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Eleven Voices exhibit

The+Wasmer+Art+Gallery%2C+next+to+the+theatre+lab.
The Wasmer Art Gallery, next to the theatre lab.

By Trinia Oliver
Assistant Entertainment Editor
@fgcueaglenews


For those who do not know, there are two art galleries on FGCU campus: Wasmer Art Gallery (Arts Complex) and the ArtLab Gallery.
Although artists both local and far submit their work for display, the current Eleven Voices Art Faculty exhibit features works from artists much closer than you may think.
Through astounding talent and broad ranges of mediums, the featured artists of the Eleven Voices exhibit offer a new lens to view their surroundings.
The subject of the exhibit is “to show a truth,” as quoted by Hannah Bautz, a Communications sophomore, one of the gallery’s student assistants and in charge of its marketing. “The art here is very meaningful. […] [From the Gallery] Every single show is different. And every single show opens your mind to something new.
This one reveals truth such as social issues and environmental issues. So when you jump around from every piece you’re learning something new, whether it’s a personal truth, a life truth—such as homelessness—or something as infrastructure destroying Southwest Florida.”
The exhibit’s different types of truths is shown through the artists’ eclectic outlets: like an interactive calligraphy wall called “Typography Happiness Interactive Installation, 2018” (Sasha Minsky), to a sculpture made from a fallen backyard oak (“Resurrection, 2018,” Patricia J. Fay), to a shopping cart of survival items needed when homeless (“Home Base, 2018,” Mary Sullivan Voytek), landscape photos of Florida’s Southwest islands printed by sunlight (Andy Owen), to a playable video game with a prize at the end (“The Machine Stops, 2018,” Michael Salmond) and more.
Separate, each piece tells a very personal story that can only be seen firsthand, but collectively, the exhibit is an extremely well thought out assortment of masterpieces with character and style.
Bautz advise students to visit to enjoy something that usually wouldn’t be able to appreciate on a daily basis—through making art, looking at art, or taking a moment to consider the effort someone puts into work.
And to do so in the most effective manner, one must visit and experience it for themselves to fall in love with it. “Because every exhibit has its own meaning, and every exhibit is special not only for the people who come and visit, but also to the people who created it and want to share it with everyone else. Because art is extremely personal.”
Art, particularly when putting it out to the public, is an act of laying yourself vulnerable because showing it is to share something immensely personal.
It’s an act of bravery, exposing one’s underbelly, not knowing if you’re going to be attacked or embraced. Jessica Osceola, one of the artists who created a three-piece set that is one of the most self-exposing displays, best put it: “The world can be a place of beauty, obstacle and perseverance.” This exhibit does an extraordinary job at showing a variety of beautiful art styles that can be appreciated through multiple perspectives, and is definitely an experience that should most definitely be taken advantage of.


IF YOU GO:

The Wasmer Art Gallery is located in the Arts Complex building, adjacent to the Theatre Lab.

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