Arts - Buffalo State College

36
Arts
practices. It will be built using proven burners to assure appropriate
temperature and efficient fuel usage and incorporated into a flexible
forge designed that will accommodate metal stock and pre-shaped
pieces that most forges cannot. Thereby giving me the ability to exert
a greater degree of finesse and control of over my work.
Presentation Type and Session: Poster VIII
Naturalistic Pictorial Space To Formalistic
Reconstructions: A Search For Direction
and Growth As a Painter
Brian Nacov, Painting
Faculty Mentor: Professor Lin Xia Jiang, Fine Arts
During the Summer 2011 I embarked on a painting tour of New
York State to create plein air paintings in a naturalistic, pictorial
style from the unique features of New York State Parks. Afterwards, I
broke these paintings down and created new, abstracted, formalistic
compositions from their elements focusing on line, shape, value,
and color. I looked to landscape painters such as George Inness
and Albert Bierstadt, and formalistic artists like Piet Mondrian and
Richard Diebenkorn for direction and inspiration in this endeavor.
After viewing original works of artists pertinent to my goals on
display at local galleries including the Albright Knox in Buffalo and
The Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, I set out to paint in areas
such as Niagara Falls, Allegany, the Catskill Mountains, the Hudson
River, and the Adirondacks. After completing a variety of plein air
landscape paintings I returned to my studio and began to analyze
and reorganize their formal components. I used the elements of the
plein air studies to create formal reconstructions in which the colors
became more vibrant, pictorial space was collapsed, and what were
once recognizable objects began to refer to themselves as planes of
color. Through this project I gained great insight into the creative
process, as well as growth in my direction as an artist, my personal
style, and my abilities as a painter.
Presentation Type and Session: Poster VII
Exhibit in the Mezzanine Level
Nature Made Sculpture Materials
Leigh Johnson, FAR 343: Advanced Sculpture
Faculty Mentor: Professor Elena Lourenco, Fine Arts
I often combine a variety of natural materials in my work. I
choose these materials based off of the emotional response triggered
by their texture, color, or other inherent qualities. I often try to
create the feeling of skin or organic tissue in my work in an effort to
provoke the feeling of a living creature, or something that was once
living. I have recently been introduced to rawhide as a sculptural
material. I am attracted to rawhide because of what it literally is:
rawhide is actual skin so it is of great interest to me. The texture,
color, and manipulability of rawhide are very different than many of
the materials I have previously worked with. In addition to rawhide,
I have explored various other materials, specifically animal products
such as horsehair, deer sinew and dewclaws, as well as dried furbearer
paws (raccoon paws for example). I have been working on
combining these new materials with the natural materials I have
previously worked with, such as wood, wool and clay. I feel that using
materials made by nature makes my work stronger and reinforces
the natural themes found in my work.
Presentation Type and Session: Poster VII
Non-Traditional Bookbinding
David Huurman, Printmaking
Faculty Mentor: Professor Anthony Gorny, Fine Arts
The focus of my research took shape with non-traditional
bookbinding, especially the Coptic and Caterpillar stitch methods.
Additionally, I explored the use of unconventional materials, such as
Plexiglas for the book covers. I am very interested in the aesthetic
features these techniques and materials have provided. I also realized
how they are used in creating visual composition over my book
covers and spines while still employed as constructive elements. I
discovered how to utilize such practices with a conceptual base,
pushing the boundaries of Book Arts to transcended into a realm of
sculpture in my work. I will present my finished work along with any
prototypes and notebooks I created.
Presentation Type and Session: Poster V
Not Just Fish: The Spanish Musical
Tradition “La Tuna”
Rachel Giuseppetti, MUS440: Ethnomusicology
Faculty Mentor: Professor Carolyn Guzski, Music
When you think of tuna you probably think of the fish. I did,
too, until I recently studied abroad in Spain and was introduced to
la Tuna—part of the Spanish rondalla musical genre traditionally
performed by university students. Inspired by the four talented
and charming musicians who performed at my university, I was
led to explore the history and traditions of la Tuna. Members of
a tuna, called tunos, perform a variety of love songs, old and new,
and accompany their singing with traditional Spanish instruments
such as the guitar, bandurria, and lute. My research focuses on the
historical roots of la Tuna, its transformation into a living, modern
form, and associated customs such as traditional costumes worn by
the performers. I have discovered that while la Tuna is a medieval
tradition dating from the 8th century, it continues to gain popularity
across Europe, Central America, and South America today. My
presentation will explore the traditions of La Tuna and will include a
musical transcription of a typical Tuna song, as well as audio/visual
examples (taken from my own experiences in Spain) that highlight
the Tuna sound.
Presentation Type and Session: Oral – Humanities III