The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) senior exhibitions opened on Nov. 20, featuring 15 artists from various disciplines. Located in the Fine Arts Center’s galleries, the show is a culmination of the artists’ time at NKU, each presenting their personal narratives and talent.
Of the graduating artists, 11 are in Visual Communication Design (VCD), including Macy Seiter. For her exhibition, she chose to create a fictional wine brand named “Purple Teeth.” The different types of alcohol are based on personality, influenced by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and astrology signs.
“It was fun, seeing it all come together,” Seiter said. “Seeing it on the screen versus in person, you don’t usually get that with VCD. Usually, you only see it on paper or mockups.”
Wine bottles line up along a counter, each a vibrant color, accompanied by unique illustrations and tastes. Seiter drew inspiration from a previous project, where she realized she could infuse her personality into a brand. “Purple Teeth” reflects that fun aspect of herself.
“Sure, I like wine, but I like people being curious and wanting to try new things with a little touch of whimsy and humor,” Seiter said.
In the small gallery, Spatial Arts student Max Kitzmiller explored self-image with his show “Amygdala,” which references the small part of the brain that processes emotions, especially fear and anxiety.
“That’s sort of the jumping off point for this show and for the piece itself,” Kitzmiller said. “It is sort of representing…how you feel others are perceiving you. And it’s just playing off of how those mental effects have put strain on me, and it’s sort of my way of…expressing that through my heart.”
Cast in an eerie yellow light, figures crowd around a cage, their features mocking; leering grins and pointed fingers, faces set in laughter. Their shadows dance along the wall, large foreboding silhouettes that envelope the cage in the middle. Trapped behind bars is a man, cowering in fear.
These ceramic works allude to a feeling of imprisonment, tied to self-perception. Earlier in his college career, Kitzmiller took an interest in figurative work and decided to make the show about himself. The sculptures, immovable and durable, clue into his inner psyche.
“The show, as a whole, has been very healing for me,” Kitzmiller said. “It’s something I’m still definitely working through, but sort of being able to put pen to paper, so to speak, and like express that through my art, it’s definitely been an extremely therapeutic process for me.”
(Ella Rinehard)
Another Spatial Arts student, Jazaya Miller, chose to center her work around exploiting harmful stereotypes of Black women. Miller explored three historic archetypes of Black women: Sapphire, Mammy and Jezebel, all stemming from minstrel shows and perpetuated by the media.
“I’m using these in a more modern sense, to show that Black women are forced into these stereotypes from birth,” Miller said. “These characters that have been around literally since the 1800s to this day are still being placed on Black women just under different names.”
Miller’s exhibition, titled “Soul of the Soulaan,” has roots in her experiences attending a predominantly white college and the types of microaggressions she has endured during her time, as well as feelings of alienation.
One woman crosses her arms in irritation; another shows shiny gold teeth in a gleaming grin; and the last one places a long fingernail against bared lips. Anger, contentment and temptation—all stemming from pervasive caricatures of Black women. Miller then crocheted their hair together, creating a web of yarn that fuses the figures.
“Black women are basically connected through hair, connected through stories of racism, misogyny, strength, endurance, civil rights,” Miller said. “It’s all really a comment on how Black women are perceived by the media, by Black people, by just anybody in general.”
The BFA Senior exhibitions will be open until Dec. 5. VCD capstone presentations will take place on Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. Other participating artists include Jess Allen, Allie Becker, RJ Corley, Jessie Crawford, Emily Fithen, Na Le, Ryn Lonnemann, Anna Ndoye, Olivia Threlfall, Raven Valente, Sydney Martin and Alexis Armes.