While the doors of the Katzen Arts Center's new museum space opened, students in the Master's of Fine Arts program opened the doors of their new studios to show off what they've been working on. Those who came to see were treated to a wide variety of great art in gorgeous new workspaces, ranging from paintings to prints to installations.
Each studio is completely different from the next. Some are clean and organized, while others are disasters of paint and tools scattered across the floor and walls. Some studios actually are the artwork, with sculptures of pinecones or installations of shelving filled with colorful cleaning products taking up most of the room.
The spaces felt intimate, like walking into someone's bedroom for the first time and seeing how it's decorated. The students agreed. "I spend more time here than I do at my apartment anyway," said Michael Baltzer, a second-year MFA student. "I could probably sleep here if I wanted to."
Many of the students praised the program for letting them work on art that moves them. "It's not that I'm into everything, it's just that I like the idea that these kids can follow whatever their interests are and not follow some cookie cutter idea of what art is or should be," art department chair Luis Silva said. "The idea is not to mimic. The whole idea is to find something that's genuine, something that's theirs."
Students said they're happy to be in the new building because it facilitates their work. "Last year we were in Nebraska, but those studios were really nasty and carpeted because it used to be a nursing home," said Victoria Farr, a second-year MFA student. "There was even a nurse call button. ... It didn't work, though sometimes I would press it anyway," she added.
The new building is already making a difference in the students it attracts. "Katzen definitely affected my decision [to attend AU]. When I was in town I would drive past and see the building being constructed. I applied just so I could check it out," first-year MFA student Max Kuller said.
"It definitely influenced my decision to stay here," second-year MFA student Jessica Salley said.
The new facilities didn't make as much of a difference as one might guess, however. "I didn't even know it was going to be here," first-year MFA student Martin Pierce Weishaar said. "I came for the faculty."
Silva agreed. "The program has been doing well for a while. Sure, the undergrads come here for SIS or government, but this building announces how important the arts will be here. I'm really proud of the program," he said.
Kuller raved about a report he had to make in class about Proctor and Gamble as an artist. "It's really influenced my work," he said. "Last week in class, someone did a presentation on Tupac, and it turns out he's really like Warhol in a lot of ways."
"You have to understand how you, how we, got to where we are. It's all about context. If you know why work is important then you can contribute to the dialogue," Silva said. "Facilities can only do so much. If you don't get faculty that help to push you, then it's just a place to paint," he said.
