20/20 Vision Arts Festival
20/20 Vision: A Journey of Reflection & Transformation is the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion's (CSDI) inaugural arts show. We asked interested students, faculty, and staff to reflect on the events of the year 2020 and how it impacted their own lived experience for the art show.
Below, are the jury-selected pieces:
- Vote. by Zoe Blake
- Hysteria by Deanna Hay
- Back in Simpler Times by Alexander Igwebuike
- Tree of Lights by Tatijianna Klinkenbergh
- It Is What It Is by Lauren Lewis
- Dissociation by Sara Lu
- The Revival by Sara Lu
- Damage on Mental Health by Riley Scheib
- Mask by Lily Ellison
- Self Absorb by Lily Ellison
- The Multiplicity of Enough by Jacinta Spinola and Jacqlyn Schott
The 20/20 Vision Art Show will be on display in the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion in the Armstrong Student Center from April 26 - 30, 2021.
Vote.
Artist: Zoe Blake
Medium: 2D Digital Image
Artist Statement: "I created this collage titled 'Vote.' to express the emotions I felt surrounding the 2020 Presidential election. In viewing this piece, I hope that one may look at things for what they are: our leaders are not the great people we paint them to be. I encourage the viewers of this piece to reflect on the kind of people they would want leading this country."
Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece through Zoe Blake's artist profile video.
Vote. by Zoe Blake
Zoe Blake is a junior from Detroit, Michigan with majors in Political Science and the Western Program.
In addition to two majors, Zoe is pursuing the Fostering Just Communities certificate through the Urban Cohort. She served as Membership Director for the Miami University College Democrats (MUCD) for two terms, but stepped back from MUCD upon the nomination of Joe Biden.
Hysteria.
Artist: Deanna Hay
Medium: 2D Colored Pencil Drawing
Note from the artist: "Inspired by the hysteria surrounding the beginning of the pandemic, all of these faces represent emotions I wrestled with at the start of quarantine. We have all been pulled in many directions emotionally and mentally to endure this radical change. In this cathartic drawing, I tried to capture the most overwhelming emotions felt by myself and those around me, highlighting mania, panic and grief specifically. As a senior in high school, I continually cycled through the stages of grief, never settling on one for very long."
Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece through Deanna Hay's artist profile video.
Hysteria by Deanna Hay
Deanna is a first-year student majoring in International Studies and minoring in French and Studio Art.
Deanna is an EcoRep for Hepburn Hall, and serves as a photographer for both Muse Management and UP magazine at Miami.
Back in Simpler Times
Artist: Alexander Igwebuike
Medium: Music
Artist Statement: "The COVID-19 pandemic really slowed the lives of many people including myself. During the spring and summer of 2020, the slowdown really gave me time to ponder how far spiritually and mentally I have come and the next chapter of my life, post graduation. As a result this Neo-Soul composition is the manifestation of my musings of the past year."
Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece through Alexander Igwebuike's artist profile video.
Back in Simpler Times
by Alexander Igwebuike
Alexander is a fourth-year Chemistry major with a minor in Individualized Studies.
In his spare time, Alexander creates musical compositions from the digital audio workstation, Ableton. This is his fourth year composing. His genres of compositions span hip-hop, trap, boom bap, Neo-Soul, and R&B.
Tree of Lights
Artist: Tatijianna Klinkenbergh
Medium: Acrylics
Artist Statement: "This painting was done to originally demonstrate light movement but over the years I have looked at this painting of more of a demonstration of growth and change. Everyone goes through several different experiences in life that can allow a person to grow and change. Many of those times whether good or bad has allowed each individual to grow as a person. This pandemic has really taught us to learn in new ways and that transformation is not necessarily a bad thing. I hope that those looking at this painting will see that we are not defined by one thing through the light transformation."
Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece through Tatijianna Klinkenbergh's artist profile video.
Tree of Lights
by Tatijianna Klinkenbergh
Tatijianna is a Junior Studio Art Major with a concentration in Painting and Co-Majors in Pre-Med and Neuroscience from Washington, D.C.
To see more of Tatijianna's work, find her on Instagram (@tatiklinkenbergh) or check out her website.
It Is What It Is
Artist: Lauren Lewis
Medium: Digital Storytelling Video
Artist Statement: "This digital story was created in Dr. Armstrong's THE424 course. We started with a story circle and then worked through a process with peers. My story is about dealing with the loss of my Nana and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected my grief. I hope this work resonates with those who have been through a similar experience and lets them know that brighter days are ahead."
Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece through Lauren Lewis' artist profile video.
It Is What It Is
by Lauren Lewis
Lauren Lewis is a first-year student from Jonesboro, Arkansas, majoring in Theater and Arts Management.
