The Brooks museum in Memphis, Tennessee welcomed artist Kim Thomas on November 23, 2011.
A former graphic artist from Charleston, South Carolina, Thomas is now a graduate student at Memphis College of Art. December 2, 2011 marked her opening presentation of her work where she spoke briefly about the execution of her art. The medium of choice is various plastic bags that are woven together to create an intricate design. Some of her more recognized works are "Mass" and "Consumption Conundrum." As a young girl, Thomas learned how to crochet from the women in her family and she chose to incorporate such skill in her exhibition. The overall meaning behind her work is meant to represent a conversation of pollution in our environment. Thomas found that communicating such an issue was important and really wanted to show how organic the medium is. Most of her pieces are quite detailed and consist of various sizes, colors, and designs to represent a particular message. Her main issues represent pollution of waterways and urban towns.
Memphis College of Art showcased their Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition students on November 23, 2011.
Numerous students presented their final artworks to hang in Callicot Auditorium where family, friends, and art-lovers came to view the works. Such works were created in various mediums with concentrations in photography, studio art, sculpture, and drawing, and more. Among my favorites were works done by artists like: Jessica Ajoc, Megan Snider, and Hayley Haddad. Although I did not have the opportunity to speak with the students, I made my own interpretations on the works I found. Ajoc's piece consisted entirely of roaches....yes....roaches. Each insect was positioned to create the outline of a male figure. The use of over 200 roaches were used in the completion of the artwork. Snider's work was my particular favorite because it communicated such a beautiful message. The student's major is in photography and she chose to incorporate 4 images of women. The models were blind folded with long strips of silk, making for an interesting piece overall. I felt the message to be about inner beauty rather than exterior vanity. Lastly, Haddad's work was a collage piece with ink and was hand-drawn. She chose to use various images of soldiers and dark colors to portray a very ominous feeling. The enormity of the piece as well as her choice in medium made the message of war loud and clear.
I traveled downtown to view the Master of Fine Arts Exhibition for Memphis Collage of Art.
The presentation was quite different, with larger works and fewer artists. I spoke with one particular student, Maggie Russell, who's work I found exceptional. Her works consisted of charcoal, fabric, and were hand drawing to create several large pictures. Each image portrayed detailed men and women with spherical globes around their heads and amputated limbs. Although a bit gruesome, she explained that the individual's flaws represented their inner barrier of safety against the world. That all people have a wall that very few have the ability to break down; therefore, they protect themselves with such a barrier. she showed compelling talent.
