Spring 2020 Bachelor of Fine Arts show
Reflecting on art and community while in quarantine has made us all realize the importance of celebrating creativity and staying connected. The graduating class of 2020 earning their BFA degrees will be entering a post Covid-19 world quite different from the early days of their Freshman year. No matter what is happening in the world, artists will always find time and space to make new work. Let us now come together and support our graduating BFA students and look at their work as a virtual BFA Show. Let us read their artist statements and take time and reflect on all the hard work our talented students have created. As faculty, we want to say congratulations to our graduating BFA students. Against the odds of the current situation, they have succeeded in creating some profound and exceptional work.
The Beasley Gallery has been a gathering place and like many public spaces in the world right now, we appreciate it in a new light. As a community we are lucky to have access to celebrate creativity together in such a large space in an academic setting. For the School of Art, the Beasley Gallery is the outward manifestation of our efforts. It is where we come together to see what the present and future of art looks like. The celebration of the Spring BFA Show is more than the sum of its parts and beyond the work on the walls and on pedestals. It is a time family and friends in the community come out to support the students. The Spring BFA Show Reception is by far the biggest and most well attended night in the School of Art and we as faculty will miss seeing all the students who we have worked with over the years. It is a fun night where we get to meet students’ family and friends. It also is a time when we award scholarships to our students in the School of Art. When we hand out the scholarships, we are able reflect on and celebrate with gratitude our support networks of donors. It is a time our students who will be graduating in the upcoming years get to see how the greater Flagstaff community comes out in force to support and celebrate the arts.
To our students and their families, and to our community, we are here for you as you have been here for us. No one knows what a post-Covid-19 world is going to look like, but we know the human spirit and our creativity will always be the light which leads the way. We are here now to support you and we will be when it is safe to return to our communities. When we all do return, I know we will be humbled by this difficult time and eager to come together and share in the experiential learning of witnessing art in public in an academic setting. Until then, view and celebrate all our students online and stay safe!
Christopher Kane Taylor, Beasley Gallery Coordinator and Senior Lecturer
Clay Cabral
Emphasis in painting
Artist Statement:
Roger is my alter ego like The Mask is to Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey). He is based on the pain, suffering and deceit that I have lived through and dare not speak. While this character is free to express the burden that life had on me while contrasting a background of bright colors like that of cartoon shows. Roger is acting out five of the most painful experiences I have went through in my life using dark colorful humor. I never could express these feelings before until one day I decided why not let all them be apart of the past by creating them as images to live on for the future.
Teresa Dietrich
Emphasis in painting
Artist Statement:
Human society with all its sophisticated technique, cultural achievements, complex religious beliefs, ethical and philosophical discussions is after all often based on a system of brutal exploitation of plants, animals, nature and also humans.
The body of work exhibited concentrates on the fate of the species gallus gallus (red jungle fowl) that originally lived in the jungles of South Asia. Domesticated around 5000 BC, gallus gallus domesticus (chicken) has become over the millennia more and more a victim of genetical selection driven by maximal exploitation.
Instead of depicting gallus gallus domesticus in these cruel conditions, the canvasses puts chicken flocks on a fictional estate with a variety of environments suited to their natural habitat, leading a life rich of social interaction, driven by emotions and desire we easily can recognize as deeply human.
Aim of the exhibited work is not only to raise awareness for the fact that the human exploitation of chicken and other farm animals reduces the life quality and dignity of animals, but also to remind us that the same spirit of exploitation harms us, too.
Alyssa Dolleschal
Emphasis in printmaking
Artist statement:
My artwork is a representation of my culture through my perspective. For many, food is an important connection to heritage. As someone of mixed ethnicities, Mexican and German, I utilize this connection through my work. Due to growing up predominately with the Mexican side of my family, my imagery embodies that heritage. It is a bright and vibrant culture and the colors used within my imagery reflect that. I find beauty in objects that many people overlook, such as simple kitchen items which I incorporate in my work.
