Artists gain valuable feedback as visitors discuss their work at Open Studios
During this time of year, art students are busy finishing up their semesters and getting ready for the many shows that occur during the last month of school. Open Studios is one of those shows in which MFA students and a number of upper-year undergraduates in the specialized studio class open up their private studios to the public.
Sculptural pieces, drawings, paintings, mixed media, and even some film pieces had their place in the show. Some of the themes surrounding the work ranged from cultural, societal, personal, sexual, and environmental issues.
Open Studios is a chance for artists, like MFA student Cassandra Ferguson, to have their work seen by a larger audience. Ferguson expanded on this by saying, “It is good exposure. There are a lot of people here that I don’t think I would have met in another situation, so it is fostering those kinds of connections.” She also shared that one of Canada’s most well-known art collectors made an appearance at the show.
Walter Scott — an MFA student who has shown his work in Canada, Japan, and L.A. — pursued a master’s at Guelph after deciding he wanted to focus on his sculptural practice. Scott views the show as an outlet for discussion, adding, “I mostly just like having conversations about my work and bouncing ideas off of people and seeing what other people’s perceptions are of the work. I focus on the kinds of conversations that I can have. I think that’s very important.”
Emily Lalonde, an undergrad in her final year here at Guelph, displayed sculptures conceptually focused on female masturbation and sexuality. Lalonde said she views this show as an opportunity “to talk to gallerists and artists and see how they read my work, to see if it’s actually getting the meaning that I want across.” I asked Lalonde what she wants to accomplish with her art, and she responded: “To get conversations going that aren’t necessarily spoken about. Art is not just to stand back. It is to speak up.”
Undergraduate Leonard Walsh’s work is all dependent on chance, as he bases his artistic decisions on dice rolls from Dungeons & Dragons, the tabletop role-playing game. Certain rolls determine everything from what colour of paint he uses to where it ends up on the canvas. Even the words stenciled on the canvas are determined by chance within the game. Walsh had some concrete hopes for Open Studios. “A show would be nice,” said Walsh, “but I still think I have to develop the work a bit more. Just to be seen would be good.”
The central theme that these artists discussed as to what students gain out of shows like these is the feedback and conversation initiated between the audience and themselves. “The best thing about it is being able to clean my studio and set it up in a professional manner and then have people in here to spark that dialogue… because I think the conversation is the most valuable thing right now,” said Ferguson.