Lauren is a member of EcoReps, Honor Student Advisory Board (HSAB), and Stage Left.
Dissociation
Artist: Sara Lu
Medium: Open acrylic on canvas
Artist Statement: "My paintings take a multi-faceted approach in examining psychology, social issues, nature, and the human condition with an emphasis on emotional expression. "Dissociation" examines trauma and its effects on a person and environment. Specifically, dissociation, a symptom of PTSD, is observed through the narrative figures. Texture, layers, and emotive gestures are rooted to represent the complexity of human emotions. In summation, my paintings allow the audience to look internally and focus on their emotional struggles then look forward externally to the natural world and the healing process.
Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece through Sara Lu's Dissociation artist profile video.
Dissociation by
Sara Lu
Sara Lu is a Senior at Miami majoring in Business Economics and co-majoring in Art Therapy and in the Business in the Global Markets Program. She has minors in Chinese and International Business.
Sara has a focus on figurative, landscape, and narrative oil, and acrylic paintings. She strives to depict the processes of growth and decay and trauma and healing through her paintings. Sara incorporates texture, layers, and emotive gestures in her paintings to represent the complexity of human emotions. Sara's paintings empower viewers to focus on their struggles and look forward to the healing process.
The Revival
Artist: Sara Lu
Medium: Oil on canvas with ash
Artist Statement: "The Revival" is a painting with 7 layers of paintings to represent the stages of the world through the cycles of growth and decay. This process forms a timeline to the historical, present, and future examination between humans and the earth. The 7 layers are: "The Formation", "Life", "Fire", "Domestication", "Chaos", "The Ash", and finally the "The Revival". Materials from my past were burned to ash and mixed with paint. The idealization of nature is conveyed by capturing its ubiquitous presence. In the end, despite all of the chaos, nature will heal our world and revive what has been lost."
Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece through Sara Lu's The Revival artist profile video.
The Revival by
Sara Lu
Sara Lu is a Senior at Miami majoring in Business Economics and co-majoring in Art Therapy and in the Business in the Global Markets Program. She has minors in Chinese and International Business.
Sara has a focus on figurative, landscape, and narrative oil, and acrylic paintings. She strives to depict the processes of growth and decay and trauma and healing through her paintings. Sara incorporates texture, layers, and emotive gestures in her paintings to represent the complexity of human emotions. Sara's paintings empower viewers to focus on their struggles and look forward to the healing process.
Damage on Mental Health
Artist: Riley Scheib
Medium: Painting
Artist Statement: "I am a huge mental health advocate, and I know many people had a big transformation within their mental health during the times of COVID-19. I created this piece to show people who might be experiencing this that they are not the only one going through this. The words in that make up the background are different ways that one who went through something like this could describe how they felt and their emotions during that stage. Mental health is a huge part in our lives and can affect us greatly and I feel as if more people need to learn about it to get rid of the stigma behind it."
Learn more about the inspiration behind this piece through Riley Scheib's artist profile video.
Damage on Mental Health by
Riley Scheib
Riley is a first-year student majoring in Psychology and Art Therapy from a small farm town in Ohio called New Bremen.
Self Absorb by Lily Ellison
Self Absorb
Artist: Lily Ellison
Medium: Printmaking
Artist Statement: "This work speaks to the weight of the last year. There has been a struggle between the things we have control over and the things we don't. The lines are blurred between what consumes our space and what we bring in."
Mask by
Lily Ellison
Mask
Artist: Lily Ellison
Medium: Cermanics
Artist Statement: "One of the most compelling things is a person's face experiencing emotion. This piece draws on the experiences during the pandemic. The obstruction of one's face with a sense of permanence and unknowing when the obstruction will be lifted is a terrifying thing."
Lily Ellison
Lily Ellison is a fourth year from Columbus, Ohio, studying art education, art therapy and ceramics.
Multiplicity of Enough
Artist: Jacinta Spinola and Jacqlyn Schott
Medium: Video
Artist Statement: "We want to highlight the experiences of people who live between binaries and are neither one nor the other when it comes to identity but are both/and. We want people who share this multiplicity to know that they are not alone and that, while their experiences are unique, they are also shared and felt by people who have also been told their whole life that they are not enough."
Jacinta Spinola and Jacqlyn Schott
Both Jacqlyn and Jacinta are graduate students in Miami's Student Affairs in Higher Education Master's program and are interested in supporting diverse student populations. Both identify as biracial and grew up in the Greater Cincinnati area. After becoming friends in graduate school, they discovered that they had been childhood friends in the same Daisy troop.
Published April 26, 2021