Students who are currently taking the Painting from the Unconscious Art class had the opportunity to show off their creative art pieces to the public on Nov. 5.
The event began at 6 p.m. in the Art Gallery as the Art students presented themselves to the audience, while also explaining in depth what their artwork meant to them.
On the walls, there were various art pieces. Most of them had distinct shapes and forms that only the artist was able to explain. Students who were showing their artwork were going around the room briefly explaining their interpretations of their own paintings.
The way they conducted their presentations was very interesting. One student would start speaking and towards the end of their explanation, the next student to present would begin to speak, making it seem as if they were interrupting the prior student speaking. However, this made it unique and interesting and caused a small chuckle among the audience.
Nayeli Hernandez (junior, Art/Sculpture) elaborated on the meaning behind her painting.
“The name of my painting is ‘Cross Roads,’ and the meaning behind it is that there are train tracks in the mountains. I believe that these tracks are an important role in my artwork because they represent important decisions I take in my life. It’s like when you’re on a train track and you’re taking an important decision to go somewhere in your future,” Hernandez said.
Madison Betterncourt (senior, Fine Arts) stressed the purpose of literally drawing from the unconscious.
“For this class, I was just making layers and I would destroy the whole layer and build back on top of it until I started finding imagery. I started seeing women in it and I would bring them out, but then again, I would destroy them by erasing them or scraping them off, creating faded images. Since the class is ‘Painting from the Unconscious,’ we are not supposed to have predetermined meanings when we go into the piece. Eventually, getting towards the end, I found my imagery and understood what it meant to draw from the unconscious,” Bettencourt said.
These creative artists were nervous to be presenting their works to the public.
“I was so nervous. I am not used to talking about my art in front of crowds of people. Usually, I do not like going into too much detail about the specific meaning behind my pieces. Nonetheless, it was great that people came out to see it, and it is nice that we are able to have a student show on campus because all the work is made by students,” Bettencourt said. “It is nice that even during the week it is open so students can come in and see what their fellow Warriors are making.”
The ‘Painting from the Unconscious’ exhibit will be on display in the University Art Gallery until Dec. 23.