Fine arts graduate students took their thesis to a whole different level this semester, mixing various media which allowed viewers to interact physically and mentally with the works on display.

The annual Master of Fine Arts showing opened April 23 and features the works of nine students.
The pieces were unique, with each artist expressing his or her own thesis as they saw it. One piece was an installation with audio and video. Another was simply four pieces of woven linen, and there were even pieces made of hay stacks and furniture.

Each piece varied depending on the message the artist was trying to convey. But each piece set a mood.

“The MFA show is a group show with no particular theme, just the fact that we are all graduating," said artist Lucrecia Troncoso. "Nonetheless, there seems to be a theme, at least in the use of materials; it is not media bound. A lot of us used and (intermixed) all medias as we’ve worked with to come up with the result that you see ... I think we all tried not to just present our work as products, but to create moods."

There was a set of three paintings that showed a nude woman from three different points of view called “The Gate Keepers,” which, according to artist Larysa Rybchynska, commented on the issues of
sexuality, gender roles and cultural symbols.

Karrie Hovey had a political piece on display called “Unstable Terrain,” which used a variety of media.

The piece involved a makeshift trench created with stacked sandbags and a starry night sky background. Projected on the ground were images of the war in Iraq.

“(It) is supposed to be reflective of the work you created during your time in graduate school," Hovey said of the thesis project. "My work has followed two main themes - politics of the war and politics of the body. For this piece I chose to speak about the war.”

None of the works on display were traditional, as each addressed their topic of interest in unconventional yet addressable ways.

Eric Sanchez, another artist, said he felt the showing as a whole had incredible flow.

Sanchez’s piece, “Project G.L.O.,” used bioluminescent bacteria, video projection and rubber gloves as well as other materials to engage the viewer through experience. Viewers are encouraged to put on the rubber gloves provided and interact with the work. However, not all viewers were enthusiastic about participating.

“I’ve been told by some gallery sitters that some viewers avoid my piece and are hesitant to wear the rubber gloves. I wanted that push and pull for the audience. It produces memory through experience,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez said the idea behind his thesis was sparked when he participated in a Meningitis C vaccine study.

“The major push for this thesis is to question the hastiness of using biotechnology with little known about the repercussions of their release into the environment," he said. "The piece fast forwards to how does this affect us?”

Even though each work was different in message and style as well as media used, they all came together nicely as a whole. The set up of all the work looked professional.

Troncoso’s piece, “Rinse and Repeat,” was made up of her own hair she had collected for the past three years.

Looking at the piece, it is hard to believe it is actually her hair on display in the form of little flowers.

The entire composition is simple and approachable, but the funny thing is once you realize it is actually human hair, there is a different take on it.

“The piece has to do with daily life and rituals, obsessive behavior, the decorative and the feminine, and the human - its grotesqueness and its beauty," she said.

The show is on display until May 19. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday.