Art Show Honorees Discuss Their Time at DePauw

January 12, 2009

At the end of fall semester, the 2008 Juried Student Art Show displayed works of art from students representing a variety of majors. The show's juror, Paula Katz, gallery director at Herron School of Art and Design, selected best-in-show winners in three categories: 2-D, 3-D and 4-D (audio/video).

"Each piece I selected was multi-faceted and encouraged the eye to truly explore it and come back again and again to find something not seen the first time," says Katz.

Following the show, while students were busy reclaiming their work from the walls of the Peeler Gallery, the three best-in-show recipients shared thoughts about their education at DePauw and how it helped them to develop their art.

Ingrid C. Elias '10 won in 2-D for her photo series titled Chance Encounters. The series is dark in composition and content, forming a loose narrative that follows its subjects from a voyeur's perspective.

Her decision to attend DePauw wasn't an easy one. Elias was initially interested in art schools until she weighed the opportunities available at other types of institutions.

"I wanted to go to an art school, but my parents wanted me to look at schools with a broader focus. I did have split interests - art, Japanese and psychology. At an art school, I probably wouldn't get to go abroad, and there aren't many languages offered. I'm interested in art therapy, which requires psychology classes. DePauw ended up being the best fit."

Douglas J. Strodtman '09 was attracted to DePauw by financial aid and programs such as Information Technology Associates Program (ITAP), which places students in IT internships both on and off campus. Appropriately, his winning entry in the 4-D category is titled Facebook Stalker, a video that examines the influence of technology in our social lives, filmed from the perspective of a computer looking out at its user.

Strodtman isn't an art major, but he's been able to explore his artistic talents since rediscovering them at DePauw.

"When I took my first art class, it was a completely different creative process that allowed me to express myself in ways that I hadn't done in years," says Strodtman. [Assistant Professor of Art] Lori Miles greatly encouraged me to continue pursuing art. The students and faculty want to see you succeed. Rather than telling you that every piece of art you've done is great, they'll give you constructive criticism and tell you, ‘This isn't bad, but here's how you could do better.' They'll feed you ideas, not to take over your project, but to encourage you to do better."

Janet L. Ault '10 found the same type of community at DePauw - one that is eager to motivate and help her to improve without sacrificing camaraderie.

"I wasn't expected to be a superstar the minute I stepped on campus. Other art students are really supportive of your work, and I feel a lot closer to them because it's not one big competition. That's not to say that the art program isn't competitive, but it's definitely not cutthroat," Ault says.

Ault's Homeostoastis won best-of-show in 3-D. Her work is a collection of common materials joined to create an "intelligent toaster," brain and all, encouraging viewers to visually dissect it.

The exploratory quality of all three pieces allowed the students to present their subjects from new perspectives. Broadly speaking, this is the style of academic engagement common at a school like DePauw.

"As we move forward, we're going to need creative solutions to problems that are rapidly approaching mankind," says Strodtman. "At a university like DePauw, you're encouraged to take creative classes alongside more traditional academic work. Whether you're interested in art, history or biology, you can see how these things impact one another. You can see that, through the creative thinking you learn here, you really can influence change on a global scale."

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