Process Series' 'Eureka!' showcases artistic process of alumni

Homecoming might have been last weekend, but several alumni were back in town on Thursday for a different reason.

“Eureka!,” presented by UNC’s Process Series, opened its doors on Thursday at the Allcott Gallery and exhibits works by two dozen of UNC’s Master of Fine Arts in art alumni.

“Eureka!” showcases the artists’ current work alongside their graduate school work.

Lightsey Darst, Process Series’ development director, said this art show is different than others because it places a strong emphasis on the artistic process, involving specifically alumni and the visual arts.

“In a regular art show, you’re usually seeing a finished product,” she said. “But it’s hard to go inside a finished art product and see how it came to be.”

Darst said the Process Series is like a lab: It provides a space for an artist’s ideals to take form, while bridging the development process between artists and the audience.

The Process Series, now in its eighth year, usually features interdisciplinary work such as theater, music and the performing arts, but this is the first show that exclusively features visual art.

“Because UNC has such a strong visual arts program, we wanted to honor that process,” said Joseph Megel, Process Series’ artistic director.

“Eureka!” was curated by art professor Jina Valentine.

Darst said after the offer of participation was extended, they received responses from the majority of alumni who hail from diverse backgrounds and span over many different graduation years. Valentine and her “Curatorial Practices” class ultimately selected the artwork, which will appear in the show.

Jessye McDowell, whose art will appear in the show, graduated from UNC in 2011 with an MFA in art.

She will be showing a video that she made while she was a UNC student called “How High Is Up?” and an image from her current body of work comprised of landscape-based images rendered with 3-D modeling software.

McDowell said “Eureka!” is a way of seeing the MFA program from a wider perspective.

“I like the idea of exhibiting works, which at the time, you might would have thought would have been a failure,” she said.

McDowell said although her two pieces are different and look different, there is thematic crossover — the concept of technology as occupying a space of criticality and pleasure.

“It’s special because it’s UNC,” she said of the show.

Megel said “Eureka!” will be a new experience for both the artists and viewers.

“Students have a rare opportunity to see how these artists create work,” he said.

@MariaMullis2017

arts@dailytarheel.com