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Maria Gonzalez, Destination, 2021
Statement from Professor of Art Margaret Hart:
When I agreed to teach the studio capstone course this spring, I had planned on being on campus where students would have full access to all the facilities and tools for art making. With the continued impact of Covid-19, forcing all courses to be delivered remotely and students to learn from a variety of settings, I had to rethink my delivery of the course material. I decided to frame this course with the idea of limitations, both in the interactions of viewing the artworks created and in the production of these works. The questions I asked of the students were; What does living and working primarily from home do to our own art practices? How does it frame the context of the art produced? As makers we may not have access to our traditional tools for the production of our work, so how can we still make meaningful art in these circumstances? And how do we share our work with outside viewers?
Students working with printmaking as their primary medium did not have access to presses, nor did any of the students have a traditional studio space to create work within. The limited access to traditional art materials and space was literally a limitation in the production of their artwork which students found answers to in distinct and surprising ways. The 17 students enrolled in this course rose to the challenge. Working across a variety of media, these artists explore themes unique to each of them, while dealing with all the stresses of a global pandemic and their own lives to create meaningful and powerful work.
Faced with one of the most unusual semesters in my teaching career I have found this University of Massachusetts Boston Spring 2021 studio capstone class to be filled with more resilient and compassionate students than I have ever known. I have seen this class consistently support and encourage each other as they have faced the daunting challenges of finishing their degrees and creating significant bodies of work during a global pandemic. They not only rose up to face the limitations for their situations but embraced those limitations in meaningful ways. They give me hope for the future and I know this group of artists will bring their supportive community with them as they face the unknown challenges of our future.
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