SIX 2020 - 2021
STUDIO ART THEATRE ART ED DANCE INTERIOR A&D
ART HISTORY
A letter from the Chair
BRITTNEY PIEPER It is with utmost pride to introduce the 2020-2021 issue of SIX Magazine. The featured works vary from play to self expression to issues of social justice. However, despite the variety, each artist has shown their incredible tenacity and dedication to the arts. The resilience in this magazine shines through and is beyond commendable. In times of hardship, we can always rely on our artistic outlets, and despite all odds, the students of the College of Fine Arts continually go above and beyond. A special thank you to my co-editors, Madison Hayes and Mia Gonzalez. Your creativity shines bright. To the students of the College of Fine Arts and the community of Tallahassee, never let the difficult times dull the art. Always choose to create.
STUDIO ART
SEANA LEAH HUMAN SPIDERS
In this piece I explored the theme of humans versus nature. I feel that as a people we are continually dominating nature in order to suit our whims, stomping it down in order to make our own strides as a demanding species with a burgeoning population. Roads are an easy way to see this type of human consumption of nature, using land in order to journey towards our own goals. Roads plow through landscapes and are so numerous and connective that they are a spider web, capturing the surface of every land in human habitation. Drawing from Robert Smithson's piece "Mirror Displacements", 1970, in which the simple placement of a human element in nature changed the way that the surrounding nature was understood, I made my piece with the design of a human-made element capturing nature. "Human Spiders" is made of cut up paper Road Atlas maps, with the main roads selectively cut out and attached to form a web, which was then placed over, capturing, a flowering plant in the wild.
KATHRYN BOUCHER
ALL EYES ON ME
Being a sophomore and studying art has allowed me to experiment, learn, and bend my own rules. I created the piece in my portfolio titled “All Eyes on Me,” as a multimedia piece (oil, watercolor, and graphite). The female figure in the center is representative of me and is surrounded by framed eyes of famous paintings. This painting helped me express how I was feeling and which direction I wanted to take my art career. I wanted it to capture the stress I was feeling at the time I was beginning art school. Along with drawing and painting, I have begun experimenting with elements of collage as I have seen the use of collage largely influencing the media today. Loving the colors and textures that collage includes, I find a sense of repurposing art through collage. Taking photos out of context to create something new is where I find beauty. I form my own style from taking this mixed media side of my art and mixing with collage for an experimental, modern take.
KATHRYN BOUCHER WISE WORDS FROM PLATO'S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
The inspiration of this project was to present the narrative of the current political or social climate of our country expressed through Plato’s writing. The last paragraph of the reading stuck out: “And he who remembers this when he sees anyone whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light.”
Reflecting on today’s climate that nothing is to be assumed and not to judge based on what you do not know. Beautiful words to live by in the 21st century written in 517 BCE. The medium was chosen to be translucent to represent the light described in the allegory .
K I R B I A S R R A This expressionism painting reflects the internal conflicts of self-loathing in the form of two fetuses fighting in the womb. Creating this piece, I wanted to explore a violent representation of the conflicting emotions one may experience with depression. Within my practice, I illustrate the embodiment of anxieties and their prolonging effects they have within our everyday lives. Through displaying unspoken emotions within creative outlets, art that explores the depths of mental health gives us the opportunity to heal and expand our desire to recognize our own demons. Using creative outlets to mirror our shadow grants artists the ability to congregate on a deeper understanding of their true
GEMINI identities. Exposing the depths of one’s persona extends the hand to those who struggle in similar ways; we can learn to reach an understanding empathetically through art and the narratives they represent. Art that manifests from internal struggles releases what negatively consumes us; especially when we don’t have a definite explanation for them. While these unwanted emotions are evident to us, we often find ourselves struggling to voice these obstacles within our relationships. As a nonverbal way to discuss topics of hardship, painting what bothers us most builds a connection between artists who overcome their greatest fears.
Space in my works have many different shapes such as filled space or vacuumed space, negative or positive, and even crossed or checkered. I wanted to investigate representations of identity through assemblage, collage, multipart portraiture, my body, video, painting and the use of symbols from my homeland. I explore who I am with these complex and changeable elements. These selves emerge from intersecting confrontations: with the artist’s own image, with the weight of personal and social stereotypes of race, class, gender, age, and psychological traits. I am also interested in works which have roots in feminist art historical discussions of the ways artists have visualized selfhood as manifold, presenting portraits that in their multiplicity and radicality challenge patriarchal ways of looking that define narrowly while presuming broadly. Symbolically, I use the pigeon as a symbol of femininity, freedom, the possibility of coming back home. Pigeons have had a great cultural, symbolic, and spiritual significance in many civilizations and traditions for centuries. Their connection with humans seizes back to ancient times. In many of the world’s greatest mythologies and religious systems, pigeons have always had a special place. Apart from those common associations, pigeons were associated with concepts of femininity and maternity. Some of the greatest female deities are often depicted holding a dove or a pigeon or the animal is considered one of their spiritual transformation forms.
