Life is only as good as one perceives it. And for some fine art students at UB, it is seen through cupcakes and stained glass.
Hidden in the basement of the Center for the Arts is the "Undergraduate Painting Exhibition," a gallery bursting with the creative juices of student artists.
At first glance, there are numerous portraits spreading from wall-to-wall. However, these portraits are not the typical black-and-white photographs of great-grandma in the family room.
Natalie Basinski, a senior fine arts major, began painting "Cupcake," a portrait of herself, while she traveled abroad in Italy.
"My friends and I were eating so much Italian food that we began gaining weight," Basinski said. "So I decided to put a cupcake on my head in the portrait because that was how I saw myself after a while."
Another painting that does not fall within the realm of traditional portraits is the poignant "Thin Line Between Success and Failure" by Barney Perry Jr., a senior undecided major.
Perry illustrates the trials and tribulations he has faced while trying to accomplish his dreams of becoming a famous artist.
Split into two identities, Perry portrays himself as being cut down the middle with how he feels about his experience at UB. On one side of the portrait, Perry identifies himself as being established, experienced, and mature with words such as "Money," "Status," and "Power" in the background. On the opposite side is Perry reaching his boiling point with words of frustration and strife hovering around his head. The motto "Success is to be Attained" appears to hold him at a standstill.
"I feel I have had to prove myself time and time again (as an art major)," Perry said. "I ask myself, 'Do I belong in this building?' But I've been working hard and I feel that the scale is starting to tip in my favor."
Since the majority of the artwork in the show are portraits, it seems the underlying theme could easily have been "How I see myself." However, according to the show's coordinator Kursten Sturdivan, a graduate student in the fine arts program, there wasn't a theme at all.
"We didn't start out with a theme, but once we brought students' work (into the gallery), we took all the realistic work out and kept everything that was figurative and abstract," Sturdivan said.
Basinski and Perry's portraits represent a more typical, classic portrait. The more figurative pieces are thought-provoking and multifaceted.
Tara Bystran, a senior philosophy and fine arts major, created "Burning Bush" with the use of mixed media consisting of warm reds, browns and pieces of cool, green-colored glass. Spread out onto three vertical canvases, the piece is deeply religious and symbolic.
Among the multitudes of intense figurative artwork is the abstract construction ostensibly splashed all over the white canvas of the gallery walls.
Liz Holmes, a senior fine arts major, dipped her brush into a color palette of bright green oils and created a wondrous addition to her piece by using wood and foam, bringing her artwork to life and adding aspects of sculpture to the art show.
Instead of the typical canvas, Holmes built one herself and created a whimsical green abstract waterfall.
The Undergraduate Art Show began Thursday Jan. 26 and will continue to be displayed in the CFA basement gallery through Feb. 11.
