Senior Exhibits 2019

Growing up I wasn’t introduced to art until I was in high school, and even then it was made out as a joke. My family was not one to go to art museums, because they did not know anything about art. Once I got into college, I found my love for art. Ever since then art has become my escape. It helps me deal with my anxiety.
Ever since my dad came into my life at the age of five, I have not had much of a relationship with him. This is because he allowed his wife and mother-in-law to mentally, emotionally, and verbally abuse me. Because of them I have had many issues with my self-worth. This is the premise of my show. I want to show how words said to a person effects them on the inside even if their outside does not show the effect.
My wheel thrown pieces are aesthetically pleasing and look functional, but they are all, in fact, non-functional on the inside. They either have a hole or a non-food safe texture glaze. These pieces each have a word of hate on the outside that has been said to me at some point in my life. To contrast those pieces, I have hand-built pieces that mirror the wheel thrown. The difference is that the hand-built pieces have words of love or encouragement that have been said to me at some point in my life. These pieces have a raw and organic look on the outside and a beautiful blue glaze on the inside.
Through my work I am hoping to show people what has made me into the person I am today, and why I continue to work on myself daily. I hope my show “Love Me or Hate Me” can give insight into what words can do to someone’s mental health, and how it can affect them in the long run.

Love Me or Hate Me

To me, the word “good” means selflessness, honesty, hope, kindness, honor, and humility. As I’ve grown, I’ve integrated this concept of good into my digital photography as my way of serving others, and as a means to appreciate the life I’ve been given. Broadly speaking, I hope that my artistic journey captures the beauty of those I photograph and gives others a sense of overwhelming love for who they are and the life they live. More broadly, this work is about expressing every human being’s struggle with morality and the choices they make.
There is a war being waged within us all. Every day we choose to fall into darkness, or take joy in the light. Darkness feels cold, desperate, lost, void, and hopeless. Light feels warm, spirited, passionate, and lively. I aim to draw attention to this internal war. Some of those whom I photograph are comfortable in the dark, hiding away from the light. Some crave the sweetness of hope and the warmth of the light, as they try to break free from the shackles of darkness. Some are basking in the light and only desire to share this light with others. I’m creating art that expressing my every-present search for the light. I believe the nature of warmth, spirit, and passion take their root in Jesus. This art revolves around the experiences of Christians who fight for the truth, and fall short. But because they can experience grace, and redemption through Jesus, the battle is not lost when they fall.
Photography is the study of light. I feel there is no better medium than photography to explore not only the physical quality of light, but also the concept of light as a social, emotional, and spiritual experience. In this series of photographs I am using the progression of darkness to light like a grey scale to show the physical change that happens in a person when on this inward journey for light. I use natural light predominantly, but occasionally utilize studio light to create thought provoking scenes that accentuate the individual’s state of mind. The photograph explores how the subject is interacting with the amount of light they have in the frame. The physical representation of how the person is interacting with the light is a metaphor for how the person is dealing with the light inwardly. 
Seek Light, Be light is a show about the relentless search for light within those who believe in Jesus Christ. It is about the reality of living in a world of sin and choosing to believe in truth instead. My hope is that anyone who sees this show will be able to resonate with some part of it regardless of personal beliefs. Because, after all, there is a war waging within us all, and it should be known that none of us need to feel alone in this battle.

I knew from the beginning that I was meant to take charge. I have always been comfortable with stepping up, standing out, and even being misunderstood because of my assertive personality. My parents watched me turn from a bossy young girl into a woman with strong leadership skills and a highly creative mind. While I am very outgoing, I am surprisingly a proud introvert. I find satisfaction in art because it is a way of communicating that takes place in a solitary process that is protective and refreshing. I want my art to be refreshing and inspiring for the viewer. My artworks aren’t weighed down with heavy meaning, but are meant for taking delight in. 
I am inspired by women who work, lead, and influence. My show is a celebration of women who do so in society. Amongst my digital paintings are women who have inspired me to step onto the field, run for that position, and take the reins of my career as a graphic designer. People like Jackie Kennedy who are strong yet elegant and chic, and people like Serena Williams who are bold yet graceful. All the women I chose turn the clichéd phrase “Like a Girl” into an empowering message for young women. 
I am influenced particularly by American painter Alex Katz, who simplifies his portraits by using large blocks of color. I aim to also formally simplify my work without loading my images with politics, race, or debate. Teil Duncan, an American painter has also influenced me to explore the subject matter of women and their style, while painting both with sparing detail. 
My four years in college have been a defining time of who I am as a woman and a leader. Between being an athlete, serving on campus, and holding multiple leadership positions, I revealed a Macy that I didn’t know existed. I have developed a confidence that is through the roof, a competitive edge like no other, and a desire to live my life as far away from my comfort zone as possible. I hope that my paintings will spark a flame in you to become the best version of yourself. I also hope to make you feel motivated to work towards your personal goals, even the ones that seem bold, crazy, and out of reach.

