The art exhibit "Do Ask, Do Tell," which premiered at the Center for the Arts (CFA) on Thursday, lined the walls of the Atrium with artwork about emotional health and well being.
The first exhibit of its kind, "Do Ask, Do Tell" is a program sponsored jointly by the Student Wellness Team (SWT) and the Department of Visual Studies to spread awareness of emotional wellness.
The exhibit will run for a month, ending on April 21. Members from both departments have been collaborating to turn this plan into action since summer 2007.
"This is really a collaborative effort with the folks at visual studies and the SWT," said Sherri Darrow, Ph.D., director of the Wellness Education Services and one of the main coordinators of the event. "We (SWT) have built into our suicide prevention grant, ways to work with theatre and art to explore issues of emotional health and wellness. But the folks at visual studies have already developed this venue with this theme so we really melded those two approaches."
Showcasing paintings, photography, drawings and graphic designs, the exhibit attempts to depict the personal difficulties many encounter as humans.
"The exhibit provides additional ways of having issues represented that speak to different students as well as reach different audiences," Darrow said.
Students and faculty members both stopped and observed the artwork while passing by. Most kept to themselves, but many individuals voiced their opinion on certain works that caught their attention.
Ashley Norton, a junior political science major, enjoyed viewing the artwork.
"I find the work, especially the two paintings with the multicolored eyes, to be full of emotion," Norton said. "It's as if you can sense what the artist is feeling while they were painting or drawing, which I guess is how good art is supposed to make you feel."
According to Renee Ruffino, the Creative Design Director and one of the coordinators on the visual department side, art can achieve emotional wellness in ways that words can miss.
"When you see visual imagery, that is the first thing that catches your eye, and from there you start feeling all different types of emotions," Ruffino said.
Art submissions were open to the entire university community. Faculty, staff and students of all majors submitted their work reflecting their view on emotional wellness for the exhibition.
According to Darrow, 20 works were displayed out of the 45 projects submitted.
"The work that was chosen to be displayed was based on whether or not they related to the topics at hand and their sophistication," Darrow said.
The art portrays an array of emotions, covering humor, sadness and insecurity.
Two paintings in particular were created to express the insecurities females may have like having broken fingernails or being overweight. The paintings are of a naked woman placed in the center of the canvas with pointers pointing to every part of her with blatant remarks about her body. It brings attention to all the different ways women view themselves in an insecure way.
"It caught me off guard and I had to take a double look at the paintings to make sure I wasn't seeing things," said Adriana Viverette, a junior communication and media study major. "Such remarks like 'thunder thighs' and 'cottage cheese cellulite' about the woman are funny and real interesting, too. It makes me want to watch what I eat from now on."
An area was set aside for graphic art design. According to Ruffino, the way design students create their message is more informative rather than illustrative.
One particular graphic art piece was of a broccoli and a cookie sword fighting. The artist here decided to use humor to get her vital message across on proper food intake.
"My favorite artwork is of the one with the fighting broccoli," said Kaitlin Pulice, a junior English major. "Not only is it always funny to see broccoli and a cookie duel it out, but I think it is also cleverly portrays the importance on eating right."
Those participating in the showcase have developed an overall sense of duty to spread health and wellness awareness.
"This project alone has opened up students' eyes in thinking that they themselves become active participants in helping their friends or classmates," Ruffino said.
This experimental exhibit is for the betterment of the entire student body.
"We would really like people to get the message that feelings and mental health are important parts of who we are as human beings," Darrow said. "We want everyone to know that none of us are alone and that there is a web of support available on campus and hopefully this exhibit will serve its purpose in relaying this message."
