Art students swept at The Center for Contemporary Arts’ Intercollegiate Student Art Competition Feb. 11.
Out of the 24 competitors who placed or received honorable mentions, 15 of them were ACU students. This is the seventh year the Center for Contemporary Arts has hosted the competition for students of ACU, Cisco College, Hardin-Simmons University, McMurry University and Texas State Technical College.
Shannon Major, junior art major from Austin, won Best of Show for her piece “The Warped Branch.” The 3-dimensional sculpture combined stone carving, bronze casting and a steel plate base to make a sculpture that resembled a twisted tree branch.
“It’s nice to be honored for your art, because you spend a lot of time working on it in the studio,” Major said.
Major’s piece took about two months to make and is part of her series “Torn by Design” which strives to tell people’s stories through art. “The Warped Branch” was inspired by a professor, Major said, who saw an interesting perspective of how nature can symbolize the relationship humans have with God.
“He believed that we are all each uniquely warped by our stories and histories, but the Lord takes us and makes us straight again,” Major said.
Paulina Servin, sophomore, graphic design/advertising major from Mexico City, took first place in the photography division for her photograph, “Walking History” which shows an elderly man walking in front of a multicolored wall. The photo was taken over Thanksgiving break when Servin was in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Servin said she originally was not going to enter the competition but after being encouraged by her mother, she submitted the photo.
“I had a reminder to print the picture and I was actually talking to my mom at the time and told her, ‘I’m not even going to enter, it’s too late’, but she told me to just print it and see what happens,” Servin said.
Geoffrey Broderick, associate professor in the department of art and design, said the wins at the competition were rewarding for the winners as well as himself.
“It’s rewarding that they did nice work and took my instructions to enter the show,” Broderick said. “We had a light turn out last year so I started getting on them pretty early this year. I encouraged them greatly to enter and it seems like it paid off pretty well.”
The Intercollegiate Student Art Competition entries will be on display at the Center for Contemporary Arts until March 12. A full list of competition winners can be found at www.center-arts.com.
