Pitman Exhibition goes beyond traditional artistic methods

‘Art’-iculating cancer, technology and inner workings
Pitman Exhibition goes beyond traditional artistic methods

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Whatever your artistic preference, this year’s Mavis C. Pitman Exhibition has something to offer. The competitive group show, which features professional-level work from three select visual and dramatic arts majors, dabbles in media ranging from fabric and medical supplies to photo booths and screens to colored pencils and pastels.

The artists — Emily Henderson, a Will Rice College junior; David Rosales, a Martel College junior; and Sarah Wiseman, a Baker College senior — were each awarded a research stipend to bring their visions to life for this exhibition.

	JEFF FITLOW
	Baker College senior Sarah Wiseman isn’t planning a career in the visual arts, but you can’t tell that by looking at the German major’s silhouette drawings.

For Henderson, that meant articulating her own battle with cancer, working through a history of physical trauma and sharing her journey with other people.

“It addresses my history of congenital cancer, cancer treatment and reconstructive surgery,” Henderson said. “I find that the boundaries between wounding and healing, trauma and survival, destruction and growth are fairly ambivalent, but also extremely conflicted.”

Her piece is a large sculptural installation made out of fabrics and medical supplies.

“I really enjoy the flexibility of materials and the problem-solving that is inherent in three-dimensional work,” Henderson said.

The Pitman Exhibition is her first art show and has taught her the importance of seeing something through from start to finish. But, perhaps more importantly, it has shown her the value of the community surrounding creation.

“I have had so many amazing people provide feedback and open my perspective in new ways,” she said.

Henderson became interested in art only after coming to Rice and taking a drawing class with Darra Keeton, associate professor of visual arts. Henderson now plans to pursue a master’s degree in fine arts upon graduation and continue creating.

A great opportunity

The Pitman Exhibition does not just feature work of students who hope to become professional artists; it’s open to all visual and dramatic arts students. Wiseman, who also is majoring in German, has no designs on a career in the visual arts.

JEFF FITLOW
Martel College junior David Rosales’  project involves two photo booths designed to exploit people’s typical expectations of a familiar technology.

“The Pitman Exhibition is still a great opportunity that will reflect well on me no matter what I choose to do with my life,” Wiseman said.

The experience challenged her to explore a new idea fully. Working in her preferred medium of pencils and pastels, Wiseman created to scale silhouettes and drawings.

“I usually work smaller than 4 feet by 6 feet, so making drawings this large to allow me to portray life-size figures was a new experience,” Wiseman said. “I wanted to explore the inner workings of a person. The solid silhouettes portray the outside, somewhat anonymous perception of a person, while the drawings contained within show the inside.”

Beyond classroom learning

In his Pitman piece, Rosales turned the lens outward by turning it inward. His project involves two photo booths designed to exploit people’s typical expectations of a familiar technology. Viewers press a button and after an arbitrary number of seconds, the photo is taken by one of two cameras chosen randomly.

“The photo shows up on the screen briefly before inexplicably disappearing,” Rosales explained. “The viewer doesn’t receive any print of the photo of themselves.”

	JEFF FITLOW
	This large sculptural installation by Will Rice College junior Emily Henderson is  made out of fabrics and medical supplies and was inspired by her own own battle with cancer.

Occasionally, a photo taken by the other booth will appear on the screen instead of a photo of the viewer.

“The overall driving idea behind my project is the unreliability of technology, both in user interaction as well as with privacy issues,” Rosales said.

This is the first work that Rosales has done in mixed media, though it is related to his usual artistic choice: photography. He’s been taking photos for about four years, but he plans to pursue a career in linguistics, which is his second major.

“Being able to have this opportunity has been a great experience and has taught me a lot about the real-world mechanics of producing and showing art,” Rosales said. “It’s definitely something that’s tough to learn in the classroom.”

The Pitman Exhibition opened March 18 at the Rice Media Center, where it will remain on view through April 10. The media center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The awards and exhibition are underwritten by Russ Pitman, who named the award in memory of his mother, Mavis C. Pitman, and by the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts.