While the science majors slave away in laboratories and English majors write vigorously in the library, the art majors are working just as hard in the Brodie studios on their senior collections.
Three senior art majors, Mariah Essom, Lauren Meredith Schreiber and Breanna Villane, had their work celebrated in the Bridge Gallery as a culmination of their effort and dedication as art students at Geneseo.
Essom turned inward for inspiration for her collection, producing pieces that reflected "self-exploration through self expression." Her piece entitled "To Thine Own Self be True" reinforced her view of one's self-expression.
One of the more notable pieces in Essom's collection was entitled "Anatomical Self Portrait," which consisted of 13 small canvases, each depicting a portion of her own anatomy. These included the brain, heart and aspects of her face. Through this piece, Essom explored the inner workings of the self on both a literal and figurative level.
The next artist displayed in the gallery was Schreiber. Her collection consisted of a series of sculptures expressing her wild imagination. In her statement, Schreiber said that she "believes the imagination is the most powerful tool available to us," and it is quite apparent in her pieces that she used hers to its full extent. In her piece "Treeple," she sculpted trees that, upon close inspection, possess unusually humanistic qualities.
Schreiber explored a more futuristic, dystopian style with her piece entitled "Frank." This piece consisted of a man's shoulders with a robotic head, attesting to the point of view that mankind is somewhat robotic in nature.
A similar piece in the collection is "Television Ro(bo)ts Your Brain," which is a life-sized robot with a television set for a head. This piece is a slam at television, as well as a play on words; Schreiber is saying that television rots people's brains and turns them into automatons at the same time.
The final artist celebrated in the show was Breanna Villane, who drew inspiration from studying abroad in Prague. She particularly enjoyed the "great sense of history" as well as the "variety of colors in the rooftops and buildings" that she observed on her stay.
Her inspiration was very apparent in her pieces, especially one entitled "The Hustle and Bustle of a Foreign City." The picture looks out over a busy scene of tents and people. In all of her pieces, Villane utilizes the palate knife, as well as a variety of colors, to create heavy, energetic markings that communicate the feel of the town.
The three artists displayed in the Bridge Gallery show are a testament to the tremendous talent brought in by Geneseo students, as well as the strong cultivation of artistic talent by Geneseo faculty members.