Art Ball

Art Ball took place on Friday May 12, 2017. All of the galleries at Sac State were open and showing their work including paintings, drawings, sculpture, installations, new media, ceramics, and small metals. I had a blast staying up late and in the morning preparing Art Sculpture Lab for the event and had the even greater honor to be doing demonstrations in the printmaking lab in Kadema Hall with my buddy Nick Kukuruza. I did the inking demos for intaglio and he did small demos for lithography.
The entire event was amazing and really should be extended to be an all day affair. Although I missed most of the festivities, I was able to make my rounds towards the end of the night. From the printmaking room, I ventured next door to the beginning painting class. Their work reminded me of the first time I took a painting class; everyone was of vastly different levels and styles. I flipped back towards the ceramics department before heading towards metals. Their work never disappoints and everyone who came through the print lab raved about how delicious their food was. They showcased very large pots, jars, bowls, cups, and even an amazing sculpture of a man with a bear head. Metals had a variety of projects on display that highlighted techniques learned in the program. It was very similar to their show in the Witt Gallery earlier on campus.
The Seniors had a variety of media shown in the Witt and Else Galleries in Kadema Hall. Since I saw them earlier on in the week, I made my way upstairs to see more paintings from another class that worked with the figure. On my way back down, I was invited to enter a very immersive and powerful new media installation in the room across from the stairs. The narrow room had only a laptop, projector, and a giant beach ball that nearly covered the end wall. The concept of a choosing your story through clicking on images on the screen was interesting and the heavy topics of animal abuse and global warming weighed on my mind after. Unfortunately, I only had fifteen minutes to see the rest of Art Ball so I had to cut my journey short.
I almost ran to see the grad show in the Library Gallery. Being far from Kadema Hall, hardly anyone was in there by the time I walked in. I was amazed at the movement and color used in their pieces. Their work gave a different energy especially Som Sayasone's usage of clothespins that seem to spew out from the chair but also consume it. Fluff from the chair cushions and clothespins trailed behind the piece.
Luckily I was in the Library so the five minutes left was used in Art Sculpture Lab (since I left before the hanging was finished). That party continued after hours since the music was still bumping and the artists chatted with guests and fellow artists about the work. The walls of ASL were mapped out with drawings and paintings from Intermediate Drawing, Life Painting, and Advanced Painting. The collection ranged in a variety of styles and showcased a great number of students in all three classes. Every wall from the bottom floors of 106 and 108 to the loft spaces up above had pieces on the walls.
Art Ball overall was a great experience. Like I mentioned earlier, if Art Ball took place all day, there could have been festivities or booths taking place all the way across campus since the department itself is split between Art Sculpture Lab (ASL) on one side of campus and Kadema Hall on the opposite side. Due to the time constraints, I missed the new media work in Mariposa Hall and could not revisit the senior show. However, the work I did see was wonderful and there is great potential in the art department in all of the different media used. Although majority was painting, drawing, and sculpture, the addition of other forms of art was necessary and representation in the fields of new media, small metals, and printmaking in future years could expand interest in these unique fields.
Unfortunately, this was the day that I forgot my phone at home so I have no pictures to post but if you want to see images, check out @sacstateartdepartment on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sacstateartdept/?hl=en