“The more space we have the more fervor there will be for [the creation of art] work.” Said Lisa Krause, an art major whose senior project was the first to hang in Gallery 217 a new small student gallery on the 2nd floor of the Fine Arts Building.
Art Department Chair Mark McKernin said he converted a storage closet into the gallery after he met with members of the Image Art Club.
McKernin said that the gallery would be kept up by the Art Department but would be managed by the Image Art Club who would schedule exhibits. He said that managing the gallery would be “a learning experience for students as well.” McKernin said that the Image Art Club would choose exhibitions with deference to senior art student projects. The Image Art Club named the gallery by a vote of its members.
Krause said she worked with McKernin to use the space for her senior project, The Remains of Our Immortality: A Naturalistic Observation of Western Culture Using Recycled Materials in Sculpture. Krause is excited by the new space but said she would like to see more student gallery space, “It worked great for my show, but I would like to see more exhibition space.” Krause said she is also interested in seeing the Art Department work with communications and media classes to create more multi-media projects.
Another reason for the gallery is security. McKernin said that an average of one piece of art is stolen each year from the halls of the Fine Arts Building where much of it is displayed. Two weeks ago a painting was stolen from the Fine Arts building.
McKernin is frustrated by the lack of space in the Fine Arts building, “It’s a burden on us again.” He said that he converted one storage closet in to a faculty office space already and that now, with a second storage closet turned in to a gallery, more supplies will need to be stored in the basement of the Fine Arts building.