“The Last Call” art exhibit is set to open at Wayne State College’s Nordstrand Visual Arts Gallery on Nov. 20.
The upcoming exhibit is a senior showcase serving as a capstone for art education and studio art majors. The art education students involved in the exhibit this semester include Dylan Dendinger, Stacey Frisch, Victoria Schwab and Jay Rodriguez-Manriquez.
Beatriz Rodriguez teaches the senior exhibit class in the studio arts building at WSC. Rodriguez’s job is to work closely with the students to curate the exhibition and guide them through all of the steps.
“In this class, students gather all the works they’ve created during the completion of their degree and curate an exhibit around it,” Rodriguez said.
The exhibit includes mixed media, painting, digital painting, print, ceramics, sculpture, photography, ceramics and drawings.
“The works in the exhibit were collectively chosen to best demonstrate the students’ current skill level, and each student’s unique artistic concept,” Rodriguez said.
While these seniors are close to the end of their college career, there’s one more stepping stone ahead. All of them must complete a year as a teacher’s aide or student teacher at a school outside of WSC.
“Though I have not seen their whole trajectory through the completion of their degree as art education majors, from what I’ve seen, I can say with full certainty that they have developed into capable individuals in their field,” Rodriguez said. “I have no doubt they will succeed in their respective fields of education, and their own art-making practice.”
Professors say the seniors’ progress is noticeable throughout the art department.
“I mostly know them through art history classes, but I know that each of the four graduating seniors has grown a lot over the years that they’ve been here,” Andy Haslit, gallery director and art history professor, said.
The WSC website explains the theme of the showcase, “The Last Call” was named by the seniors involved, coming up with a central idea to tie their work together.
“The exhibit examines the impact life experiences have on the present and the potential to educate the future,” according to the website.
Each artist brings their own personality to the table, viewers can expect a wide variety of emotion and visual elements. Both Dendinger and Frisch’s work focuses on memories, Rodriguez-Manriquez’s works reflect real-life events, and Schwab’s works put a spotlight on the importance of valuing the small things in each moment.
WSC’s Nordstrand Visual Arts Gallery is located on the first floor of Conn Library through the building’s north entrance. The gallery is open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The gallery is closed on Saturdays.
“The Last Call” senior exhibit will open on Nov. 20 and will be free and open to the public until Jan. 2025.
