2020 Senior Art Majors Exhibition Catalog

2020 SENIOR ART MAJORS

EXHIBITION Department of Art and Art History

2020 SENIOR ART MAJORS

EXHIBITION Department of Art and Art History

LIBBIE BLUME KATHLEEN C. CONATON ANNE-ISABELLE DE BOKAY KENT HALL ANITA KELAVA ANNA KOOKEN ANDRES SILES-LOAYZA MORGAN SMITH IN MEMORIAM

MARK KEFFER

Cover Image: Libbie Blume, Sunny-Side Up, 2018. Acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 in.

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INTRODUCTION

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he Georgetown Department of Art and Art History is honored and delighted to present the 2020 Senior Art Majors Exhibition. The show

of work by our graduating students is a venerable tradition of the Department, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2017. While every annual

exhibition is unique, this one is unlike all its predecessors at Georgetown in the most fundamental of ways: it is presented exclusively online rather than

in our galleries. For reasons everyone understands and will never forget, it is impossible in Spring 2020 to install work and experience it together in shared space.

But this lost immediacy will be less memorable than the extraordinary

work at the heart of the exhibition. Across a range of media and with fresh

insight, the students probe elemental themes that resonate now more than

ever around the globe: memory, identity, perception, race, beauty, journeys, waste, redemption, and more. Some of the work feels unsettling, while other pieces are more sly, haunting, or hopeful. Together they reflect the magnetic humanity of art in a time that has pulled us away from each other.

In the absorbing work they have shared this Spring, these young artists signal futures we are very eager to see. ¶

– AL ACRES Department Chair Wright Family Term Associate Professor in Art History Department of Art and Art History

LIBBIE BLUME

Libbie Blume, Sunny-Side Up, 2018. Acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 in.

ARTIST STATEMENT

ARTIST BIO

My paintings deal with the stigmatization of

Libbie Blume is a Seattle native living in

arguably the most important sensory organ.

at Georgetown University double majoring in

mental illness through the portrayal of eyes,

Eyes represent windows into one’s soul, revealing hidden intelligence, perspective, and truth.

My work is heavily influenced by Surrealism.

The weird and unexpected, as extolled through Libbie Blume, Iris, 2020. Acrylic on canvas. 20 x 20 in.

the Surrealist emphasis on Freud and the subconscious, have always fascinated me.

Painting has allowed me to explore this, as I

plumb the depths of my imagination through acrylic paint on canvas.

Washington, D.C. Libbie is in her senior year

anthropology and studio art. She took her first acrylic painting class during her sophomore

year and has been honing her painting skills

ever since. This exhibition represents her first art exhibition as part of the studio art major

requirement. After graduation, Libbie hopes to return to the West Coast to continue to pursue

her painting career while being closer to family.

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Libbie Blume, Trite, 2020. Acrylic on canvas.

40 x 30 in.

FIRST LAST

Libbie Blume, The Gaze, 2018. Acrylic on canvas. 40 x 30 in.

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KATHLEEN C. CONATON I am drawn to Surrealist art and a combination of bright and muted colors. Surrealism has

inspired me to push my boundaries and think beyond what the eye initially sees. It is the attempt to put intangible feelings onto tangible canvas.

My primary medium is oil paint with

introductions of gold leaf, newspaper, and

acrylic paint to add texture. All of my paintings are produced on varying canvas sizes. Through the use of contrast and color, my portraits display an added depth of complexity.

Kathleen C. Conaton, Elsinboro, 2019. Oil on canvas. 40 x 30 in.

ARTIST STATEMENT As a portrait artist, I find my inspiration in human figures and images. I am drawn to

the faces that surround me in everyday life and try to capture the psyche and hidden

emotions imbedded in my subjects. I find Kathleen C. Conaton, Michael, 2019. Oil and gold leaf on canvas.

30 x 30 in.

it a rewarding challenge to look beyond an

expression, deeper into one’s eyes, and take the time to understand underlying themes

behind each face. I hope to evoke feelings from the viewer that may be familiar and lasting.

