On a black-clothed table, pages of brightly colored inspired illustrations fill up the space, with a bright blue cat that has an orange fish in its jaw.
This was the work of first-year illustration major Jari Rodriguez, one of the students in the “Made It There!” gallery, a mini-exhibit designed to give students a place to display their work and connect with other artists.
Rodriguez wanted attendees to see the people she loves through her art, like her mother.
“I want to show the true kindness and softness of a mother and try to express that through my art, and that goes for a lot of other pieces,” she said. “To show what it’s like having these people in my life.”
Mark Porter, senior art program coordinator for Student Spaces for Art and Collaboration, said “Made It There!” is an opportunity for artists who want to display their art who may or may not know where or how they want to communicate with other people.
“If there’s someone who creates a creative project, but they never really thought about how it would function in an art gallery, part of my job is to help them figure out how,” Porter said. “We’re really open to work by students from all disciplines.”
The artwork was displayed in the Haus at 623 S. Wabash, where artists stood next to their displayed work at a “meet and greet” on Thursday, Sept. 10. From sculptures, video, framed paintings, patches and illustrations, every artist had something that represented their artistic journey.
Senior fine arts major Liz Zermeno has explored a lot through her art, from graphic gore art to more colorful and equally expressive use of clowns in her work.
Originally scared of clowns from a young age, Zermeno took the character of a clown to represent her alter ego. Keeping the feeling of her pieces unsettling but still light.
“I thought of somebody that I really didn’t like as a clown. I didn’t like this person. I put a clown face on them. And that was the thing that scared me the most. And then it changed into, ‘I’m taking the idea of the clown and I’m changing it up into something I could find community in’,” Zermeno said.
Senior journalism major Ben Sherman, who attended the event on Thursday to meet the artists, said Zermeno’s piece really stood out to him.
“Really inspiring, colorful, very crazy, draws your attention when you first walk in, I’d say one of the center pieces for this exhibit for sure,” he said.
Adrianna Gutierrez, a sophomore photography major, had a photo project on display named “Inside the Box of Dreams,” a wooden derby rat and physical crafts.
“‘Inside the Box,’ is a concept piece about how dreams evolve and change as we do.”
With a frame of purple and golden stars, Gutierrez displayed a six-page photo profile– developing the concept using physical props and use of color like purples, blues and yellows, inspired from nineties whimsy goth media, as well as representing a “dreamy esque feel.”
“I like hearing what other people think about stuff that I hadn’t thought of ever. And I’m like, you know what? I love that interpretation of stuff. I love individualistic artistic interpretation,” Gutierrez said.
The pieces showcased at “Made It There!” will not be displayed in their own exhibit, but the artists have the potential to sign up for future exhibits to share their artwork.
Copy edited by Antonio Chaves
