This year’s aptly titled senior art show, “Fruition,” celebrates the culmination of four years of work for seven senior studio art majors. This year’s class is distinctive in that each of the seven artists hold a second major in another discipline.
With double majors as diverse as management, classics, and biology, these students are truly “living” the liberal arts, says Associate Professor and Department Chair of Art and Art History Betsy Byers. The materials and methods are just as varied as the student’s backgrounds with techniques ranging from watercolor, to fabric and embroidery, to multimedia presentations.
This is the first time the entire senior studio art class holds a double major. Byers says the department intentionally redeveloped some aspects of the curriculum to make it more accessible to students who wanted the opportunity to explore other areas. “The world is moving towards becoming a more interdisciplinary place where students will need to be able to speak outside of the arts. It’s much more evident that’s where the field is going and we want our students to be able to think that way from the beginning,” she says.
Nicholas Beck ’19’s body of work focuses on anatomical studies. He was awarded the Flory-Freiert Fellowship through his classics major which allowed him to study figurative sculpture in both Rome and Minnesota. He says that the experience of having a foot in both fields has allowed him to think more broadly about current projects as well as the future. “Interdisciplinary connections have been easier to make, and they have often been the basis for new projects or investigations,” he says. “My vision of career possibilities after Gustavus has also expanded since I have developed various skill-sets from both departments.”
Byers says that the ability of these students to think across boundaries and explore other interests helps in their art creation. She’s noticed that students in the sciences in particular develop a well-rounded understanding of the benefits of a deeper dive into exploration.
Prabhjot Singh ’19 is one of two students graduating this year with studio art and biology major. Singh also holds a classics minor. She says that her professors encouraged her to explore subjects outside of her chosen field. “The large portion of my work is concept driven, so I am influenced a lot by thoughts derived from classes, conversations, and experiences,” she says. “Being a biology major in addition to an art major has definitely inspired me to create pieces with elements of the natural world.
The exhibit opens Saturday with a reception from 4–6 p.m. as a part of the Honors Weekend celebration and runs through June 1. The Hillstrom Museum of Art is open 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1–5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, please visit the Hillstrom Museum of Art website.
2019 Senior Studio Art Majors
Nicholas Beck
Hometown: Vadnais Heights, Minn.
Major(s) and minors(s): studio art and classics major, religion minor
Emily Dzieweczynski
Hometown: Inver Grove Heights, Minn.
Major(s) and minors(s): studio art and psychological science major
Sarah Link
Hometown: Saint Paul, Minn.
Major(s) and minors(s): studio art and management major
Gino Sahagun
Hometown: Saint Paul, Minn.
Major(s) and minors(s): studio art and art history major
Chris Schneider
Hometown: Kansas City, Kan.
Major(s) and minors(s): studio art and theatre major, pre-architecture track
Prabhjot Singh
Hometown: Rochester, Minn.
Major(s) and minors(s): studio art and biology major, classics minor
Megan Weaver
Hometown: Stillwater, Minn.
Major(s) and minors(s): studio art and biology major
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