The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

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The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

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Graduate art students bring multimedia to Pollock Gallery

For SMU’s Division of Art masters students, their two years spent on the Hilltop have culminated in one final show. “Dense Fog Advisory,” on display in the Pollock Gallery in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center, showcases Kiernan Lofland, Emily LaCour, Tim Best, Melissa Tran and William Binnie’s final exhibition on campus.

“The thesis show is the end of our MFA. It’s what our whole study has been pushing towards,” said Lofland.

The free exhibition highlights the multi-media talents of the five graduate students and features sculptures, paintings, short films, photographs and audio stories. The students worked off their own personal themes, uniting to form one cohesive exhibition.

“‘Dense Fog Advisory’ is a title that stems from the landscape of both body and site we all address in our work and it also touches on the way in which academia can cause foggy conditions,” said Emily LaCour, who focuses on her Louisiana heritage in abstract paintings of sugar cane plantations.

William Binnie’s works in the Pollock Gallery, centering on themes public suicide, features the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, located in Taos, N.M.

With recreations of the gorge in a variety of mediums scattering Binnie’s corner of the gallery, it is hard to take one’s eyes off of the dizzying video playing on loop, showing the view looking down from the bridge.

Binnie also adds text to his pieces, offering a small book to visitors, further explaining “a select history of pubic suicide in the United States of America.”

Artist Tim Best uses manipulated photographs to convey dark subjects. desire, surveillance and exhibitionism according to gallery Curatorial Fellow, Sally Frater.

His large artworks do not utilize digital manipulation, though. Instead Best cuts, twists and crumples printed photographs to create a web of curiosity. Visitors must inspect Best’s works at near and far distances to truly grasp the grandeur of these pieces.

Lofland’s works master the space, filling the center of the gallery with interesting textures, shapes and concepts.

“Do you ever remember standing somewhere, in front of a body of water when the light makes it seem like a mirror, or overlooking a landscape that is a picture of something else your eyes have seen before, but only experienced in other images, not in ‘real time,’” Lofland said. “The sculptures are built so that they occupy many different spaces, as in they remind us of different things, or look like multiple different things all at the same time.”

Melissa Tran’s work brings a personal twist to the exhibition. A dual rocking chair accompanied by audio of her grandfather hides in the back corner invites participants to not only sit and enjoy the view of their surroundings, but to listen as well.

“Dense Fog Advisory” engages many of the senses and emphasizes each individual’s personal style and creativity.

The exhibition is open in the Pollock Gallery through April 19. A complimentary exhibit of additional works by all five students can be viewed at Beefhaus Gallery, 833 Exposition Ave.

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