By Cassidy Pate | Reporter
Every semester graduating seniors work toward their senior showcase known as the Baylor Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Show.
This year was nothing different as five students, Hayden Burch, Lilith Chen, Timothy Hong, Ray Im and Kayleigh McKenzie, showcased their final projects before graduating in December for a crowd of friends, family and faculty.
The show opened with a reception at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and will be on display until Nov. 21 in the Martin Museum of Art.
Las Vegas senior Timothy Hong said having his final project displayed at Baylor is both relieving and exciting as he caps off the last four years he has spent at Baylor.
“It’s definitely bittersweet because I guess I do enjoy the college life, but at the same time I am ready to get out of college and just start working,” Hong said.
Most students have been working toward this show the entire semester. Hong could not count the amount of hours put into his photography, so he stuck with the simplest answer: a lot.
Hong’s project was a series of photos mounted on the wall with lights shining through. In each photo, a woman is wearing a red fabric in a suspended-like pose. For additional effect, Hong draped red fabric along the front of each photo to give it more form.
To shoot the photos, Hong had the models lay on the ground to mimic a floating movement.
Coming up with original ideas like this has been the most difficult aspect of majoring in fine arts for Hong, but he said the reward comes when the initial idea comes through and something beautiful is produced.
Los Angeles senior Ray Im had an alternative perspective of the showcase. He is planning on attending graduate school to receive a master of fine arts degree so this show is serving as the starting point for him, Im said.
“I personally feel that I’ve just done one of my projects so I have to move to the next step actually,” Im said. [I] still [have] several projects ongoing for different classes and different personal things, too.”
Im’s project uses a combination of clay pottery and photography. He said he used this particular project to transition himself from an ordinary person to an artist, which is an ongoing process.
“It’s just one stepping stone,” Im said.
A reward from majoring in fine arts is that is has allowed Im to think about himself and mature as an artist in his own way.
As far as how being a fine art major has influenced his college experience, Im said it is an isolated field of study. Nights spent at the studio were an ordinary occasion.
“It’s actually very isolated, as expected, so usually just literally living in the studio and not going home, just working,” Im said.
Scotland senior Kayleigh McKenzie has a concentration in graphic design. Her display features a number of projects she has complied throughout her time at Baylor.
“I would say it’s months of work but, if you really think about it, it’s years of work that leads you up to this. You refine it and get it to this point, and it just feels so good to see it all up,” McKenzie said.
Coming into Baylor as a biology major, McKenzie said art has made her think in a different way.
“I would leave the art building after 11 p.m. almost every night, and I would be drained because it’s, you know, it’s like studying,” McKenzie said. “It’s a different kind of work.”
A change in major and late nights seemed to pay off for McKenzie because she hopes to find a job in the graphic design field following graduation.
“As long as I’m designing, getting to be creative, I’ll be happy,” McKenzie said.
