Art to art
NEO-TEN exhibit teaches class to present work

By Bethany McCormack
Staff Reporter

A group of 10 studio art majors got first-hand experience in the world of art Tuesday night at the opening of the art exhibit NEO-TEN.

The exhibit, planned and produced by the students, featured sculpture, photography and paintings from the students’ portfolios.

The students are part of a seminar in art professions taught by Thad Duhigg, an associate professor of art.

Myles Hayes, a studio art major, and Bree White, a senior criminal justice major, discuss a painting at the NEO-TEN art exhibit. The art exhibit, which features work by studio art majors, runs through Feb. 27 in Moudy Building North.

Myles Hayes, a senior studio art major, has his work in the exhibit. He said the class helps prepare them for what is ahead in their careers.

“It’s our first attempt at trying to show our expressions through different mediums,” he said. “It’s a stepping stone into wherever we are going.”

Kerrie Conover, a senior photography major who has a photograph in the exhibit, said the class has taught her how to prepare and present work to galleries and graduate schools.

“I feel a lot more prepared to enter the art world now,” she said. “We’re all about to get out into the world soon.”

Conover said the exhibit was a group effort they broke up into different areas such as catering, press releases, posters and a slide presentation. The students have been working on different aspects of the exhibit since the beginning of this semester. They sent out press releases last week, she said.

Katherine Hostler, a senior photography major, said this was the first time she has had her work in an exhibit.

“It’s been a real learning experience for me,” she said. “I learned where to place things, and about lighting and taking slides of sculpture pieces.”
Hostler said her sculpture in the exhibit is not like most of her other art.

“This particular piece was a stepping stone into the abstract world of art,” she said. “It was a feat to do something different than I usually do.”

Eve Palu, a senior photography major, said she has learned a lot from the class. She said she thinks it should be a graduation requirement for art majors.

“We all need to take it, because once you get out there in the world, it all comes real fast,” she said.

Palu said she hopes to go to graduate school and work with ceramics and pottery. Her piece in the exhibit is a stitched bowl.

“The basis for this piece was a lot of experimenting with different glazes, textures and mixed media,” she said.

Greg Bahr, a senior painting major, has a painting and a sculpture in the exhibit.

“Both deal with natural textures and trying to communicate some organic quality to them,” Bahr said. “I really want to activate and stimulate the viewer’s senses.”

Matt Hawthorne, a senior photography major, said he was pleased with how the exhibit turned out.

“The class did a good job of picking pieces from our own portfolios that fit together very nicely,” Hawthorne said.

The NEO-TEN exhibit is located in the entrance of Moudy Building North until Feb. 27.

Bethany McCormack
b.s.mccormack@student.tcu.edu