Senior studio art majors and members of Gillian Young’s Art Historiography class created a unique art exhibition, titled “Ascension,” which displayed on Friday, Dec. 2. The group, headed by Young, assistant professor of art history and Michael Webster, assistant professor of studio art, created a traveling art exhibition in a 26-foot Penske box truck.
The truck included art from senior studio art majors Kate Timbes ‘23, Abbey Barefoot ‘23, Walker Antonio ‘23, Yasmin Lee ‘23, Carrie Metts ‘23 and Jalen Belton ‘23.
Art history majors Maddie Brewer ‘23, Walker Antonio ‘23, Bladen Bates ‘23, Adair Bannister ‘23, Hannah Cabe ‘23, Parker Mecimore ‘23, Maceon Urueta ‘23, Jillian Grimes ‘23, Solana Rostick ‘23, Riley Jones ‘24 and Olivia Hartley ‘24 curated the work in the box truck that was driven to the Thomas E. Hannah YMCA and Fretwell.
Webster classifies himself as an artist of the expanded field of sculpture. At Wofford, Webster teaches sculpture, drawing courses and senior studio art courses. He also works on how sculpture can show the concept of place and how we define it, along with how people use measurements and grids to define that space.
Through his work,Webster has evaluated the impact of the place and the way in which art is shown through the traveling exhibition. There have been other instances where art has been shown in traveling exhibitions in Raleigh and Greenville, but this is the first time it has been done at Wofford.
The traveling art exhibition gave people a new way to view art in an environment that is different from the typical gallery or museum. Webster believes that art often feels unapproachable, and that there are barriers to truly understanding art work. The idea of a traveling exhibition can help to eliminate some of these barriers
“Art galleries can feel intimidating, a bit stifled, and boring,” Webster said. “The idea of the truck show is a way to create an experimental exhibition that takes art away from a typical space of where you would expect, allowing everybody to feel free from the constraints of a typical gallery, and to think about art more as a connection to life.”
Antonio is a studio art and art history double major and was able to be a part of the project on both sides. On the artist side of the traveling exhibition, he found it helpful to have a set deadline to have his work ready. On the curating side, he found it difficult yet thrilling to select pieces for the show.
Being able to be on both sides of the show has been very beneficial and eye opening to Antonio and his future work in the field of art. Selecting pieces and writing descriptions for art pieces was a new acquired skill for him.
Antonio believes that the pressure and tension between the art history and studio art majors through the exhibition helped them to achieve greatness.
“One of the big discussions was trying to make this art show available to those who have not been afforded the opportunity to be surrounded by art, whether that be in museums or galleries,” Antonio said.
Chandler Doody ‘25 visited the pop up exhibition at the YMCA. She wanted to see the work of her friends and peers to support them.
“It was impressive to see all of the different kinds of art and how they were able to connect all of the pieces to a theme, even though they were all individually very different,” Doody said.
After Doody left the art exhibition, she saw a muralist working outside of Starbucks on W Main Street. The combination of the work of Wofford students and local arts was a motivating experience for her.
“I felt inspired by all of the art I saw on Friday and was amazed at how art goes beyond classes at Wofford and out into the local community,” Doody said.
