Final tier of VAC capstone exhibitions to close Thursday

Landon Mitchell
A sculpture by senior Robert Greer. Greer uses materials such as wood and glass in his sculptures and said his work on display was influenced by death.

The third and final tier of senior capstone exhibitions opened at the Visual Arts Center Monday and will close Thursday.

The four graduating seniors showing their projects include Ronnie Dickerson and his automotive-inspired clay sculptures.

“Clay has allowed me to explore both ceramic and car cultures and their utilitarian uses and sculptural elements,” Dickerson said in his capstone statement.

Robert Greer was influenced by death in his sculptures, which are made with various materials, including wood and glass.

“I use a variety of materials in my work, each meaningful and practical before placed in the context of my work,” Greer said in his capstone statement. “I incorporate wood as a symbol of life itself, whatever miracle it may be. The steel is strong but cold like the logic employed when making a dichotomic decision. I use the transparent materials to call to mind the ego that we recognize as oneself, a fragile thing seen through after it is defined. Glass inspires that reflection.”

If one would walk into the VAC, they would notice the wooden arch with a blue glass ceiling and a large bent sculpture resembling a train track, both built by Greer.

Inspired by street art and politics, graphic design major Brandon Steele depicted the tendency people have to argue over politics instead of debate in his faux-propaganda posters.

Steele said he was influenced by popular media, particularly news stations, as well as Shepard Fairey, creator of Barack Obama’s “Hope” campaign poster and renowned street art “Andre the Giant Has a Posse.”

Depicted in his work includes U.S. Presidents Donald Trump and Theodore Roosevelt, Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-Un and the title character of the graphic novel “V for Vendetta.”

Dylan Frazier said he was influenced by LGBTQ+ themes in his work, which, in this exhibition, is a triptych entitled “Phallacy.”

The three individual pieces in the triptych are titled “Auto-Phallacy,” “Intra-Phallacy” and “Exo-Phallacy.”

In his capstone statement, Frazier said the three individual pieces contain imagery and themes inspired by the Byzantine Christ, the use of drugs in the gay community and commentary on the discriminatory thinking on the gay community, respectively.

This is the final exhibition to be held at the Carroll Gallery at the VAC for the year and the semester.

The Birke Art Gallery will be holding an exhibition titled “Foundations Review: Selected Student Works” from Nov. 27 to Dec. 8, and there will be a reception for the event Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Landon Mitchell can be contacted at [email protected].