All students come to this university in search of a higher education, but a select few stumble upon their higher purpose in the form of art. The new “Layers” exhibition in the Student Union has helped those students express their newfound or existing love for art, regardless of their majors.
Featuring pieces ranging from a dress made entirely of soda tabs to a more traditional oil painting on wood, the exhibition is an impressive and eclectic display of the talents possessed by LSU artists.
Since the Union Art Gallery has been unable to feature new exhibitions due to COVID-19, “Layers” is the very first student exhibition of the year. The exhibition was made possible by the leadership of Exhibition Curator and Juror Cecelia Moseley, president of the LSU Society of Sculptures, who organized an opening reception on Feb. 23.
“This has been a really awesome opportunity to bring community and artists together,” Moseley said. “Every student in this exhibition, it’s actually the first exhibition that they’ve been a part of. That’s been really awesome to hear them get super excited.”
The Society of Sculptors, The Painters League, and The Printmaking Guild all put together the exhibition in only 21 days. Exhibition Jurors Moseley, Amanda Farris and Paul Gomez chose from 68 submissions and narrowed the selection down to an exclusive 32 pieces to be displayed.
For Moseley it has been extremely rewarding to be able to create a space for young artists who are still looking to prove to themselves and their loved ones how hard they will work to pursue their passions.
“For a lot of these students, it’s hard to become an artist because it’s hard to talk to your families about becoming an artist and changing from a biochem major or an accounting major and really pursuing art,” she said. “So, them being proud of what they made and being able to tell their parents is a really exciting thing.”
Mark Muguga, a sports administration sophomore, has his artwork featured in the exhibition entitled “In Black,” which is a charcoal drawing on paper piece. Muguga worked on his piece for over a semester, completing nearly 14 sketches along the way.
“In darkness, sometimes things seem to be more still,” he said. “What I wanted to create in this piece was that stillness. That was my aim, just to try and create a balance.”
Muguga uses his artistic abilities to reflect on his culture and identity. Art grants him the ability to expand his voice and reach other people like him who feel like their identities are being repressed.
“If I’m working on my pieces, I am able to create things that I feel are not being expressed: my moods, my feelings and what I feel society needs to know about,” he said.
For Muguga, art is an extremely powerful form of self-advocacy and empowerment. It can bring representation to individuals and their cultures, bolstering communities with pride and celebration. He said it is essential that someone speak out and advocate for themself, rather than have someone else speak on their behalf. By finding their voice and using it to speak out for their community, a person will be able to grow more as an artist and have a greater impact.
Studio Art major Sophia Morstead had her oil-on-canvas piece, entitled “Shadow Self,” on display, to showcase the edgier side of human fragility.
“Your shadow self is someone that has faults, like a darker side,” she said.
For Morstead, art has always been her primary outlet of expression. Like many of the other artists at the exhibit, she turns to it when looking to make sense of her emotions and conflicts.
“I’ve always grown up doing art; it’s just a way for me to escape any struggles. It’s almost like therapy for me,” she said.
Graphic Design major Jaden Degeyter created one of the most stand-out pieces in the exhibit. Degeyter’s free-form sculpture is also a wearable dress made with 2,789 soda tabs, weighing nearly four pounds.
“The inspiration behind it is kinda just taking trash and elevating it to an artistic standard,” Degeyter said. “I was inspired by pop art with a twist of a 1920s flapper girl dress. I just wanted to elevate the idea of reusing and recycling, so it’s kind of bringing awareness to environmental issues.”
Degeyter worked on the dress over a seven-day period, putting in eight hours of work each day. To help push through the pain she listened to two audiobooks in their entirety.
“I wanted to give up so many times. My fingers would hurt and bleed and I was like, ‘It’s not going to come together,’” she said. “But I knew that in the end, it would be beautiful. It was in my head and I wanted it to be out in public so other people could experience it.”
Although the payoff of creating this dress has been immensely rewarding, Degeyter’s journey on the way to making the piece was no straight shot. Like many of the other students featured in the exhibit, a passion for art is something she didn’t initially lean into.
“I was originally in nursing and I rediscovered my love for art,” she said. “My second year into nursing, I dropped it and went to art school and totally immersed myself in everything art. I took sculpture classes and digital design classes, just to figure out what I wanted to do.”
Once she decided to commit to pursuing art, she was able to fully appreciate it as an extension of herself. While wearing a gorgeous wide-brimmed black hat complemented by a pair of earrings mimicking cigarettes, Degeyter explained that she utilizes art in every aspect of the way she presents herself. With every accessory and every bold eyeliner look, she is artistically expressing herself on an everyday basis.
“I just think that to express yourself is the way to live. You’re not actually living if you’re not expressing yourself,” Degeyter said.
“Layers” will be on display in the Union Art Gallery until Tuesday, March 22.
