Alex Palmieri – General Assignment Reporter
Southern’s students are getting a great opportunity to show off their artwork around campus this year. In Earl Hall, the art department put together a new look that gives students a chance to show off their exceptional art work.
Earl Hall has been displaying work from students here at Southern. One student that has had the chance to show her work is Nina Zachary, an art education graduate. The piece she displayed is named “Street Art.” The display resembles a street with words labeled on it such as “Fear no Fear” and “I Want to Breathe.”
“I wanted my work to reflect on current events,” said Zachary, via email. “I love the thought that freedom of thought, freedom of speech and freedom of artistic expression can form in a place that is seen by masses.”
Zachary said her work pays respect to various street artists. The quote “Fear no Fear” is a quote for people to stop and think about.
“Fear is what holds most people back,” said Zachary.
Zachary said all of her stickers on her artwork have meaning; and each piece can be interpreted differently by people who stop and look at her work.
Another artist whose work is displayed is Kate O’Keefe, graduate and art education major. She has three pieces displayed that contribute to different aspects of Street Art in regards to technique and style. There is one called “Chief” that O’Keefe made with paint utensils.
“This piece was created with paint markers rather than spray paint because the scale was so small,” said O’Keefe, via email. “My nickname in high school was Chief, so I decided to name it my street name as well.”
Since O’Keefe said she was inspired by the work of Shepard Fairey, she devoted her second piece to him. O’Keefe’s third piece is titled “Roots” because of the continuance of a motherhood theme that plays out in many of her paintings.
“I was inspired by the artwork of a South African woman street artist named Faith47 for the powerful and spiritual representations she had on women,” said O’Keefe.
Jean Paul Noel, sophomore and marketing major, said all of the art that Earl Hall displays is a major contribution for all of the students. He added that the artwork that is shown looks very good in all of their unique ways.
“I think the work is very creative,” said Noel. “It is creative enough to get noticed by professional artists if they took a look at all of the artwork here.”
Noel said all of the messages that the paintings and drawings portray are all positive messages that all humans should take notice of. Because there are so many pieces of art, Noel said each of them can be very inspiring to students because it can expand their minds to accomplish what they want.
“All of these pieces mean a lot more than art,” said Noel. “These pieces can be a motivation to students just walking down the hall that notice the artwork.”
Photo Credit: Dylan Haviland – Arts & Entertainment Editor