MARYAM TAKALLOU FLYING FIRE
KNOWN VS UNKNOWN
SOPHIA VARGAS
Known vs. Unknown is a project I completed for my Digital and Photographic Imaging class with Professor Jessica Ingram. We were told to go out and explore what was known to us: subjects of what we possessed knowledge, intimacy, and understanding. We were also instructed to explore what was unknown to us: subjects of which we possessed little knowledge and had little experience with. I took this project as a call to explore these topics in my everyday life, creating a journalistic, and at times, voyeuristic work. By playing with lighting and color tone, the various images that emerged from this project tell a story of comfort and intimacy, but also one of curiosity and wonder. Comfort and intimacy are shown in the warm tones and close range some of the images possess. On the other hand, curiosity, wonder, and at times, fear, are shown in the striking, cool tones in the longer-range images.
OLIVIA SANDERFORD UNTITLED (TWIGGY)
Twiggy was one of the most over-sexualized models. During her modeling career, she often set standards that other models and women couldn't obtain. This piece has a 'hypnotic' background to represent that many of us get lost in and caught up with beauty standards that are unrealistic.
LAURA PELLINI SAY THEIR NAMES This painting about the BLM movement contains statistics about police brutality in the background. Names in red are those in which the police officer was not convicted for murder, names in white those in which the officer was convicted, and names in orange those killed during the protests in May of 2020. For this painting, I researched every case individually to get accurate statistics and depict them visually to raise awareness.
DANCE
LINXIN LI INNER DEMON
This series of photography is the visual treatment of Kisa's thesis dance film. They display the concept of what the inner "monster"/"demon" look like for people who try to avoid their past trauma. "What do your monsters look like....?"
CASEY COPELAND Slow Regard of Silent Things: A look at Mental Health in Dance This essay entitled, “The Slow Regard of Silent Things” provides groundwork and context for the necessity of addressing the mental health needs for dancers. It takes inspiration from and builds upon the fantasy novella of the same title by Patrick Rothfuss, as a creative and alternative method of bringing awareness to aspects of our mental health that are often silently borne and rarely discussed. Written in a first person expository style, the essay is accompanied by a digitally created collage which seeks to bring awareness to the neglect of dancers’ mental health by companies, conservatories, and studios alike. The collage compiles titles, text, and images from existing scholarship and articles in the dance field that have begun to address the concerns and lack of support for dancers’ mental health. The essay itself identifies unique aspects of the dance field that perpetuate the lack of awareness around mental health and ends with a call for dancers to share our experiences with one another, finding community and solidarity in knowing that we are not alone. As Rothfuss wrote,“ I cannot help but wonder how many of us walk through our lives, day after day, feeling slightly broken and alone, surrounded all the time by others who feel exactly the same way.” Both the essay and its accompanying image seek to bring about a regard for the silent and often invisible things so many of us face so that we can begin to open up awareness and discussion, creating a healthier future for the field. This project is, in the words of Patrick Rothfuss: !For all the slightly broken people out there: I am one of you. You are not alone. You are all beautiful to me.”
JASMINE BURELSMITH Non-Artists' Perception of the Dance Profession Dance is a unique art form that requires a balance of both grace and athleticism, as it is often debated whether dance is a sport or an art. Although dance of all genres requires great strength, dance is a performing art in its essence, and it is because of dance’s artistic affiliation it is often not taken seriously as a profession. All professional artistic pursuits tend to have a negative connotation surrounding them as a result of stereotypes manufactured by unsupportive non-artists. This research aims to determine if there is a negative stigma associated with dance as a professional career by non-artists and if so why. It is important to understand the perception of non-artists on the professional dance industry, as the future of the field depends on loyal and more than satisfied patrons. In order to understand the perception held by non-artists on the professional dance industry, three surveys were created and sent to professional dancers, aspiring dancers, and non-artists, who are individuals that are not pursuing or currently have a career in the fine arts. Additionally, some popular and scholarly articles were used throughout the research to define a “real job” and clarify the societal skepticism many artists face during their career journey. Upon analyzing the survey responses and external sources, it is difficult to conclude exactly how the dance profession is perceived by non-artist according to today’s standards, as there were significant limitations to this research that cannot permit any generalization to be made. However, a possible reason for the results of this particular research could be that the perception of the dance profession by non-artists varies across generations. Further research may be valuable and provide evidence that there is a negative stigma associated with the dance profession by older generations of non-artists. Although a finite conclusion cannot be drawn based off this research, there is proof that the dance industry is now being recognized by some populations, which is crucial to the future success of the dance industry and positively impactful for aspiring artists who will hopefully be entering a field where their work is valued.
