By Rocco Colella
Northeastern students proudly displayed their works of art last week in the Curry Student Center in what is hoped to be the first annual student art exhibition show.
Erin Genett, the president of the newly formed Art Society of Northeastern, said she hopes Thursday’s student art exhibition in the gallery room on the first floor of the Student Center will generate more interest for students in the group.
“We hoped to garner enthusiasm for the Art Society, as well as let people know we exist, show off some of the talent we have here at Northeastern, provide students with an opportunity to exhibit what they’ve been working on and especially do something as a club as a whole,” Genett, a middler multimedia studies major, said.
The Art Society was formed last spring and became an official student group this March. Genett is president of the group, middler multimedia studies major Jake Schwartz is the vice president and middler graphic design major Becky Isquith is the treasurer.
“At meetings, we discuss ideas for the club, upcoming artist talks or events in Boston, projects we’ve been working on, and issues within the department,” Genett said. Weekly meetings are held during the fall and spring semesters on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. in Ryder Hall, she said.
The idea for the student art exhibition came from Genett and fellow Art Society member and middler graphic design major, Chris Cerrato.
“We hope to make this an annual event, hopefully at the end of the spring semester instead of the summer next time,” Genett said. “It is really important for students to be able to display their work, as well as see what others have been working on.”
Art Society member and artwork contributor Megan Max-well said she was pleased with the amount of work and quality of what she saw at the show.
“It’s great to see what people are doing both in and outside of class,” she said.
The show had a small, but decent, turnout, especially with how slow the summer sessions are and it being their first exhibition, according to Genett and others in the group. Genett herself displayed several digital photographs she took along with her acrylic painting, “Staircase.”
“It was far more successful than we thought,” Schwartz said. “[Genett] did a great job putting things together. A lot more people submitted art than I expected.”
Maxwell and Schwartz displayed DVD cases they produced for their graphic design classes. Maxwell also had acrylic paintings hung that she had painted on her own time.
Aside from the opening night on Thursday, the art will be on display until this Thursday.
Besides Genett, Schwartz, Cerrato and Maxwell, contributors to the show ranged from graphic design to English students. Acrylic paintings, pen and ink drawings, and photographs were just some of the mediums displayed in the student center.
English major Joshua Cristiano displayed several acrylic paintings, including one self portrait, while Cerrato displayed his acrylic painting of “The Beatles.”
Genett said that while Northeastern is not an art school, members of the Art Society feel the importance of having a strong artist community with whom to attend art events, share ideas, inspire and critique each other’s work.
The visual arts department at Northeastern is mostly digital, Genett said. She noted that she heard many visitors to the exhibition comment on how they rarely do their own art anymore, or that they have not painted in years and would like to start again.
She was pleased that the show could inspire people.
“Although we had a small turnout, it is good that we’ve done this show, and the next show can run smoother and hopefully we can get more attendance and contributions,” she said, noting that the next event will be held at the end of the 2006 spring semester when more students are on campus.
“Hopefully, people will be impressed with what we have done and want to participate in our next show,” she said.
