The School of Art kicked off its Bachelor of Fine Arts fall 2017 show, “10,000 Hours” from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday night in the student art galleries.
The galleries were packed with paintings, illustrations, animations and videogames from over 30 graduating illustration and animation majors. While the school requires students to have at least four of their pieces approved by department heads for the show, each section was adorned with a myriad of creative works that were drastically different from the last.
“This night is unforgettable. So many people come together,” fourth year illustration major Donna Tran said. “It just feels so amazing to see. Every semester you have your artwork, but now it’s all here and they all come together to unify and show your profession.”
Tran was one of the many students walking around the rooms carrying a large bouquet of flowers. Her watercolor paintings and origami decorated the corner of the Werby Gallery, along with a small box of business cards and bookmarks, each featuring Tran’s original work.
Over 100 family members and friends came in formal attire to show their support as they shuffled around the gallery, viewing art and collecting the brightly designed business cards from different artists.
Other artists, such as fourth year illustration major Catherine Kim, offered attendees a way to interact with her art. Hanging beside her “Death and the Cats” illustration was a corkboard and stack of Post-it notes where people were encouraged to draw their own cat and pin it up. By the end of the night, various styles of cats were pinned over one another along with encouraging notes for Kim.
Attendees write encouraging notes and drew doodles for the BFA students.
“I’ve always liked art where people not just look at it, but also be able to put a little bit of themselves in it because what’s the point of art if there’s only one side to it,” Kim said of her installment. “My favorite is death and the cats because it’s about cats in my life…it’s kind of like a bittersweet notion of losing a family pet.”
Kim stood within a few feet of her artwork throughout the night while talking to people about her work and posing for pictures with friends.
“My feet hurt,” Kim joked, as she stood in her two-inch heels beside her illustrations. “Other than that, it was really good seeing old friends that I haven’t seen since their graduation last semester. Just meeting old friends, making new friends.”
Joining these old friends who were revisiting their old stomping grounds was Isaac Lee, who graduated in graphic design in the spring of 2017. Lee came to support three of his friends who had their work featured on the stark white walls.
“Two of my friends are in the show so it’s kind of like a reunion, even some of my [former] classmates are here,” Lee said. “I’m impressed, I feel like they’re using the spaces more creatively. There are a lot more screens this time; last time it was all paintings but now it’s like digital animation, which I think is really good.”
Two galleries included in the show were in fact filled with animated shorts and videogames, deviating from the paintings and illustrations seen in the other half of the rooms. Fifth year animation major Luwena Wou had two of her games on display through the night.
One of her games, a two-person shooting game was finished just last Friday then featured in the show immediately after. Her games were accompanied with a line of students waiting to grab one of the PlayStation 2 controllers and give the game a try.
“[The game] was done in CSU Summer Arts. It’s a two week program so we really had to start cranking things out,” Wou said. “It’s been a wild night, there are so many people here.”
“10,000 Hours” will be on display at the student art galleries through Nov. 16. They are available for viewing from noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and from noon to 7 p.m. on Wednesday.