by Alec Clayton
 |
| installation view of the student show, courtesy University of Puget Sound |
The 2018
Annual Student Art Show at University of Puget Sound presents the best work from the last two academic years
of UPS art classes as chosen by the juror, Tacoma artist Anida Yoeu Ali. The
show includes pieces by everyone from first-year students to seniors. The
quality of the work varies tremendously. With a few exceptions, the sculpture
is much more inventive and of higher quality than the drawings and paintings,
which tend toward the more amateurish and less original. Notable exceptions being a figure drawing by Megan Breiter, which is of
much higher quality than the bulk of the two-dimensional works in the show; and a couple of Pop Art sculptures — one
of a fork lying on the floor. and one of a Pooh
Bear:
these two were not of the quality exhibited by the bulk of the
sculptures.
I don’t
know who teaches sculpture at UPS, but he, she or they must be terrific
teachers.
One of the
more impressive pieces is a sculpture by Will Books called “Socket Bloom.”
Standing on the floor like a large steampunk umbrella that has been cast aside
or some kind of time-travel kite. There is a gritty
and foreboding character to this piece in
steel, canvas and acrylic. Only from certain angles can you see the “handle” of
the “umbrella.” Without that clue, it is a purely abstract sculpture with no
references beyond itself.
A wall
sculpture by Sam Crookston called “Peeling” has a painterly quality because it
is basically flat and rectangular and its surface texture (wood grain) has the
look of paint strokes with a variety of directions, all in the same dark
charcoal color. As sculpture it is an expressive
version of a Donald Judd box. It is constructed of a dozen boxes jammed
together side-to-side and top-to-bottom. It is the subtle variations within an
almost solid and unvarying shape that makes it so interesting to
contemplate.
Jarett
Prince’s “Untitled B” is comprised of six wooden blocks attached on metal rods
that project about six inches out from a hexagonal metal frame against the
wall. It has the feel of a futuristic clock with too few hours and although it
creates the impression of slow and regular movement — tic tok, tic tok — there
are no moving parts.
Breiter’s
graphite drawing alluded to in the opening paragraph is like a time-lapse photo
of a female kick boxer in repetitive motion. The line work is sure and strong,
and the shading is soft and atmospheric, with parts of the body in motion, fading smoke-like. Its only problem is that the
woman’s head is disproportionately large.
The only
functional piece in the show is a bench by Patrick Johnson in wood and epoxy
resin with beautiful wood grain shining through a thick layer of epoxy on the
top, which rests on a dark gray arched base that looks like metal even though
the wall label says it is wood.
One of the better graphic works is “Ink” by Mary
Ontiveros, a print of a woman seen from behind with arms raised and fingers in
her long hair. Her arms and shoulders are tattooed with light blue hieroglyphic
images that appear flat, as if printed over the body; yet the straps of her bra
go over the tattoos in an intriguing kind of visual trickery.
There is a
lot of good work in this show, making it well worth a trip to the UPS
campus.
2018 Student Art Show, Kittredge Gallery, Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5
p.m., Saturday noon to 5 p.m., through Feb. 24, 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma,
253.879.3701
