PAGE 12 11 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20. 2011
STYLE
THE PENDULUM
Thesis exhibition shows best of student art
Sophomores Rosie Towchik and Evan Glass view art at tlie Senior B.A. Arts Exhibit in Arts West. The exhibition showcases the senior theses
BRIAN ALLENBY | Staff Photographer
Lauren Warr presents her senior thesis art project “Perceptions of Beauty ” Each image is made of a user-generated mash-up of facial
features from more than 50 women. Warr said her project was meant to question what we think beauty is, and why.
Natalie Dupuis
Reporter
At the end of their time at
Elon, senior art majors put
their collection of work, and
themselves, on display for the
public to view. In the Arts West
Gallery, students held a public
reception for the public on
April 17 and briefly explained
their works that were hanging
on the walls.
Some students focused
their work on autobiographical
depictions of special moments
in their lives while others
creatively portrayed a recent
passion, but all the work was
a blend of a personal interest
and social commentary.
The show is another step
in the process for the seniors
to finish their final project
as Elon students. It is the
culmination of years of work
and development for some
students, and all of them
had to successfully defend
their thesis to a board of
mentors and professors.
Following individual final
defenses, students also give
brief presentations at the
exhibition, as well as formal,
more-lengthy presentations
later in the semester.
Art professor Michael
Sanford explained that each
student is assigned a faculty
mentor who helps guide the
student's work so it is cohesive
and complete. But each student
comes up with his or her own
concept.
After time for the audience
to take in the artwork, the
student artists discussed
the exhibits, explaining
their inspiration behind the
process of the work and what
the desired impact of the art
might be.
The display “Perceptions of
Beauty" by artist Lauren Warr,
was an interactive project that
involved the photographs of
more than 50 women. The artist
deconstructed those pictures
by facial feature and then
allowed the public to create
its version of a beautiful face
selecting from the features
from all fifty girls. The final
product was a wall filled with
portraits of what the public
chose as beautiful.
“Advertising produces
notions of beauty that have
changed through the years
that show beauty to be very
trendy, while other studies
have been done that show
there are specific things,
like symmetrical features,
that everybody is attracted
to," Warr said. “This work is
dealing with how much of what
we think is attractive comes
from what we naturally find
attractive and how much of it
comes from what advertising
and the media tells us is
attractive."
Another artist, Andy
Hassan, said he was trying to
“blur the lines between realism
and the virtual gaming world”
through his work “Collateral
Damage" that showed where
weapons are produced, and
satirized the glorified notions
of using them.
“1 hope to raise questions
about the issues of violence
and how they are perceived in
our society," Hassan said.
Other work by students
Chase Brannock, Diana
Ciompi, Kyle Eaton, Sean
Jeffcoat, Natalie Saragusa,
Meghan Stevens, Summer
Thaxton and Kyle Waggoner
included displays of many
different mediums. There was
photography that lampooned
social and racial stereotypes,
painted and prepared
equestrian boots, interactive
displays with decaying flowers
and landscapes of Elon, videos
BRIAN ALLENBY | Staff Photographer
of art majors.
of high-adrenaline activities,
and edited photographs of
“threshold consciousness.”
Student comedian combines humor with over-the-top stories
TRACY RAETZ | Staff Photl^raptw
Junior Jay Light had the opportunity to open for comedian Jim Tavare. Light is more risque in his show than in life.
Kassondra Cloos
News Editor
Delightfully, innocently obscene.
That's how junior Jay Light describes
himself and his stand-up comedy
routine. As one of Elon University's few
student comedians. Light said what he
thinks aims to catch people off guard.
“It’s all about surprising people," he
said. “If there's no surprise, there's no
joke."
Light opened for comedian Jim
Tavare April 14 in Whitley Auditorium
to an audience of dozens of students,
one of the best shows he said he has
ever done. His content, which was often
raunchy, ranged from personal sexual
experiences to the card game Magic:
The Gathering.
While many of Light's jokes toed the
line between funny and going too far,
he said people liked his show for the
most part and are often surprised at
how different he acts in real life.
“My mom thinks I’m too dirty,” he
said. “People are surprised. I'm not
that dirty in everyday life, usually."
In his “regular life," he keeps to
himself and is pretty quiet, he said.
“1 like having that contrast," he said.
“I like to be relaxed, to not be ‘on’ all
the time. 1 don’t need to be.”
But even when he’s writing jokes.
Light said he’s is cautious and stays
away from topics he knows he could
not pull off.
“It’s not necessarily a line, it’s more
common sense,” he said. “I’m not the
kind of person who could pull off a
rape joke. There are some comedians
who could pull it off, but not me. I’m
suited for more personal stuff, like sex
and drinking."
All of the personal experiences
Light references in his routine have
actually happened, he said, including
the sexual endeavors that make up
a large portion of his show. He said
he tells people ahead of time when
he writes jokes about them and, to
his knowledge, no one has ever been
angered by them.
“There’s a fine line I’ve got to walk,”
he said. “There’s humor in things and I
want to bring that out.”
While the comedy community at
Elon may be small compared to those at
other schools. Light said he can't be the
only person interested in comedy and
wants to get more students involved.
Recently, he has been looking into
starting a club that would serve as a
support group for aspiring comedians
to practice improvisation, joke writing
and stand-up technique on one another
before going on stage.
Light tries to do at least one show
a week, he said, since the only way to
get experience is through performing.
His target audience is young adults —
and the bigger the audience, the better.
Once, he said, he performed at an open
mic night in his hometown in Texas for
a crowd of six people.
“It was pretty bad," he said
“Everyone was afraid to be the only one
to laugh.”
With a larger audience. Light said
it's easier to gauge the perception of
his jokes, which lets him know which
ones need more work.
With two and a half years of
experience down. Light is about a
quarter done with the 10 years it takes
most comedians to find their voices.
He hopes to end up in Los Angeles one
day, he said. ,.
As for what type of comedian he
like to be? „
“I just want to be a good one, ne
said.