Event
CCA’s 2014 MFA Thesis ExhibitionPost an Event »
California College of the Arts (SF)
May 15 - May 24, 2014Info
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http://www.cca.edu/
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(415) 703-9500
Opening reception: Thursday, May 15, from 6:00 - 10:00 PM.
Special "Stage and Screen" event: Saturday, May 24, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM.
The exhibition features works by the 50 MFA students in the graduating class of CCA’s Graduate Program in Fine Arts. It is curated by the writer, critic, and CCA faculty member Glen Helfand. “This year,” Helfand observes, “many of the featured works center on the transforming landscapes of social and technological interaction. In diverse mediums, they are reflections on living with various aspects of overstimulation, social media/mediation, and rapid economic fluctuations.”
The artists address these concerns in wonderfully varied ways. Fantastical themes and irreverent uses of materials characterize the almost transcendental sound sculptures and paintings of Adam Henderson. Lisa Jonas uses DIY theatricality in painting and sculpture to question materiality and deeper layers of artistic meaning. Benjamin Blanco has created a series of grotesquely witty video shorts featuring characters in prosthetic monster costumes. Ted Setina uses the motif of the spacesuit to probe the limits of the body, sex, and violence. Calen Barca-Hall deploys off-the-shelf office supplies to incisively witty, Rube Goldberg–like effect.
A number of the artists take on the topic of identity, primarily as it relates to the LGBT community. Amanda Simons addresses the fast-changing world of domestic partnerships within the gay community through a series of prints and commemorative objects. Presenting a documentary street performance, GK Callahan explores the stigma of HIV/AIDS by bringing a testing facility into the exhibition.
Several of the women artists in the group examine contemporary feminism. Melissa Miller envisions a 1970s strip club featuring the Minimalist artist Donald Judd transformed into an exotic dancer named Donna Juggs. Beatrice Hunt’s paintings depict boldly distorted faces of major female artists. Megan Atherton’s large-scale works show images of construction, including a depiction of the gymnast Nadia Comaneci as an icon of athletic poise. Anysa Saleh dishes out advice for dating Muslim women via a wiki platform.