Art students experiment with alternative materials in a special summer course

Contemporary works of art are often made with alternative materials and found objects. But what makes these pieces art, and not just a pile of stuff?

The answer is in the meaning the piece conveys and the concepts it reflects. Artwork made from found materials generates different references and memories in the mind of both the artist and viewer and can more freely express ideas that traditional artwork struggles to communicate because of pre-conceived notions of the media and materials it employs.

Students in the Department of Art and Art History explored these concepts in their recent project, Source Material.
 
Visiting Professor of Sculpture Stacey Holloway is teaching a summer interdisciplinary course that challenges students to use alternative materials in constructing sculpture-based artworks. Students researched contemporary artists who use non-traditional materials, including Ann Hamilton, Tara Donovan, Clive Murphy, Wolfgang Laib, Berndnaut Smilde, and Sakir Gokcebag, then examined how materials, process, form and content determine the outcome of a piece. In the first two weeks of the course, students practiced on projects they completed in a single day using items found in the department’s art studio, such as liquids, powders and ordinary household items. After completing these smaller, short-term projects, students then moved on to three formal projects: a recycled, a terrain, and something the selected on their own.
 
“In this exhibition, you will see works made from trash, popcorn, books, recyclables, hangers, bouncy balls, feathers, and much more,” Holloway says. “These materials are transformed into artworks that communicate the personal interests of each student.” The show features works by Katie Gonzalez, Loryn Green, Daniel Heron, Wesley Holmes, Angela Isbell, Kelsey Parrish, Jacob Phillips, Aaron Scott, and Ryan Tucker.
 
Holloway elaborates on how alternative supplies can inform the piece and transform it into something meaningful. “The students were able to open their minds to the possibility that anything and everything can be used as a material,” she says, “However, when we incorporate materials that are used in everyday activity, we must think about what those materials translate to us depending on their function. For example, if I were to create an installation using laundry detergent, my viewer might be reminded of ‘home’ or ‘mother’ by the aroma of the soap. I could then use that aroma in lieu of a literal representation of a home or a mother figure.”
 
The show is open for one day only, Wednesday, June 18. Exhibit times are 5:30-7:30 p.m., in the UAB Visual Arts Gallery, on the first floor of the Humanities Building, 900 13th St. S.