Senior Art Show Offers a Sense of Location

Sixteen graduating art majors present their capstone projects while paying homage to the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art on April 3-May 3. The public is invited to a free, opening reception Thursday, April 3, from 4-6 p.m. at the museum. The senior exhibition, “34°26'59.33”N, 119°39'43.29”W,” reflects the longitude and latitude coordinates of the museum that officially opened when they were first-year students.

“It reflects how unique the museum is to their educational experience at Westmont,” says Nathan Huff, associate professor of art at Westmont. “It’s a fitting way to locate the viewer while pointing to the students’ personal perspectives that are on display. That’s what art is about; sharing a part of oneself and hoping for meaningful reception from another.”

The student work varies in scale and material, and includes large oil paintings, interactive sculpture, mixed-media installations employing light and assemblage, photography, ceramic work, fashion inspired by films, video work and drawings.

“Each student has developed not only the ideas behind why they make their work, but have sought to make sure that the visual form they use in media best expresses their point of view,” Huff says. “They have spent numerous hours creating a project that is dense with conceptual content and executed with strong craft.

“There are highly personal narratives, built through psychological introspections. Others challenge our perception through broader cultural critique. Several students have explored the tenuous space between the physical and the spiritual, and some have presented nuanced attempts to understand another person.

The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed Sundays and college holidays. For more information, please visit www.westmontmuseum.org or contact the museum at (805) 565-6162