Senior Portraits

“Kinross High” is a name that evokes nostalgic
images of high school yearbooks and homecoming games, not an art
exhibit featuring work from more than 50 senior undergraduates in
the UCLA Art Department. Yet in many ways, “Kinross
High,” the senior art exhibition opening at Kinross Building,
is exactly that ““ a snapshot of the senior undergraduate
class and the work they have produced throughout their years at
UCLA.

The exhibit, which opens today and runs through March 2, is in
the New Wight Gallery, located in the Kinross Building. Opening
night will feature food, music and performances, beginning at 5
p.m.

The art department holds one juried exhibition a year, which
took place this past fall quarter. Juried shows reflect a central
point of view, based on the ideas of the curator. But the senior
exhibition is more of a favorite among students as the seniors
select their own works to be displayed and install the works in the
gallery.

“Because the show is self-curated, it will be more varied.
Any cohesion will be a matter of serendipity,” said Don
Suggs, the faculty coordinator for the senior show.

The works on display include a variety of mediums, with
paintings, sculptures, installations and video, and will even
feature collaborative efforts, such as an exhibition from the
VidArt club. Fourth-year art students Jamie Chan and Morgan Wells,
along with other members from VidArt, will submit a large
installation that includes several sculptures.

Most students say they draw artistic inspiration from each other
as well as their professors. In the art department students look to
their professors for guidance and advice and feel that the
professors talk to them as equals. They see the professors as
“living the art dream,” since they are primarily
professionals in their chosen field of art, and teachers second.
The art students feel privileged to be a part of such a close
community.

“On main campus, you’re not a name, you’re
just another student milling around,” fourth-year art student
Lia Lowenthal said.

The appreciation of the student-professor relationship is
mutual, according to Suggs.

“At UCLA, we are fortunate enough to get our pick of
high-quality applicants, which are screened for academic quality as
well. As a result, we have many gifted students,” Suggs
said.

Although the seniors enjoy the community they feel within their
own college, they also acknowledge the importance of a diverse
education obtained through general education classes. Many art
students also pursue a second major, or come into the art major
from the UCLA College. Inspiration for their work often comes
through experiences throughout campus, as students find their
school life blurs with their artwork.

In addition to displaying this artwork, the exhibit will also
involve a panel discussion, which will take place in late February
in the Wight Gallery. The panel consists of both professors and
students, including photographer and Professor Walead Beshty,
artist and theorist Mary Kelly, and undergraduate students Jasmine
Little and Wells.

“The goal of the panel will be to engage the work
exhibited, talk about the school as a contemporary art education,
and to discuss the greater Los Angeles influence,” Chan said,
speaking as one of the students helping to organize the event.

As a senior exhibition, “Kinross High” is one of the
last events the students will participate in at UCLA before heading
off to new ventures.

“The UCLA Art Department has been gratified, in recent
years, at placing many of our undergrads in high-caliber graduate
art programs,” Suggs said.

“But undergraduate art students also explore other
options, including advanced study in other fields, professional
employment in a wide variety of arts related industries, and a
considerable number bypass graduate school and go directly into
successful careers as exhibiting artists after
graduation.”