“Self Reflection” is an art show curated by Holly Karges, a junior P-12 Visual Arts Teaching major. It will remain on display in the USI Student Gallery until March 7.
Karges wanted to use this show as an opportunity to learn how to create an art exhibition. “I went into the process headfirst and just kind of went with my gut,” said Karges.
“As an aspiring art educator, I felt like these skills would be vital to learn,” said Karges. “In my future career, I want to display student works as much as possible, and this gallery opportunity helped facilitate growth in the skills required to host a show.”
When creating the show, Karges set out to capture how various people coped with obstacles in their lives. “I wanted to get as many diverse perspectives as possible,” said Karges. “In the grand scheme of things, I pretty much accepted everyone who applied. I felt like the art community did a great job submitting pieces that fit the theme!”
In her artwork, Karges primarily creates self-portraits. She finds that she can tell much “richer, relatable” narratives through self-portraits.
“There is something so cathartic about delving into a part of yourself or your life and creating a piece that revolves around that,” she said. “In many ways, self-portraiture has saved me. It’s made me come to terms with the misfortunes of my life as well as acknowledge the wonderful things that I have experienced.”
Although she had some help setting up from Iain Girten, senior studio art major, and Payton Henn, junior visual art teaching major, she found setting up the show to be stressful because it was largely a solo endeavor. “I pretty much did everything myself,” said Karges.
By everything, she means: designing posters, communicating with artists, acquiring materials and jurying the show.
“I had to put on a lot of hats, but I would do it all over again!” said Karges.
The most stressful aspect of installing the show was handling the artworks. “I appreciate that all the artists had trust in me, but I was still worried that I would mess up and ruin the work in some way,” said Karges.