ARTIST BIO Kathleen C. Conaton is proud of her double

majors in studio art and anthropology at

Georgetown University. A New York native, she is successfully melding her passion for creative expression with the study of her audiences’

behaviors and tendencies. Her portraits tell stories and convey emotions. Kathleen’s

artistry on canvas is a natural extension of

her musical talent developed from an early age. The soprano has performed with the

likes of Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and Demi Lovato, to name a few, in some of the most famous concert halls on the East Coast.

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Kathleen C. Conaton, Patrick, 2017. Oil on canvas. 30 x 24 in.

Right: Kathleen C. Conaton, Pop, 2017.

Oil on canvas.

30 x 24 in.

FIRST LAST

Anne-Isabelle de Bokay, Beast of Burden, 2020.

Analog film photography. 11 x 14 in.

ANNE-ISABELLE DE BOKAY

Anne-Isabelle de Bokay, Celsius, 2020. Analog film photography. 11 x 14 in.

ARTIST STATEMENT Strongly influenced by my adolescence in the liberal and diverse city of Berlin, my work

questions both the ways women are criticized and the basis in which they are congratulated when asserting their sexuality. At the same

time, the complex and often difficult stories of

my grandmothers in their respective marriages

and wartime experiences have guided my work.

Moreover, my numerous female friendships

their laughter, the care with which they make their beds, the tidiness of their desks, the way

they wear their hair, the excuse they use when

they are late, and countless other acts. Every one of these little actions comes together to make a

beautiful, complex person. My work exists as an expression of gratitude for having these people in my life.

ARTIST BIO

and strong relationships with my sisters prompt

Anne-Isabelle de Bokay is a French-German

in my life. Each has a unique form of self-

born in London and grew up across Europe

me to spotlight the beauty of the women

expression, visible in overt character traits such as being patient, or choleric, or compassionate, or engaged, and so on. Even more telling,

however, are their subtle behaviors: the pitch of

graphic designer and videographer. She was before moving to Berlin for high school.

She will graduate with a degree in art and

government and hopes to work in film and graphic design in the future.

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Anne-Isabelle de Bokay, Alone/Then Not, 2020. Analog film photography. 7 x 5 in.

Anne-Isabelle de Bokay, SunMonday, 2020.

Analog film photography.

14 x 11 in.

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KENT HALL waste an alarming quantity of things, much of which has many potential uses. Perhaps even more importantly, our addiction to material

culture is leading us further and further astray from positively engaging with our natural

surroundings. I wish to encourage everyone who

sees my art to rethink their place and role within our ecosystem, and to take the opportunity to

marvel at how incredibly diverse and beautiful

life is. After all, this ecosystem is also our home!

ARTIST BIO Kent Hall, Barely Hanging on, 2020. Wood, canvas print, and recycled materials. 4 x 6 ft.

Kent Hall was born in Stuttgart, Germany in

ARTIST STATEMENT

grandparents in Pennsylvania. It was there that

My work addresses and makes use of the

he fell in love with the rolling hills, open fields,

that are all around us. By carefully fusing and

grade in Germany, he moved to Pennsylvania

histories, they become wholes, taking on new

of his time running outside, as well as fixing and

wealth of discarded material, I hope to evoke

This love for building things led him from

viewer. Our wastefulness is boldly confronted,

machinery. A summer position at Longwood

vast amount of waste and discarded materials

and sound of cicadas. After finishing the tenth

repurposing found objects with their individual

where he continued high school, spending much

and unique presences. By making use of this

building things in his grandfather's shop.

a sense of wonder and astonishment in the

LEGOs to working with wood, metal, and

and I am proving that even “trash� can be

turned into engaging, expressive beauty in my Kent Hall, Stigma, 2019. Cardboard, plastic, and recycled materials. 6 x 4 ft.

1997. Since childhood, he began visiting his

interactive sculptural pieces. I have chosen this method of working as it alludes to two large

and deeply intertwined issues our entire planet faces today. One is the simple fact that we

Gardens quickly led to an even deeper love

and appreciation for the natural world in him.

Combining his passion for nature and mechanics, Hall is now working on raising awareness

of the intricacies of our environment with large

sculptural works made entirely of found objects.

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Anita Kelava, Touch, 2020. Digital photo. 24 x 34 in.

