The Bridge Gallery in Brodie Hall is currently displaying the 2009 Annual Calligraphy Exhibition which features the work of 29 Geneseo students who have excelled in the calligraphy course offered by the School of the Arts.
Students choose one or more of their favorite quotations and use what they have learned from their instruction in the class to skillfully write out the words on paper.
The quotations come from a variety of sources including music of different genres and famous sayings of philosophers and poets. Each quotation conveys a different message: some whimsical, some inspirational and some just kitschy.
Many of the pieces had illustrations in addition to their beautifully written words. Such pieces included junior Trudy Li's illustration of cartoon characters Calvin and Hobbes embracing each other next to her chosen quote, as well as junior Elaina Bradley's illustration of the Cat in the Hat, Thing One and Thing Two next to her Dr. Seuss quote.
Freshman Laura Darmstadt used the lyrics of the popular song "Human" by The Killers as the inspiration for her piece. Specifically using the line, "Are we human, or are we dancer?" she illustrated the quote with a silhouette of a gracefully posed dancer.
Artists also made use of a number of quotations from Broadway shows such as "Phantom of the Opera" and "Rent," as well as quotes from Machiavelli and Buddha.
Bradley's second piece portrayed Marilyn Monroe next to a well-known saying of hers, "I don't mind living in a man's world, as long as I can be a woman in it."
Other students took a different direction in their pieces and made the words actually conform to a specific drawing.
This creative trend was seen in freshman Eun Ji Chu's drawing of a violin with the names of many composers and musicians hugging the curves of the instruments, as well as freshman Courtney Baymack's piece that portrayed the words "Carpe Diem" as sand passing through an hourglass.
While many students merely take calligraphy to fulfill one of their Fine Arts requirements, this exhibit showed that the students were inspired by the craft of beautiful writing and used this inspiration to create striking pieces of artwork.
The exhibit will be showing in the Bridge Gallery in Brodie Hall until Feb. 21.