The choice of medium was contingent on being able to produce vibrant colors along with tiny detailed images. It creates a type of intimacy with the viewer, which mimics the closeness of relationships in family.
Oliver Kalan
Emphasis in sculpture
Artist statement:
Oliver Kalan’s works are, first and foremost, an exploration into his feelings about his body. It’s something that can be hard to live in, much less thrive in because of gender dysphoria and mental illness. Beginning to accept that his body is not this worthless corpse it can feel like is allowing him to acknowledge and experience the joy in life, instead of only focusing on the negative.
Nick Montano
Emphasis in printmaking
Artist statement
My imagery depicts scenes of memories using little detail, reflecting how memories aren’t always as vivid as we wish. The inspiration for creating my work is to convey the appreciation I have for these hazy memories of life by capturing them for others to see.
Gabriela Orozco
Emphasis in printmaking
Artist statement:
“Personal Space” is a series that illustrates the comfort and beauty I find in being alone. I am drawn to the stillness and inactivity in the places like my bed and my bathtub. When no one is around it is easy to let go of inhibitions and feel entirely comfortable, and this is the feeling I hope to convey through my work. Time spent alone is an important part of life and these images are snapshots of those cherished moments. With this body of work, I am paying tribute to my personal space and the fulfillment it brings.
Nick Palmer
Emphasis in printmaking
Artist statement:
Over the three years that I have lived in my own house, I have been collecting and displaying a wide array of peculiar objects. From fridge magnets to figurines, to stuffed toys and various knickknacks, every corner is littered with curiosities. The way I decorate my house is a pure expression of me as a person and an artist. I make sure I surround myself with colors and items that heavily inspire me. While my time in my house is nearing an end, I felt that it was my duty to pay respects to the tiny, awkwardly crooked bungalow that I deeply admire. Through these prints I share a unique perspective of my home, displaying different areas that I find particularly charming.
Aspen Peace
Emphasis in printmaking
Artist statement:
When I was a kid I would stare down into puddles. I would stare so long into the puddles; I was hypnotized by the reflection that eventually my body would force itself forward into the water on the pavement. There was on time where it happened so fast, so suddenly that it scared me.
Sometimes I feel like I am falling into those puddles again when a memory of someone I love suddenly pops into my head, but when I print that memory, I don’t feel like I am going to fall so hard again.
Printing memories that have passed me by helps me to recognize that metaphorically those emotions and feelings that I have from sentimentality are just water on pavement.
Michelle Tangas
Emphasis in sculpture
Artist statement:
The sound of the sewing machine pounding each stitch into the fabric is a clear sound that I can call back to from my adolescence. The influences of my childhood and family matter have shaped me into the artist I have become. My mother has a collection of fabrics, all in different patterns and vibrant colors, which I have incorporated into one of the pieces I have created. I wanted to create various items that would break the barrier of what belongs in a sewing room, bringing together the basic tools of sewing and adding my own flair to the concepts.
Orlando Watts
Emphasis in sculpture
Artist statement:
The Ute Tribe of Native Americans that live in Utah and Colorado have many Myths and Legends that help our people remember who we are and where we come from. I feel as a Ute artist that I must document these stories in different mediums, from Bronze, Oil paintings to Lithography. The beauty and importance of our culture needs preservation in a way that the story is read and experienced through an aesthetic perspective that gives the viewer an understanding and realization of our culture and its significance to the American west.
Sabrina Wilson
Emphasis in painting
Artist statement:
I’m currently a BFA student at Northern Arizona University. I work in a variety of media including drawing (graphite and charcoal) and oil painting. I’m a representational artist, and the content ranges from figure drawing to animals and organic forms. I’m attracted to the subject of animals because of my love of nature and how they have a deep connection to people that extends beyond their simple image. I often use black and white because I find that this graphic boldness conveys the drama and power of the subject better than color. In the end, I’m interested in discovering the psychological power of the subject that lies behind the image.
