University of the Ozarks art major James Storer will present his Senior Art Exhibit, "Noir," from May 8-16 in the Stephens Gallery.
There will be a reception to meet the artist from 7-8 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, in the gallery, which is located in the Walton Fine Arts Center.
Storer, from Belcher, La., said "Noir" was influenced by the elegant aspects of fashion and the modern looks of the big city, including the exhibit’s centerpiece, Ville des Ombres, which is French for "City of Shadows."
James Storer will present his Senior Art Exhibit, "Noir," from May 8-16 in the Stephens Gallery. There will be a reception to meet the artist from 7-8 p.m. on Thursday, May 8. Storer’s exhibit was influenced by Manhattan and fashion.
"Modern to me means the simplicity that the big cities show the world," he said. "I’m attracted to the straight edges of the glass buildings against the sky to and the chic clothing the people wear as they walk in between them. Manhattan was the inspiration for the centerpiece for my show. The wooden rectangular frames out of two-by-fours represent the city. No two frames are the same dimension, which makes it feel more like a city and less like a sculpture to me. After the frames were put together, I didn’t want a lot of negative space so instead I covered one side of the frame to represent a façade of the buildings. The windows of buildings are opaque from some angles to transparent from others; this adds to the effect of the intimidation that the buildings also bring."
Photography is another fundamental element of Storer’s exhibit, including both body shots and fashion photography.
"In the fashion world photography is everywhere," he said. "On the front of stores or on billboards high above Times Square, the photos capture the sleek elements of the modern world. The strategic cropping of the photographs abstracts the image. The composition of each photo is determined by the position of the model and the shadows that are cast on their bodies. The photos are life size, which puts the viewer and the images on the same level."
The Stephens Gallery is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week.
Topics: Art