Beth Millner spends most of her weekdays sitting in lectures and art classes. And lately, instead of heading home to relax or work on homework, the senior art and design major has been spending her free time in the art studio, putting the finishing touches on the last projects of her college career.
“I’ve been building all of my display cases by hand,” said Millner, who has a concentration in jewelry and metalsmithing. “That’s been kind of stressful. My fiancé and I have spent long hours doing woodworking, which I’m not used to. I generally stay and work in the studio until 10 p.m. almost every day. I work a lot, maybe more than most people.”
Millner’s hard work and long hours will culminate with the opening of the Senior Art Exhibit on Wednesday, April 16 in the DeVos Art Museum. The exhibit, “It Is: A Senior Art Exhibition” will host the work of 42 senior art and design students.
Because every major in the art and design department will be involved, the exhibit will showcase everything from furniture and graphic design to photography and electronic imaging, said Melissa Matuscak, curator of the DeVos Art Museum. Matuscak was hired last June and said she is looking forward to hosting her second senior art exhibit at NMU.
“I think it’s a good group [of artwork],” she said. “It’s a really diverse group. Sometimes with the senior shows there’s one concentration that’s a little more prevalent in the show than other concentrations. But this show has a good representation from all the different areas in the school.”
Although DeVos hosts many art exhibits throughout the year, Matuscak said the senior art exhibit is especially unique because it symbolizes what’s happening on Northern’s campus.
“It’s a representation of what the students are doing and it’s the culmination of how the university has affected the way they make their artwork.”
Millner said she has mixed feelings on presenting her artwork in the exhibit, an experience, she said, that has her thinking about the impending future.
“I’m excited to put this big body of work that I’ve been working on for a while now out there for the public to see,” she said. “My family is going to be here which will be kind of interesting too. I’m a little bit nervous about graduation and finishing school with an art degree is a little nerve-wracking.”
Another graduating art and design senior who will be featured in the show is Joe Gardner, who has a concentration in furniture design. Gardner said the senior show is a representation of a student’s work for the entire semester, something he said he finds a little daunting.
“It’s kind of a collaboration of all your work you’ve been doing up to this point,” he said. “It takes a lot of time and effort and it’s just really tedious work.”
NMU students looking to get inspired or discover what their fellow classmates have been up to should visit the exhibit, Matuscak said.
“This is definitely art that is reflecting our current times,” she said. “These are the reflections of our young people who are the next generation of artists.”
“It Is: A Senior Art Exhibition” will run until May 2 and end with a free public closing reception. Three awards will be given away at the reception, including Best of Show, Best Graphic Design and the Provost Purchase Award, which is new this year.
Matuscak said that Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Susan Koch wanted to find a new way to highlight student art. The winner of the Provost Award will have his or her piece of artwork purchased by NMU and displayed in the Provost’s office as well as added to the DeVos permanent collection, Matuscak said.
Music at the reception will be provided by a three-piece NMU jazz band. Food and refreshments will also be served.
