By Liz Hitchcock
Reporter

The art department is holding the students’ photography show and print sale from 5 to 7 p.m. today in the Martin Museum of Art gallery and lobby.

“Students do a lot of good work over the semester and have not had a place to share it with their friends,” Susan Mullally, professor of art, said. “It seemed like they should have a place to share their work and a celebration for the end of the semester. … It’s always held on the last day of classes every semester. It’s grown since we started. At first we just had my classes participate, but now it’s all the photography classes.”

The show will incorporate photos from the classes, from beginning black and white photography to digital photography and advanced photography.

“The photos will be in a black box,” Haley Propes, an Austin junior, said. “You will be able to open it up and there will be an artist statement, then you can look through all the photos.”

Some of the photos will be the end result of students’ final projects; the digital photography class work will be based on inspiration drawn from other photographers.

“We’ll be showing our final project. [Mullally] gave us a lot of freedom and it’s 10 photos,” Maria Knorr, a San Francisco junior, said. “She had us pick an artist and use inspiration from them. We will be allowed to show eight other photos from the semester.”

The content and subject matter of the photography will vary, giving the viewers more to choose from.

Students were able to choose the content of their bodies of work, focusing on a topic or a concept.

“There is anywhere from narrative photography, on a specific story, to simple composition, design-oriented photos,” Propes said. “Some people focused on models and figures and others people explored the idea of objects that don’t deteriorate. We were supposed to find artists and use their work as inspiration.”

Students were given creative freedom just as long as the photos fit together as a group. They were also able to select the works that they would like to display and sell.

“In my class, Photo II, we mostly focused on producing a collective body of work for each student,” Rowlett senior Josh Matz said. “We made 10 photos that are hopefully cohesive as a group. They range from some like mine, which are water droplets, to someone who did Alice In Wonderland. We will have other photos as well, but we are focusing on this group of photos.”

The students will be selling their work, and the money will go back to that individual student.

“The money is to kind of get back some of the money that we spent on our supplies,” Knorr said.

Pieces will range from $10 to $20 and food and drink will be provided, Matz said.

“When artists start showing their work, they start taking their work and themselves more seriously,” Mullally said.

“When someone buys their work it’s validation of their ideas and content and even technical abilities.”