Summaries of Four Art Events

Artist Event:
Gabriela Bulisova

The video documentary and photographic works of Gabriela Bulisova are not only vividly engaging but also, capture a specific demographic which is often times, overlooked. Women of color, specifically black women are among the most underrepresented groups in the United States. Within her works, Bulisova goes into the lives, the stories, and the experiences of several women of color who have been imprisoned and she brings to life these stories which, in essence transforms the viewer and changes their perspective on socially constructed images of women in prison. Her work also, in a way, transforms her subject in that they are given an opportunity to give their sides of their stories and relay the truth. This in turn deconstructs and dissolves preconceived notions about these women because they are shedding light on and exposing their pasts, their presents, and what their futures may hold for them.

Bulisova talked about her process of reaching out to these women, and getting to know them through dialogue whether through letters or direct conversation. In creating these works, Bulisova establishes a kind of relationship which allows her to get a more intimate look into their lives and understand their pasts. At the end of her talk, Bulisova introduced one of the women she had interviewed during her project to the audience. Her story denoted her grappling with life and dealing with an addiction and attempted murder. Yet since being in jail for a number of years which had kept her away from her children, she has learned one of the most valuable and most important qualities an individual can have—forgiveness for one’s self and for their actions. To forgive yourself allows for a kind of transcendence of the mind and body which allows for the continuing amendment of one’s present and future. She takes on running as her way of comfort and coping and throughout the documentary, Bulisova depicts her running and exercising constantly as a way to reflect her constant strive to move forward and keep moving.
           

Bulisova’s work is very engaging to me because it involves a subject matter with whom I can relate with on some levels as a black female. The narratives that extend from her works are nothing short of inspiring and they teach us ultimate life lessons. Her works are indeed, transformative because it brings forward a hidden and very underrepresented perspective which challenges our social perspective of people of these demographics and backgrounds. It changes us in that we look beyond the face and the record and see the story.

Artist Event:
Lynn Tomlinson

Lynn Tomlinson’s talk was indeed very whimsical and even nostalgic. Her work combines stop-motion animation with wax paintings and drawings and she brings to life these cartoon creatures and people to educate young minds and inspire future animators. The amount of work that goes into creating her animation is by far the most intensive process I could ever imagine. For one frame which is equivalent to 1 second, she spends anywhere from 1-2 hours and for a 3 minute production, she spends months upon months working mostly on her own to create these works. She has even done work for several publication companies for children’s books as well as Sesame Street and PBS Kids.

One thing that I admired about Tomlinson, is the detail in her process as extensive and intensive as it is. She spends time developing her characters, creating the expressions and characteristics and with stop-motion technology, she brings them to life. I also really liked the fact that many of her works, I have even seen as a kid. Without even realizing that it was her work, I remember loving these short animations in between Sesame Street shows because they engaged a kind of visual, whimsical, and educational aesthetic that made learning fun and very appealing.

Art Event:
45th Annual Student Art Show

            Every year during the Spring semester, the Boyden Gallery hosts its annual student art show which has never failed to dazzle audiences and spectators with the showcasing of the incredible talents of student artists. This particular show was very interesting in that exhibited an even wider variety of art from painting and photography, to freestanding sculpture, to video documentary, to even installations. I found that this particular show was very representative of the broad and wide variety of interests of the students at St. Mary’s. I participated also in the show, exhibiting a few heads from my previous project in SMP I. I renamed the collection Face Value because the title seemed to be more representative of the symbolism I was trying to portray and the overarching issue of how clothing and the exterior visual surface of the body, of a person, are what define that person before they are able to define themselves. This work, I believe was one of my most successful pieces throughout the SMP process and I was even lucky enough to receive the PNC Bank Award. One of the major things I will take away from this process of putting work into a gallery exhibition is the attention to detail in the presentation of my work and how that effects the jury process and decision making. Overall, this process has allowed me to get even more experience in professionally presenting my work and has motivated me to continue to exhibit my pieces for the public