Have you ever wondered what it would be like to enroll as an MFA student here at Notre Dame? Or are you just curious to find out more about the art that is created here on campus? If so, you can learn more about both the MFA program and the arts from current MFA students Friday at the Fall Walkthrough event.
The Fall Walkthrough, which will run for most of the day on Friday (9 to 11 a.m., 1 to 3:30 p.m.), presents an opportunity to see the MFA students' artwork in person, and to discuss their work and the program in general. Represented concentrations will include ceramics, design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture.
Kamilah Campbell, a first year sculpture student, explains that the MFA Walkthrough program was started to give professors from different areas in the department a chance to become familiar with all of the students' work before the final review.
Campbell, who graduated from Clemson University with a BFA in Sculpture, will be showing non-representational forms created from melding chitlins with fabric. She explained that her work "navigates my family relationships and religious upbringing" and, in the end, intends to "reconcile the two." In general, these sculptures comment on the human condition, as the chitlins act as a substitute for the human form.
Another first year student, Nick Roudebush, came to Notre Dame after graduating from Wabash College with a BA in Art, concentrating in Ceramics. Roudebush's work investigates landscapes through clay, while retaining some influences from his earlier work, such as his "interest in collecting" and "Eastern aesthetic sensibilities." At the Walkthrough, he will be "showing some work about the poetry of collecting and the effect of agriculture on landscape. With this work, I intend to spur discussion on contemporary agriculture issues like food storage, government subsidies and reformed landscape."
Both Campbell and Roudebush strongly encourage all undergraduate students interested in the MFA program to attend the event on Friday. According to Campbell, "Seeing other students' work and letting them tell you their thoughts behind it encourages you to do something that you may not have thought possible before." Roudebush adds that the Walkthrough allows undergraduates to "not only see some interesting and challenging work, but also some of the obstacles and challenges that current artists are working through. This event really uncovers the process of making, and I believe a lot can be learned from understanding some of these challenges in the contemporary art world."
Their work is just a sampling of what will be shown this Friday; 20 students in total will be presenting. The 2010 Fall Walkthrough will take place in Riley Hall, with the following schedule:
Friday, October 29: 9-11 a.m.
Ceramics:
Jessica Zekus: Room 120E
Design:
Marie Bourgeois: Room 210
Stephen Pennington: Room 210
Julia Shin: Room 210
Painting:
Jason Cytacki: Room 317
Jackson Zorn: Room 315
Photography:
Matt Bean: Room 216
Joseph Small: Room 216
Printmaking:
Virginia Hungate-Hawk: Room 322
Sculpture:
Benjamin Funke: Room 100
Friday, October 29: 1-3:30 p.m.
Ceramics:
Chad Hartwig: Room 119W
Nick Roudebush: Room 119E
Design:
Mayra Duarte: Room 210
Aaron Huffman: Room 210
Charlotte Lux: Room 210
Painting:
Amanda Joseph: Room 315
Photography:
Christine Lenzen: Room 216
Printmaking:
Justin Barfield: Room 322
Sculpture:
Kamilah Campbell: Room 100
Walter Early: Room 100
For more information, go to http://artdept.nd.edu or call 574-631-7602.
