Exhibit Showcases Art From Advanced Students

A giant picture resembling a Rorschach ink blot, a colorful display of hand-sewn animals in a felt forest, two displays involving taxidermy — these works by eight of Professor John Pomara’s art students are as disparate as they are creative.

The works are on display as part of “My Mother Was a Computer,” an exhibit sponsored by the School of Arts and Humanities in the main gallery at the Visual Arts Building.

If you’re expecting computer graphics or sculptures made out of floppy disks and vintage computer parts, you’ll be disappointed.  The title of this exhibit has more to do with the artists than the art. 

All are between the ages of 21 and 26, and all are products of the Information Age who grew up with laptops, iPhones, and MySpace, then Facebook accounts.  Many are Arts & Technology (ATEC) majors.  Much (although not all) of the inspiration for their art comes from the Internet and PhotoShop.

ATEC graduate student Lacy Mahone, one of the eight artists in the exhibit, said she was told that this has been the most successful summer exhibit in the gallery’s history. The group’s comfort with technology came in handy when it came time to promote the exhibit and organize the opening.

“We were so successful because we were tweeting it and we have a Facebook group,” she said.  “We invited people to the group and to the event.  It was constant Internet marketing.  It worked out so well because so many people our age showed up.”

Natalia Zuniga, one of the artists, was also DJing at the exhibit’s opening.  “There was all this music going on and the visual stimulation,” said Mahone.  “We’re completely accustomed to it.  My grandparents came to the opening and told me it was completely overwhelming for them.  That didn’t occur to me at all because that’s how my generation does things.”