T H E A T R E
HANNAH RAMOS SACRIFICIAL SUFFERING, A MONOLOGUE
It surprises me that you continue to love me when I make it so difficult. It surprises me that you have the option of someone who is happier, healthier, but you still choose me every day. It surprises me that you don’t know what the future holds, but you know that you want me in it. It surprises me that you show me that you love me without telling me, although you do. But that isn’t what surprises me most. What surprises me most is that you fell in love with me while I was at my worst. You somehow saw through all the mess, and you pushed through my pain and you clawed at my bad habits and you tripped over my stubbornness and you ran past my past trauma and jumped over my walls when they wouldn’t come down, and you grabbed me at the center, falling and lost and giving up, and you pulled me out. You pulled me out with bleeding hands and cut feet, but smiling. You took such a risk because you cared so much, and you thought I was worth saving. I don’t know why, I don’t know how. All I know is that I’m forever grateful that you did.
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
SARAH FINLEY PHOENIX MEDICAL CENTER
Safely Social Distance from the Comfort of your Phone: The new and improved 14th floor of the John Hancock building in Chicago, Illinois will house the modern holistic Phoenix Medical Center. This clinic keeps their patients comfort in mind not only with soothing interiors but also with accessible healthcare through their app that any patient can download and keep track of their healing process. Why use an app for healthcare practice?
By promoting the use of an app, Phoenix Medical center will be able to stay in touch with patients even when they are not visiting the clinic. This connection to patients will build relationships between practitioners and patients. A strong relationship will prevent patients from leaving a practice that offers accessible healthcare like no other.
ART HISTORY
MIA GONZALEZ
JEWELRY BOX OR MINI EXHIBITION? Definitions are meant to be questioned and challenged. Inspired by Marcel Duchamp's Boîte en Valise (Box in a Suitcase), this box of jewels and art invites you to question its structure and purpose.
Estefania Vallejo Santiago Idealizing Blackness: Representations of Black-Puerto Rican Heritage/Identity in Public Art This essay speaks to the dynamics of black identity and heritage in Puerto Rico through public art. The quincentennial erection of the heritage monument in 1992 on Dorado’s Plaza also has significance as it holds an established relationship between national heritage and the normative modes of social and political representations of the Spanish colonial plaza space. As this was once used as space for officials to reinforce the authority through architecture, image, and ritualized performances the contemporary use of the plaza reignites authoritarian expression of power and social appropriation. The link between the concept of national identity and heritage emphasizes notions of “present-centeredness” which, according to Brian Graham and Peter Howard is “the ways in which very selective past material artifacts, natural landscapes, mythologies, memories, and traditions become cultural, political, and economic resources for the present.” Although this theoretical approach to heritage has been taken within what was formerly Spanish viceregal Americas, little has been analyzed within contemporary Puerto Rican public spaces. I subscribe to this conception of heritage, and in this study, I demonstrate what contemporary Puerto Rican public art can offer to an understanding of the byproducts of colonial art and art history at large. By focusing on Puerto Rico’s insistence on the mythical past, we see how heritage allows for the identification of dominant actors as well as the strategies they use to limit subaltern voices. As Puerto Rico finds itself as a colony within a post-colonial world, remembrance of Spanish heritage is often regarded softly when considering decolonization discourses. Thus, elements of Spanish colonial ideologies with their complex use of images, objects, and spaces are considered foundational to heritage. This suggests that academic analysis of heritage as a process, object, and site could contribute to the broader study of how colonial discourse can still be an occurrence within contemporary spaces. In his book Urban Space as Heritage in Late Colonial Cuba (2015), Paul Niell contests that within societal discourses on inclusion and exclusion, ownership of heritage by one group often implies the distancing or dissonance of another group. Through the exploration of dissonance or distancing of heritage, this offers a means to look further into the complexities colonial ideologies have embedded within our modern understandings of identity.
CHARLIE DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD, BE GOOD
Photography allows me to explore life's gifts and beauty. With each photo, I slowly fall back in love with the world and all she holds.
FARRELL DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD, BE GOOD
As we navigate life, we must remember to put good out wherever we go and whenever we can. There is nothing more courageous than being kind.
a special thanks to our co-editors Madison and Mia
MADISON HAYES
MIA GONZALEZ
2020 2021
SIX