{"id":8810,"date":"2020-05-22T05:07:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T05:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2020\/05\/22\/seniors-took-art-show-beyond-these-walls\/"},"modified":"2022-09-07T15:33:28","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T19:33:28","slug":"seniors-took-art-show-beyond-these-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/seniors-took-art-show-beyond-these-walls\/","title":{"rendered":"Seniors took art show ‘Beyond These Walls’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Furman art students were getting ready for the culmination of their college experience: the senior art show. They would learn to create a gallery installation, share it with family and friends and maybe sell some pieces along the way.<\/p>\n

Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to regroup, draw on the depth of their creativity and find a new way to reveal their art to the world. The result is nothing short of spectacular. Instead of a physical show, students presented their work online, crafting \u201cBeyond These Walls,\u201d<\/a> a website that showcases each artist and the senior projects in a powerful way.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Branding artwork by Emily Pruitt ’20.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEvery year, they are in a senior seminar and they have to work all year on their senior work,\u201d Marta Lanier<\/a>, associate director of the Master of Arts in Strategic Design program in Furman\u2019s art department, said.<\/p>\n

Lanier works with students to create the show\u2019s atmosphere. It typically opens in April on Furman Engaged day, which moved to a virtual format this year because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went back to the drawing board,\u201d Lanier said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a challenge. When you get back from spring break, seniors (typically) have a week and a half, maybe two weeks, and then they\u2019re setting up their show.\u201d Because of the pandemic, she said, \u201cA lot of them had to completely regroup. They really pushed through and found a way to make the most of it. I\u2019m really proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily Pruitt, one of the student artists, volunteered to design the website. One bonus of moving to a virtual format is that several of the young artists linked to online shops to sell their work.<\/p>\n

Pruitt\u2019s project was \u201cI Am Special\u201d<\/a> cosmetics, a brand idea she created that seeks to promote awareness and inclusion of women and girls with special needs. Her packaging and marketing design lent itself well to the online format, even though it was not what she had planned for her senior year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed it,\u201d she said. \u201cWith makeup packaging, there are so many little things you can do, so I knew that would give me a chance to display my skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabby Villagran created a carved woodblock project, \u201cHealing,\u201d<\/a> that represents the growth that can happen through therapy. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in clinical mental health counseling and work as an art therapist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to stay in Greenville over spring break to work on my piece,\u201d Villagran said.<\/p>\n

By the time spring break turned into quarantine, Villagran was the only person left in her workspace at Furman. With one block left to finish, she borrowed some tools and relocated her work to her dining room table. Rather than displaying the pieces on a wall, she created her display using software. The pieces were to have wood shavings underneath, representing what is chipped away during the healing process.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Prints on wood panels by Gabby Villigran ’20.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt was definitely very disappointing at first, but a lot of people are in a lot worse situation than having an online art show,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For Villagran, the dream of showing that senior project is still alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have boxes of wood shavings that I\u2019m saving, in case I get to display it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She might get that chance. The department is offering its fall-semester show, usually held during homecoming, to the seniors, in hopes they\u2019re able to come back to campus to share their work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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