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The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

Students compete with art work

“Most students at the University of Akron might think they know campus well, but ask them how to get to Folk Hall and you will likely get a puzzled look. Folk Hall houses the Myers School of Art and is located in the far southwest corner of campus, tucked safely behind the new Exchange dorms.”

Most students at the University of Akron might think they know campus well, but ask them how to get to Folk Hall and you will likely get a puzzled look.

Folk Hall houses the Myers School of Art and is located in the far southwest corner of campus, tucked safely behind the new Exchange dorms. It can be quite a trek from the center part of campus, especially the near-impossible feat of safely crossing Exchange Street. However inside of this building, some pretty interesting things are going on.

Last week the walls inside of Folk were adorned from top to bottom with student artwork as part of the School of Art’s annual scholarship competition. The competition is set up like a juried exhibition and is judged by full-time faculty.

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Approximately 45 students displayed their work and the top five will receive scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. The scholarship money comes from a variety of donors, including both local benefactors and national corporations such as American Greetings.

Students who participated in the competition had to first meet certain criteria in order to be eligible. The criteria included a 2.7 overall gpa and a 3.3 gpa within their major. Eligible students were then instructed to select anywhere from five to 20 pieces to display which they felt best represented their work.

Students were then given Monday and Tuesday to set up their art and the judging took place on Wednesday and Thursday. Each professor was given a ballot with the names of the applicants and the location of their work, but the judging was to be based solely on the merit of the work.

One such scholarship hopeful was junior painting and sculpture/ceramics major Joanna Chapin. Joanna entered eight objects in the competition, three of which were paintings and the other five mixed-media sculptures.

My work has the tendency to be very personal, Chapin said. I see my work as representing my emotional states which I try to show through mythological figures.

Joanna describes her work as concerned with the human figure in combination with animal forms. She like to create human-animal hybrids with the hope that people might be able to identify with the emotions she portrays through these figures and perhaps develop a relationship with them.

She also said her work has an edge over that of other students.

My ability to bounce back and forth from 2-D to 3-D forms and my ability to fearlessly use any media I can get my hands on, she said.

Currently, Joanna shows mainly at the School of Art and Summit Art Space, but she is looking to expand her reach and show at other venues.

Results for the scholarship competition will be announced at the beginning of April during the School of Art’s Spring Awards Ceremony.

If you are interested in viewing artwork by the Myers’ students, you can always attempt the brave journey to the other end of campus and discover the exhibits inside Folk Hall. Students can also work at the Juried Student Show, on display from April 4 to 11, at E.J. Thomas Hall.

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