By Chelsea Platt '13
What does a city look like from a foreigner’s perspective? Visitors of the Invitational Art Exhibit, South Troy Through Outsider Eyes, had the opportunity to see what stood out about the Collar City to five Siena students.
“I’m very proud of the work my students have created. It speaks of the strength of the creative arts at Siena that our students would be invited to participate in this exhibition,” said Scott Foster, assistant professor of studio art. Jim Lewis, the gallerist who organized the pieces for this exhibition, had approached Foster about selecting students to contribute their creations to the show. “He recognized the strength of our student work and asked us to exhibit at a venue that has showcased many prominent local and regional artists.”
The venue for the exhibition was Carmen’s Café, a cozy location where Foster and five of his students spoke with curious visitors about their work. The Siena students who participated were Eden Alaxanian ’13, Allison Clarke ’13, Olivia Fay ’13, Emily Gustin ’13 and Britney MacKinnon ’14.
Since the students aren’t from Troy, they began their artistic process by conducting research on the South Troy community through iconography, history and individual experience. Foster implemented scale requirements in order to give the exhibit a sense of unity among the different pieces, but the students’ mediums and focuses were very diverse.
“My painting is an eye with the Soldier's monument in the center. Every denizen of Troy has their own particular viewpoint and life-story, and I think looking into someone's eyes is one of the best ways that you can learn about them,” said MacKinnon.
As the students learned about Troy, the visitors to their exhibit had an opportunity to learn about them, too.