Serena

Biology is one of my most intense fascinations, and it has been since I was a child. As I got older, my passion for art grew and overlapped with my love for biology. Biology, however, is unforgiving, unknowing, and does not care about the lives it describes through its clinical methodologies. I learned this fact through personal experience. My mother, my best friend, my mentor, and my inspiration was diagnosed with Stage III brain cancer. The day I discovered this was the way that I declared an internal war with the unfeeling calculations of science.
Doctors dedicate their life to studying this emotionless science. They must look at cases from a stoic, guarded standpoint. They can talk to us like we’re ignorant of any fancy terms or the true meanings of the terms that describe her situation. Art is inherently emotional. As a practice, it is made to make the viewer feel something. It communicates in a way that sometimes the most terrifying or meaningful of words cannot. There has always been an interesting relationship between the two disciplines, and many believe they cannot interact since they are so inherently different. Together, though, they can communicate a message not easily described with fancy terms. Together they create a new understanding of the analytical and creative.
I use Plexiglass in this series to tie into my title: Did You See It Coming? The viewer sees through the glass but is obstructed by the body parts. The pieces spin independent of each other, so the viewer can have some semblance of control over the human body. I depict each image representationally with narratives written on the back. These narratives are to show my personal connection with the pieces as well as some of the scientific jargon used to describe the medical condition my mother is battling. I use colored pencil and graphite for the simple reason that it creates a gorgeous representation of reality. My goal is to show the viewer parts of their own body they might not often think of and to force them to think about their bodies in different ways. I choose body parts that are affected by various diseases, and I show them in different states of healthiness or decay.
Through drawing different body parts, their medical properties, and their stages of deterioration, I have found some semblance of control and understanding. Through the stories I have written on the backs of these artworks, I have found a way to communicate my thoughts and feelings while refraining from breaking down every time I think about her. If I can control how the body is shown on paper, then maybe I can find a way to control my strength and composure towards my mother. Maybe I can find a way to honor what she is going through. Maybe, just maybe, I can find a way to stop it.

Right Leg

Gigi

Kacey

Left Leg

Jackie

Spine

I want my work to encourage others to start a healthy conversation about the impacts of mental illness on our society today. By illustrating my personal experience with anxiety and depression in “Faced with Anxiety,” I show others that they are not alone in this battle with mental illness. As an artist, my anxiety has been heightened at times, but it has also given me the opportunity to use my art to speak to others who are also impacted by mental illness.
I work with materials that could be deemed atypical in parts of the fine art world. I choose to do this in my artwork because my concepts and imagery could also be deemed atypical. The found materials I use in my paintings have a story of their own which adds to the importance of their presence in the artwork. My artwork can portray a sense of familiarity in the imagery I have painted as well as in the commonly found materials incorporated in my art.
“Faced with Anxiety,” is one of my more personal works where I illustrate an issue I battle with every day. In my other artwork I choose to explore topics that society often forgets about and neglects to talk about. My previous work is often inspired by science where I represent the beauty found and forgotten within this world. I also enjoy the exploration in the world of portraiture where I can capture a person’s story or emotion in my artwork. This show is the combination of both, the exploration of portraits as well as my determination to create conversation be introducing important scientific information. I have challenged myself with this series as it is my first time painting myself into the work.
This show is very important to me; however, I hope it is just as impactful on my viewer. I encourage others to have the confidence to speak out and talk about their personal struggles with mental health. “Faced with Anxiety,” has pushed me mentally as well as artistically. I truly get to showcase the skills I have gained as a student at the University of North Georgia. Many are facing a battle with mental illness. I choose to remember the bad moments as I represent these emotions in this series. For these low moments are the reason I have to keep going as an artist, student, young adult, and human.

Isolation

Frida

Fear

Frustration

Mouth

As a graphic designer, I strive to generate the most unique and thought-provoking designs. When I see marketing designs in my daily routine, I am inspired to create my own version of them with a hidden, deeper message. My art needs to have more than just the visual aspect for me to be satisfied with it. From logos to entire marketing campaigns, I create depth by using subtle clues to allude to the deeper message I communicate to my viewers. In my senior exhibition, I created a graphic design campaign to inform the public on how major corporations can influence their consumers through branding and marketing. I showed this by creating a mock company called One-Self, which is a company that offers to make a clone of yourself. My graphic design campaign consisted of a website and posters that had typical brand manipulation aspects. As a conclusion to my show, I created a manual on how to avoid brand manipulation in a real-life setting. With combining these two works, I hope to encourage my viewers to pay attention to their consumer habits in my series One-Self. I am hyper-aware of the marketing around me and how it is presented. This ability helps me create more effective designs for the public because I imitate influential design techniques in my own work. I am a keen observer of the art world and communicative objects. These observations help me with my creative process by giving me a foundation for my designs. For example, when creating a logo, I start with the overall message the company is trying to convey. Then I will do extensive research to gather ideas about how the logo will be formatted. I create my logos with subconscious themes or imagery (for example, I used two identical “O’s” in my One-Self company logo to represent my theme of cloning). Research is key in every project because my work is, figuratively, two-layered. On the first layer, there is the design itself with key visual elements that link to the overall idea of the company. On the second layer, I have subtle subliminal hints of a deeper meaning to the company. I hope to broaden my viewer's minds by using this influential technique.
One-Self is my way of expressing my interpretation of how graphic design is used to influence its consumer. My concept is achieved by creating an intriguing company concept and informative manual. With my subliminal techniques, I hope by my exhibit empowers the viewer to look at marketing and branding with a more conscientious mindset.

Senior Exhibits 2019

Items in this collection

Love Me or Hate Me

9

Love Me or Hate Me

7

Serena

Right Leg

8

Gigi

6

Kacey

Left Leg

5

Jackie

Spine

Isolation

Arm

Frida

Fear

4

Frustration

3

Mouth

One-Self Website

One-Self Poster #2

One-Self Poster #1

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Items in this collection

Love Me or Hate Me