Exhibition

MAYDAY! 2008 Senior Art Exhibition

Duration

May 2, 2008 - May 18, 2008

Artists

Audrey Szeto, Hye Sung An, Jose Baez, Emily Bellingham, Emily Berezin, Benjamin Bigelow, Daniel Buchanan, Yvonne Chan, Theresa Chen, Monica Cho, Amy Conroy, Charles Cox, Emilia Edwards, Caroline England, Giana Gambino, Claire Hoch, Rebecca Jang, Amy Johnson, Nicoletta Karvelas, Gene Kim, Elin Lennox, Spencer Longo, Michael Mallis, Alison Margolskee, Jon May, Michael McParlane, Laura Miller, Michael Pisano, Amy Pischke, Danielle Saudino, Andrew Shedd, Connor Sites-Bowen, Victoria Spindel, Julia Stein

"May Day is a cause for celebration. Spring has arrived with all the hope it carries for the future. May Day is a time of solidarity. Hard work, communal effort and mutual respect prevail. Mayday is a warning. Look out world, something mighty is about to hit you.

Friday 2nd May 2008 augurs well for the future. Thirty-four talented young artists have taken over the Miller Gallery to show the world what they can do. They will warm your cockles, turn your head, tickle your fancy and blow your mind.

Children were feeding balloons into a hole in the side of a huge paper volcano. A guy in a parrot suit was playing the banjo whilst the man in the silver lurex hot pants beside him moaned into a microphone. Two women sat on a sofa, steadily stuffing their faces with an endless supply of junk food. A waterfall of we paint was running down the wall. From a tiny tent, a crouching elf was dispensing free food in ceramic scallop shells. Yes. I thought to myself, this is why I came to art school.

No matter what you teach them, there comes a point when they have to go out on their own. At Carnegie Mellon they don't wait until graduation. The scenes I have just described were parts of an extracurricular performance event called RELEASE, organized by BFA students at SPACE gallery in downtown Pittsburgh 2008.

This initiative was not a one off. This student cohort has organized exhibitions, installations and events at the Frame Galley at Carnegie Mellon and shown their work in various venues in Pittsburgh. They have taken part in public projects and shown videos on the Jumbotron screen at PNC Park. The Miller Gallery show features painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, video, animation, computer art, conceptual art, installation art - and more. Such is the breadth and depth of the BFA Fine Art program at Carnegie Mellon and the extraordinary level of talent, ambition and imagination of this gallant thirty four. Friday 2nd May 2008 is truly a cause for chaotic celebration."

- John Carson
Head of the School of Art + Regina and Marlin Miller Professor, Carnegie Mellon University