Alexander Bershtein

Staff Writer

For the past month, Sykes Gallery has displayed an EAR (Emerging Artists in Residence) Show Exhibit, featuring many different types of work from students. These students have been working on their pieces from early September until the beginning of the exhibit. Below are some critiques and comments on some of the notable pieces at the show.

Blushing Cheeks

-A fluffy pink “home-sweet-home” welcome-mat is presented in the limelight of the exhibit. There seems to be a word or phrase written in cream on the bright pink welcome-mat, but is unreadable due to the glare of the limelight.

Face-to-Face

-If the on-viewer does not look closely at this seemingly blank poster-board, they will miss the braille inscriptions. It is a magnificent concept of evaluating blindness and quick misjudgment. It is an allegorical art-piece that gives those who cannot see a visage, and for those that take their sight for granted some insight.

Where You Are Now

-Another poster-board is inscribed with distance of miles, “54,542 miles.” Assuming the title, it seems to pinpoint somewhere; however, the direction and coordinates are unknown. It seems something is 54,542 miles away but what or where is unknown.

Flower Girl Series 

This is set of six pictures, by Emily Pellini, depicting an amalgam of ladies and flora. Each picture represents an emotion of the lady in comparison to the sheen, texture and health of the plant. The collection seems to reflect the common associations regarding the grace or toughness of a particular moment. The emotions of each of the pictures is shown by how the ladies hold a polka-dotted egg-like object.

-Cheer: A smiling girl surrounded by red and white flowerbeds who gently holds the polka-dotted oval with antennas. She seems content and pleased

-Deceit: A stoic girl holding the oval close with little display, not wanting to share. The surround plant has elongated leaves with cream blossoms.

-More: A girl in deep thought with eyes closed and holding the oval object in a similar way to the girl in Cheer. Heart shaped branches with thistle flowers prop between.

-Concern: A girl in dismay with her eyes gazing upward, as if begging or yearning for something. A cloak of flowers with green leaves brimming her shoulder, while other flowers dangle underneath with dying leaves

-Broken: The girl is saddened as oval cracks and her surrounding flowers and leaves wilt with her depressed emotional expression

-Bitter: A contempt girl holds the shattering oval as she is surround by prickling cacti with new flowers blooming

(can’t get any) satisfaction

These are nameless ceramic sculptures. Each one has its own color and bulging shape. None of them seem to invoke any emotions, but cluelessness and curiosity. Considering the art-piece’s name, there may be no result from any inquiry on these vague sculptures held on their bland pedestals
Fluff ball table

These was no title for this exhibit, but the artist’s name is Victoria Kue. These itsy-bitsy cotton balls, or miniscule pom-poms, of yarn were piled atop a wooden table, and overflowed onto the floor. An odd thing about the exhibit was sightseers were allowed to take as many of these cotton balls as they wanted with no consequence. The purpose of the exhibit is mysterious, but arguably any cat would consider it a masterpiece.