Nicholas Bianco and Dylan Lux / Jambar Contributors
Youngstown State University students and community members have the opportunity to learn more about creative and visual arts via the art exhibit,“Multiples.”
The exhibit is on display from Nov. 1-29 in the Judith Rae Solomon Gallery, located in Bliss Hall.
“Multiples” is a student art exhibit, where students enrolled in the paint studio course can have their work displayed.
Dragana Crnjak, art professor, teaches the painting studio course and said “Multiples” is an extension of a class project.
“Students are asked to develop [a] series of works examining conceptual, formal aspects of the work and its extension of their work, that they work on a larger scale. So it’s just examining how that can be translated or something smaller and into these like visual narratives,” Crnjak said.
Crnjak said she is excited about “Multiples” being a part of YSU.
“It not only takes painting studio students outside of the classroom into professional practice but puts their work on display for community members,” Crnjak said.
Crnjak said the exhibit is a great way for students and community members to learn more about the culture of arts.
“We really hope all YSU faculty and students can come out and be part of that culture and enjoy art, but also have a chance to really talk to students and learn something they didn’t know about,” Crnjak said.
Junior art student Lauren Barrett has a 12-piece exhibit called “I’m an Empath,” included in “Multiples.”
“They’re all self-portraits and they are the same image, and the way I’ve painted them and my color choices is what separates them from each other,” Barrett said. “They’re all meant to be viewed together but separately and they all tell their own story.”
Barrett said she views her exhibit as a reflection of herself.
“If you didn’t know me and you looked at any of those pieces individually, you would have a completely different story of who I was as a person,” Barrett said. “But when you see them as a whole, even if you don’t know me, you might get an idea of what I might be like.”
Senior art student Mychal Ben, has an exhibit featuring masks called “Sentinels Part 2” included in “Multiples.”
“The most important thing for me is to be able to make a body of work that represents what I’m actually after with my career in visual arts,” Ben said.
According to Ben, visual arts is a way to nonverbally communicate ideas. However, visual arts have been overlooked in the past few years.
“Now is no different, I think it’s important for people to pay attention to arts, especially visual arts,” Ben said.
