Art Week~ Open studios in AA hall and a review of the week

Because i am part of the curatorial studies class i had the opportunity to see multiple studios open up for art week. It was really interesting especially to see the studio SMPs open. I think its often important to see works in process. It gives great insight into the building of a complete set of works. Most of the studio SMPs are still in the brainstorming process. Mary Gotschalk is working on a story based painting project. Montse is working with texture and i noticed beginning pieces that have female figures in them. I think it would have been neat if the smps had written descriptions or information about the projects. The professors additionally had their studios open. Sue Johnson, carrie Patterson, and Billy Friebele all had their studios open along with displays of their artwork. Carrie Patterson had a few of her pieces left over from Placing Color. It was really neat to see her work space, again giving insight into the development process of creating art. She had an entire station of brushes paint and a table full of blocks being prepared for a new art work. The visiting photography professor also had her studio open. Most of her work dealt with photographs from a different country. Most of the photographs were portraits and they exhibited the lifestyle of these people. In terms of artweek as a whole i think it was a major success. I hope it will continue to be a feature every semester. I think it really solidified the art department as a whole group and working entity. It also really created awareness of the different art projects and how important many of them are. I think it inspired people to maybe become more involved in the department. I really think its great that we have art events and lectures throughout the year. But, something like this, where we feature art in process or simply art theory, is just as important. It shows that art is important and interesting even when it isn't a finished product ready to be placed on a white wall in a sterile exhibition. It would be neat to try and incorporate other departments. I think this was attempted in the Professor Throwdown at the end of the week. That could really show how art is an integral part of other departments and the school as a whole.