MFA Students Seize Gallery in Hanes Art Center

A group of first-year master's of fine arts students has taken over the foyer of the Hanes Art Center. But the result is more awe-inspiring than scary.

Facial expressions flit across a wall as they leap out from a slide projector. A white dress hanging from the ceiling catches the eye, and a collection of suits looks as though their owners had a roll in the mud.

Through Jan. 24, these works are on display in the Allcott Gallery of the Hanes Art Center as part of "Engaged."

Nate Quinn, who painted the colorful, surreal "Moon Patrol," credited the MFA program with helping his art open up. He has exhibited in San Francisco and Los Angeles but returned to his hometown for graduate school.

"I feel that I'm growing a lot," he said. "I'm clarifying my vision and honing in on what I want to express.

"We have a good balance between time in the studio and getting experience in teaching."

The master's in fine arts is a 60-credit-hour, two-year program. The students graduate from this first-year showing to a program-concluding exhibit in the Ackland Art Museum. Professor Jim Hirschfield, director of graduate studies for the art department, said the program emphasizes independent study.

"They earn their hours for spending time in the studio," he said. "We prepare them through a teaching practicum and have them take intellectual (credit) hours in a topic near their area of study, but students have the time to really delve into their medium."

Both Hirschfield and Quinn cited the program's flexibility as its main draw, but Quinn also said an unexpected benefit is the bond that formed among the program's nine first-year students.

Corey Drieth, who coated three men's suits with bonash, clay and charcoal for "Puritans," is using this bond to nab an exhibition spot in the University of Virginia's rotating art exhibit in April, a feat that a group of first-year students has never attempted away from UNC.

"(The exhibit) is something we've decided to take on as a group," Drieth said. "I think the chemistry and the relationships that have developed are the most valuable things to happen so far."

The talents of these nine students also should prove an asset. "Engaged" showcases a great variety of media and subject matter, all completed with obvious skill.

But as the artists of two more memorable entries, Drieth and Quinn themselves show the diverse interests that have forged this group's bond. Drieth's mixed-media creation and Quinn's acrylic painting seek different audience responses.

"I base my work on how I'm feeling, and this is in response to the current cultural and political climate," Drieth said. "My hope is that it's big enough to cause haunting, visceral experiences."

Quinn takes a more passive approach. "Moon Patrol" incorporates visual elements from cartoons and video games, but Quinn said he does not elicit reactions with specific ingredients.

"I'll just start painting, and what I start with is not the end result," he said. "It becomes a kaleidoscope of information, pathways for swirling elements."

Hirschfield said this is why the department has graduate students stage exhibits. "When you put work in an exhibit, it looks very different than in the studio," he said. "It gives them something to work for."

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.