 "Photo: Julia Rendleman ~ Daily Egyptian.")
There is an 11-foot tall man towering over a group of students in the Surplus Gallery.
The man and students are part of a sculpture belonging to Charlotte Bicknell, a senior studying sculpture, and is part of an annual exhibition titled “Fistful of Awesome.” The show’s closing reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. today in the Surplus Gallery at the Glove Factory.
C4, or Critical Forum, is a group in the School of Art and Design students can join to display their artwork in exhibitions, said Hee-Hun Cho, president of the group.
Cho said the show features artwork from C4 members in the Surplus Gallery. On Wednesday, students gathered in the large white room filled with various sculptures to ask questions about the artists’ work, he said.
Cho said the title “Fistful of Awesome” was created to add some humor to the show. People think art shows are serious, so the title was created to attract visitors, he said.
“You look at ‘Fistful of Awesome,’ and what do you expect? You don’t think seriously about it, and you walk in and there’s artwork,” he said. “So we’re trying to drag more people into the gallery, a place which can be very intense to different people that haven’t experienced it.”
Bicknell discussed her piece, “Shell,” which is an 11-foot tall man with its arms on the floor.
“My thoughts on the piece were to create a sort-of human shell figure, to show a void in the figure — the hollowness and emptiness of humans,” she said.
Cho’s sculpture, “Connection,” featured railroad ties in a various positions held together by long metal bars. He said his piece reflected his childhood in Korea and his student life in the United States.
“I was mainly focused on creating a mark as the ultimate picture of my life,” he said. “The piece is mainly about creating art within the construction.”
Cho said it is critical for artists to get feedback from their colleagues.
“Sometimes when focusing on one artwork, you don’t see something else around it,” he said. “You can’t sit down and narrow your eye to see one thing, so the people are critical for informing about your piece. Then you kind of open up your eye and see the big components you can improve.”
Patrick Miller, a graduate student in sculpture from Humboldt, Calif., , discussed his sculpture, “Pegs,” with other students. He said he enjoys feedback from his peers because it is interactive.
“Its kind of like the Jimi Hendrix Experience,” he said. “It’s nerve wrecking when you get up on stage, but once you’re up and people are looking at your art and talking about it and they’re interested in it, it’s very valuable. It feels good, and there’s actually a rush to it.”
Rachel Kirkendoll, vice president of C4, said it is important to hear critiques of her work, even if it is negative feedback.
“I would obviously like good feedback, but sometimes somebody will say something bad about it and I immediately start changing the way I think about things,” she said.
Williams said exhibitions such as “Fistful of Awesome” help him realize he can turn his passion into a career.
“I figured out at a certain point in my life that you can actually make money on this stuff, I was like ‘oh really?’” he said. “I was going to do this for free, and I was worried I would have to get a real job.”
Travis Bean can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275
