They walked 206.8 miles through cities like Venice and Pompeii. They traveled from site to site for 33 days. At the end, there were 17 different experiences and stories to tell.
Fifteen art students and two art professors, Scott Anderson and David Hannon, traveled through Italy from May 11 to June 13 with one mission: to experience. Starting Tuesday, a combination of pieces completed in Italy and reaction pieces to the trip will be showcased in the Atrium Gallery in an exhibit called "Findings."
The exact number of pieces to be displayed is undetermined, but each student has framed five or six pieces. The completed exhibit will be edited down to fewer pieces to keep the show from being too crowded. But Anderson's goal is to show more rather than less, he said.
Max Papas, a student who went on the trip, will be displaying art in the gallery, including watercolors he completed in Italy. He said he made the right decision when he chose to go on the trip.
"The trip was probably one of the best things that I've ever done," Papas said.
In the beginning, Papas wasn't sure about the trip. However, his parents were for it so he went. It turned out to be a good thing for him, he said.
He made friends and thinks about art in a different light now. Before the trip, he didn't think much about Renaissance art, but he now knows that it's something he has to think about, even if it happened hundreds of years ago.
"I made a lot of changes in myself and in my art," Papas said.
Hannon said although the landscape and architecture of Italy are beautiful, that is not why art students travel there every other year. Italy is the birthplace of Western art; both Renaissance and Baroque art originated and flourished there.
"I don't know if there's a more important place, as far as painting and history," Hannon said.
He said France also has many important pieces of art, but when it comes to history and being able to see things in the places they were intended to be seen, Italy has it. Many of the paintings are still on the medium they were originally constructed on.
"The paintings are in the churches. You can't see them anywhere else," Anderson said. "They're painted on the walls. You have to be there to see it."
In Hannon's view, this creates more of a journey to the art itself.
"It's more like a pilgrimage to see the art," Hannon said.
As a showcase of work done in Italy during the trip and work inspired from the experience after the fact, this show is different than most shows presented in the Atrium Gallery.
Although Anderson said students should go to all the exhibits in the Atrium Gallery, he knows this one will be different from others.
"This one isn't better than the others, it's just unique," Anderson said.
Simple works will be displayed, which are many observation-based works of different things the students saw. If they saw something they liked, they painted or drew it.
"It's more of an emotional journey," Hannon said. "A lot of the work will reflect the good times. I would say it's going to be a pretty happy show."
Other than the fact that his work is displayed, Papas said students should visit the gallery and see what the students did on the trip that changed their perceptions on art.
"It's a really good art show and you'll really see some stuff that really changed the way that I thought of art," Papas said. "I made a lot of changes in myself and in my art."
What:
"Findings: Art in Italy 2009"
Where:
Art and Journalism Building
When:
Gallery open Nov. 10-24
Opening reception:
4 - 7 p.m. Friday
Gallery hours:
Tues-Fri 10a.m. - 4p.m.
Sat-Sun 1-4p.m.
Closed Mondays and holidays
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