The Tufts University Art Gallery is hosting the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) Thesis Exhibition from Dec. 1-18, and the exhibit is definitely worth a visit. Four of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's artists, seniors Jane Alund, Youjin Kim, Jonathan Larkin and Katrina Neumann have their thesis projects featured in the gallery. Each artist has a highly distinct style, so wandering the gallery is a fun way to get a taste of all the art presented.
Kim proves her mastery of Penrose tiling in her thesis piece, "Penrose" (2011). Penrose tiling is a mathematic pattern of non-periodic tiling, which can be found in some examples of medieval Islamic art. Kim says that "Penrose" reflects her multicultural experiences living in Saudi Arabia, Korea and the United States, as well as the tense relationship between the natural world and humanity.
"Penrose" is a mixed media piece using Douglas fir wood, rice paper and wire. The wood bench area indicates architecture, while the rice-paper back support represents a structure of the natural world. It is a gorgeous piece and reminds viewers of nature's hegemony over humanity.
The rice paper looks like a massive yet beautiful fungus overtaking the wood bench. The irregular shape of the rice- paper back support represents the disorder of nature, which trumps the sterile, geometric bench. Penrose reminds us that no matter how much we like to think otherwise, the unpredictability of nature will always reign over our calculated and contrived world.
In Alund's "Portrait of My Beloved: An MFA Thesis Exhibition," she studies the cost of growing up by examining the objects of our childhood, which she calls "lovies." Lovies include stuffed animals and blankets that provide children the comfort they need to feel secure. Alund gathered forgotten lovies from dusty shelves, childhood beds and boxes in attics and basements for her miniature oil-paint portraits. Each oil painting comes with a relic of the original lovie — a thread, a fiber or a tag — encased in glass on a small black pillow.
Alund's ability to capture the haunting nature of each abandoned lovie is incredible. The expressions on their faces are longing for love from those who no longer need them. "Portrait of My Beloved" deals with a fascinating and often unexplored subject matter: the beloved items people leave behind as they grow up.
Larkin's "Above and Beyond: Hors de Combat" is an interactive piece that challenges what he calls "the traditional logic of the military video game." His exhibit is set up like the living room of a typical gamer, with nondescript furniture and a fancy flat-screen television on a shelf. Poker chips, a half-opened laptop, action movies, video games, a retro Nintendo console and a PlayStation are on the shelf opposite the couch. A video game, "Above and Beyond," is set to play on the PlayStation, and as an interactive piece, the observer is supposed to play.
When I started playing, I immediately became engrossed in the dueling game. However, I eventually looked around me and realized how strangely violent "Above and Beyond" was, particularly given the environment in which I was playing it. Perhaps the intent of the piece is to make you question the glorification of violence in video games by placing that violence in an unusual context. Either way, it is a thought-provoking and interesting addition to the exhibit.
Neumann's "Pri Blan" is perhaps the most prominent piece in the exhibit. The title of her exhibition is Haitian Creole for "Price of the White" and reflects its exploration of the concept of the travel memoir. "Pri Blan" uses mixed media, including projections of a tropical landscape on the gallery's walls and a large drywall cube in the center of the room. The walls of the cube are destroyed, with large holes poked through and rubble littered around the floor. Pieces of the damaged wall are screwed back on in no apparent order. The interior of the drywall cube has wallpaper of the same tropical landscape scene found on the walls.
"Pri Blan" is a striking study of how many relate to their travel experiences. Neumann describes her piece as a confrontation of "chromophobia," or fear of colors. It is as though travel experiences are placed in an unstable cube that does not reflect the true indigenous culture or identity of the destination. It is an edgy and challenging piece to understand, making it all the more interesting and innovative.
Tufts students should absolutely plan a visit to the MFA Thesis Exhibition. The art on display reflects the talent and creativity of our very own student body and will only be at the gallery for a short period.
