Large metal and wood sculptures spanned the floor; paintings, drawings, prints and photographs hung from the walls of upstairs Founders last week. There, Guilford’s Art Department held its annual Student Art Show opening.
On the evening of Nov. 5, people filled upstairs Founders: faculty, student-artists, and supporters. Little clusters of people gathered around different artworks, complimenting and critiquing. Attendees snacked on cheese and fruit and tried not to bump into some of the larger sculptures in the middle of the room.
At 6:15 p.m., Roy Nydorf, professor of art and one of the night’s judges, summoned everyone’s attention to award prizes.
He first explained how works were judged. In keeping with Quaker values, Nydorf and his colleagues, awarded points by consensus. “So you can image how hard a decision this was,” Nydorf said. “We look for definite meaning, we look for craft.”
Fellow judge Charlie Tefft then explained the ranking system. The judges choose a first, second, and third place in each category on a five-point scale, with five points being the highest rating for first place.
“This means more than one person is eligible for first place,” said Tefft.
The first prize awarded was the in Painting category: senior Nicole Minkin won first place for her painting entitled, “Breath.” Junior Matt Del Olmo won first place in Printmaking for his “Untitled” print. Amanda Amburst, a senior, won for her black and white drawing “Show Me What Your Made Of.” Ariana Kolins, a junior, won in the Ceramics category for her “Untitled” ceramic vase.
“This was the first time I put anything in the show,” said Kolins, a peace and conflict studies major. “This will be my third semester [working in] the studio, but I did [ceramics] for all four years in high school.”
Kolins is an example of one the show’s unique rules: any student can enter their artwork, whether or not they are currently taking an art class or majoring in art.
“The only requirement is that you made [the artwork] while you were at Guilford,” said Nydorf.
In the rest of the eight categories, senior Irene Donnelly won with “A Change of Thought” in Sculpture. In 3-Dimensional Design, Anna Campbell took first place for “Contained” Adam Chandler won in Photography for “What Ahhh.” For the last category of the evening, 2-Dimensional Design, sophomore Lucy Rowe won for “Angry Footprints.”
Both artists and attendees treated the artwork with an air of seriousness in technique and subject matter.
Some artistic expressions were political; others had spiritual or personal meaning. This is not to say that all artists lacked a sense of humor.
Junior Jared Scroggins’ sculpture was a group of vertical slivery, waving rods; it was entitled “Snakes on a Plane.” Still another sculpture with long rods with sharp tips protruding from a fish-like base, by junior Peter Rey, was called, “The Stingray That Killed Steven Irwin.”
The art opening displayed the diverse pool of young artists emerging from Guilford. For the Art Department, the opening is a significant annual event.
“It’s important for us to develop as artists,” said sophomore Sara Eisenberg, a double art and education major and T.A. for David Newton’s Sculpture I class. “Being able to share your work helps build a more fluid art community.”
Eisenberg thinks the best part of the artistic community at Guilford is the support students give to one another:
“It allows students to encourage each other, rather than compete, which is what other art communities tend to do.