10/25/2019
By N. L. Sweeney
As you walk down the hallways of the 糖心vlog视频, posters and flyers call out from the walls. Passing the hall by the Student Success Center in Founders Hall, however, reveals a more purposeful space. Behind smooth, suspended frames are photos: a reflected woman viewed through a veil of blooming roses, an abandoned shed, a solitary figure seated before a wall of blank screens.
These are just a few of the 14 photos that make up this quarter鈥檚 Student Art Gallery. These works represent a curated selection from this past summer鈥檚 Photography & Digital Art class taught by Ted Hiebert, associate professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences (IAS), and the Introduction to Photography class taught by Howard Hsu, IAS lecturer.
The Office of Undergraduate Research asked Hiebert to direct the shows beginning in autumn 2018. 鈥淗aving a space dedicated to honoring student art is essential for creating art culture at UW Bothell,鈥 said Hiebert. 鈥淭his hallway represents an important step toward prioritizing that development.鈥
The photographer in the photo
Though the photography featured in the student gallery represents the works of two different classes, a common theme runs through the pictures. Many of the photos from Hiebert鈥檚 class feature distortions of perspective, using lighting and prisms.
鈥淭he documentary myth of the camera relies on a record not being tampered with. That reality leaves little room for artists in their art,鈥 said Hiebert. 鈥淲e were most interested in seeing how we could make space for the photographer in the photo, and we approached this by shifting perspective.鈥
Jennifer Pean took the photo of the woman hidden behind a cascade of leaves and roses. 鈥淚n Hiebert鈥檚 class, we were asked to play with different perspectives and ways to 鈥榯rick鈥 the camera into capturing something we imagined,鈥 said Pean (Biology 鈥19). 鈥淚 got to discover my own style and voice as a photographer.鈥
In a different approach, Hsu encourages students to bring themselves as photographers into their work through narrative and subject.
鈥淚n choosing from my students鈥 works, I tried to select images that visually conveyed a student’s own perspective, world view or issue in their life,鈥 said Hsu. 鈥淚n other words, each image represents some aspect of how they uniquely see the world.鈥
Preparing artists
Although the students have a wide spectrum of experience with and education in photography, the gallery gave everyone recognition.
Pean has been a photographer for most of her life, but Hiebert鈥檚 class was the first photography course she had taken at UW Bothell. 鈥淗aving my art displayed and getting that approval made me think for the first time that photography might be something I could pursue after university.鈥
For many of the students, more important than the recognition was the internalization that followed.
鈥淲hen Professor Hiebert asked to use my photo in the gallery, I was really excited,鈥 said Heather McAllister, an Interdisciplinary Arts major. 鈥淚鈥檝e been lucky enough to be featured in a gallery before, but having my photography up at a university felt official and has really boosted my confidence.鈥
Theo Roussos described a similar experience, though with a focus on logistics. 鈥淭he gallery helps us familiarize ourselves with the experience of showcasing our works in a public space,鈥 said Roussos, a student from Hiebert鈥檚 course. 鈥淭hat way when we exhibit our art in a new venue, we can more effortlessly handle the interactions between the public and our art.鈥
Making space for art
None of these things would have been possible without the institutional support Hiebert received.
鈥淚 may be the one organizing this exhibit,鈥 he said, 鈥渂ut the funding and drive of the Office of Undergraduate Research and the networks and organization of the IAS are the reason this is happening. With their help and that of students and faculty alike, I look forward to creating more room for student art on our campus.鈥
This represents the fourth show under Hiebert鈥檚 direction. Last year, he curated work in the fall, had faculty select work in the winter and advised editors of Clamor 鈥 UW Bothell鈥檚 visual, literary and multimedia journal 鈥 on choosing artwork from the journal in the spring. Hiebert intends to use this schedule for the space moving forward.
鈥淎s the organizer,鈥 he said, 鈥淚鈥檓 most interested in using the Student Art Gallery to create community and connections.鈥
