Aaron Johnson – General Assignment Reporter
NEW HAVEN – For the first time this semester, the students of Southern Connecticut State University were given the opportunity to present pieces of their art for all to see, but with a small twist.
“We’ve been doing a Post-it-Show ever since I’ve been here,” said senior Ave Rivera. “I’m not sure who came up with the idea. But all students work is welcome, not just art students.”
The Post-it-Show gives an opportunity to the patrons of the art gallery to write comments, critiques, etc., on sticky notes and post them next to each piece of art. Senior Sarah Edwards said that she was a little worried about the immediate feedback from people, especially with this being her first time doing a presentation.
“The feedback has been good. I was kind of nervous at first to be honest. I’ve been painting since I was little and this was my first year doing this; I never really thought about doing this before,” said Edwards.
Senior art major Marla McLeod — like Edwards — had several painting in the gallery. She said that the most difficult part of getting ready for the gallery was figuring out what the concept of each painting would be.
“I have two works titled ‘August’ and ‘The Lipstick,’” said McLeod. “The easy part is painting. The concept behind it takes a lot longer, about a month.”
McLeod said that her painting ‘The Lipstick’ was a piece about the inner struggle of a transgender person. The piece was constructed to be a LGBT statement. She also said that the idea of the Post-it-Show was great and that she enjoyed it.
“I love it. Definitely helps as far as constructive criticism is concerned,” said McLeod.
During the night, students and parents walked through the gallery posting notes all along the walls next to each piece of work. Curator Miguel Benitez said that one of the purposes of the event was to get students used to showing off any work they have created.
“We definitely use this as a training mechanism. So they can get use to hanging in actual shows,” said Benitez.
The show was also open to any students from Southern that wanted to submit pieces of work and was not only for art majors on campus. Benitez was able to shed some light on who came up with the idea for the ‘Post-it-Show.’
“I believe it was Christa Blake. The point being to come up with an easy way to put people’s work out there,” said Benitez. “Anyone who wants to present can too; this isn’t strictly for art majors.”
The event was held in Earl Hall on campus and sponsored by the Student Art League. SAL provides exhibition outlets and creative pursuits for student artists, craftsmen, and students of other academic disciplines of Southern Connecticut State University and to further develop the creative potential of each individual. As well as reach out to the student body about the current trends and activities in the arts. Benitez said that this year the event was not as difficult as previous years.
“This year was not as much work as last year,” said Benitez. “But all this work is a calumniation.”
