children. I’ve found that their whimsical nature is an excellent visual tool to offset darker tones within my work. Using these items as found objects, or multimedia elements in my scenes, places them in a completely new context, while bringing along with them decades of shared visual culture and symbolism.
The fascination of the escape of capitalism into surreal, imaginary spaces has always been a persistent fixation of mine, and something I’m intent on representing in my work. As our concept of personal space and the time we spend occupying it has taken on a radical new identity in the past year we are left to reconceptualize our place in both cerebral and physical terms. The act of dissociating objects from their original context lends itself to the feeling of depersonalization inside of the scenes I create.
What has started as practical use of the materials available to me to engage my mind creatively, has become an outlet to exercise control over my space. A chance to form scenarios with found materials and manifest internalized anxieties. My hope is to create spaces that are driven by the extremes of emotional memory, rather than operating on our definition of logic. When viewing these pieces I ask you, the viewer, to contemplate both the moments in your life where you looked back to remember and the moments you tried to alter or forget.
Together Again, 2021 Found object sculpture 12x12x9 in.
It’s a Girl!, 2021 Found object sculpture 14x9x10 in.
Artist Statement / Nico Olavario
Trying to explain an art style that is constantly changing especially when working with various mediums isn’t the easiest thing to do. Sometimes my work conveys a strong message like an image of a girl on her birthday melting away like a candle, signifying the inevitability of getting older. Other times an image is just an image with no deeper meaning behind it like a portrait of a female vampire. There was no message or story that I was trying to bridge across to an audience with that one. It was simply just another interesting image I saw in my head that I wanted to materialize.
My art style shifts depending on what medium I am using. If I am drawing or painting with either traditional or digital mediums, then I tend to let loose and go crazy with concepts and colors ending up with weird cartoonish characters and creatures. When I do photography, I like them to be a bit cleaner by making portraits with skin shiny like glass striving to be more commercial and editorial. I have also done some video work and with that I like to make the moving image more cinematic, dramatic, and moody with the use of lighting, music, and color. There is no real cohesiveness to my work which can confuse people and make it appear as if they have been done by different artists depending on what medium you look at. The only true thing that ties my work together is that I will work on them until they look good. Whether or not they are appealing to the audience is up to them to decide.
I have given myself enough time to practice each medium on their own to create art that can stand strong as an individual piece. For my future work, I would like to find ways to mix my mediums and styles to create pieces that become even stronger when standing together.
Title: Melting away
Dimensions: 3,300 x 4,199
Materials: Digital
Year: 2021
Title: Drink Up
Dimensions: 3,300 x 4,200
Materials: Digital
Year: 2020
Artist Statement / Ruth Barnes
I am a multimedia visual artist working in painting, drawing, collage, digital illustration, and occasionally ceramics. I like to draw people and paint bones. I paint with both oil and acrylic paint, and I use acrylic photo transfers in my paintings to include realistic imagery like classical sculpture, fruit, plants, or insects. I’m drawn to ideas of history, death, and drama.
I have a background in both Anthropology and Art History, and I’m always inspired by human nature’s tendency to reflect on our own past, and create stories. Because of this, I always have an underlying idea for a narrative element in my works.
I love to revisit the older European art movements like the Renaissance, Rococo, and the Baroque. I’m also drawn to the human body itself, and my drawings and illustrations are usually human forms in twisted poses, to explore the huge variance in our physical forms. Even my paintings and sculpture are forms taken from the body – mixed with elements either fantastical or historical.
I compare past and present, by taking historical themes or imagery and revisiting them in a modern light. I begin this process by picking out images or ideas I’m drawn to, and developing a collage-style composition – either digitally or physically – to bring out an underlying narrative that I communicate.
I think the greatest thing about art is its capacity for communication, whether that be to each other now or to ourselves, for future reflection. In anthropology, the creation of art is one of the first signs of culture, and without culture, we aren’t human. I make art because I want to bring the past back to the present, there’s too much of us we forget, and I think the origins of modern painting owe so much to the classical periods that we can’t afford to forget.
001Barnes_Ruth.jpeg
Hades
15”x15”
Acrylic, acrylic transfer, oil, on primed paper
002Barnes_Ruth.jpeg
Mellifera Mori
24”x32”
Acrylic, acrylic transfer, on wood panel