On Wednesday, October 24, from five to seven p.m, the Campus Activity Board held a reception for student artists who submitted their art to the Student Art Showcase in the Popp Martin Student Union Art Gallery. This gallery has been on display since October 8, but today we were able to meet the artists with provided refreshments.
The art on display varied in style, color and purpose. Student artists stood by their paintings explaining the purpose of their pieces and answering any questions people may have had. The art varied in styles, from acrylic to digital to hand-drawn sketches. Each artist’s inspiration was different; beautiful creations, either based on the themes of love, dance. Each artist had different inspirations for their work.
Some students were inspired by their favorite celebrities and role models, including one of Lil Peep, a rapper who died of a drug overdose last November. This piece was really moving because it was very intricate and beautiful and it looked like it meant a lot to the artist. It reminded me of the recent death of the rapper Mac Miller, who also died of a drug overdose.
However, some had a different inspirations to their pieces and took more of a symbolic approach in creating their artwork.
One particular piece of art that I found very interesting was that of Luke Ecton’s piece “Hollow.” This particular piece was in the outline of a woman, but what was interesting was the way the piece was presented: its lines outlined the woman and other types of lines that made up the piece which created the effect of the woman to appear hollow. According to Luke Ecton, this piece is based on mental illness, specifically depression.
’s acrylic painting piece “Master of Hearts” I found particularly captivating. Her painting showed a heart literally being controlled like a puppet by a pair of hands. An art piece in which I interpreted it as someone pulling the strings of our hearts where we have no control over them. Of course, someone could have a completely different take on this piece than I do.
Luke Ecton’s piece “Hollow” was his fifth version, and before that he had to go through different stages of the creation process, through hand drawing to digitizing the piece. Another example of the creation process, many artists create their pieces chunks at a time, focusing on specific areas of their piece.
Our artists here at UNC Charlotte are appreciated and we thank them for their time and effort to produce artistic pieces and for sharing it on our campus.
Overall, this event was a great way to give recognition to UNCC student artist, and gave another way for them to earn extra cash and to spend an evening meeting different individuals who enjoy art.