ANITA KELAVA

ARTIST STATEMENT

ARTIST BIO

My photographs, video, and graphic design

Born and raised in Zagreb, Croatia, Balkan

photography. When photographing, I use an

straightforwardness and bluntness that Anita

are influenced by fashion editorials and

intuitive and spontaneous approach in response to my models, whose personalities transcend Left: Anita Kelava, Aura, 2020. Digital photo. 34 x 24 in.

Right: Anita Kelava, Sol, 2020. Digital photo. 34 x 24 in.

through my images, and are thus empowered during the process. I use color as a means to

showcase the uniqueness of my subjects and seek to inspire the viewer’s curiosity and introspection.

culture has had a huge impact on the

Kelava uses to create art. Further, the dynamic

culture of Europe instilled a love for fashion in

her from a young age. She grew up surrounded and inspired by wonderful people and the

relationships she witnessed. Kelava traveled across the ocean to study at Georgetown

University, where she plays basketball as a

Hoya. Kelava is a digital art major and seeks to continue to find inspiration in her homeland.

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ANNA KOOKEN

Anna Kooken, My Candle Burns at Both Ends, 2020. Linoleum print on paper.

24 x 24 in.

ARTIST STATEMENT My work is connected by the use of bright

including older technologies like woodcut and

Whether literally through text or symbolically

showcasing both, I create something new.

colors, bold lines, and personal subjects.

through images of fond memories, my work is

the beginning of a conversation. I want to invite

ARTIST BIO

viewers to inspect the piece and look for clues to

Anna Kooken is a Boston-based graphic

text blocks, and other formal elements and my

Kooken applies her skills to many mediums in-

how or why I made it. I am drawn to repetition, Anna Kooken, Swoop, 2020. Linoleum print on paper. 24 x 24 in.

linoleum-relief printmaking. By blending and

work turns personal anecdotes into something

more universal. Although I specialize in graphic design, I apply computer software skills including text layout and illustration to other media

designer and artist. Trained in digital art,

cluding relief printmaking, drawing, and stained

glass. Kooken is a studio art and history major at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

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Anna Kooken, Uni of Glasgow Cloisters, 2019. Rubber block print on paper. 4 x 6 in.

Anna Kooken, Sdrawkcab Uoy Era Yhw, 2019. Linoleum print on paper.

12 x 12 in.

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ANDRES SILES-LOAYZA that I associate with this setting: an unknown passageway that is both frightening yet

beckoning. I focus on shading, color palette,

and dynamic composition to convey this mood.

Unnatural lighting and hues transform everyday encounters into alien environments. Sharp lines of perspective and vertigo-like abstractions add to the disorientation. The result brings

drama and appreciation to everyday, often-

ignored, and relatively mundane architecture.

I am inspired and influenced by Futurism,

German Expressionist films, including The

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Hitchcock’s Vertigo,

and scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Andres Siles-Loayza, Yellow Passageway, 2020.

Soft pastel. 25.5 x 19.5 in.

in cinema. However, none of the pieces in this

series attempt to depict a specific hallway. They

ARTIST STATEMENT

are inspired by interior and exterior landscapes,

My intention with this series is to evoke an

urban environments of the DMV, especially

ethereal aura in the simple image of a hallway, and in the more abstract idea of a passage.

“Passage” in this case refers to a journey through Andres Siles-Loayza, Green Hallway, 2019.

Soft pastel.

25.5 x 19.5 in.

and generally, by architectural imagery found

which I have encountered while exploring the at night.

ARTIST BIO

an unfamiliar space, which comes with a sense

Andres was born in Northern Virginia and

the eventual end or arrival. I represent this

making art in 2017 during his second year of

of anticipation—both fearful and enticing—for space physically through images of hallways.

Hence, my treatment of this subject focuses on expressing the compelling atmosphere

currently lives in West Virginia. He started

college. He is currently completing his bachelor’s degree in studio art and exploring opportunities for creative careers in the digital world.

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Andres Siles-Loayza, Archway, 2020. Soft pastel. 25.5 x 19.5 in.

Andres Siles-Loayza, Purple Stairway, 2019.

Soft pastel.

25.5 x 19.5 in.

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Morgan Smith, The System Was Never Broken: In God We Trust, 2017.

Silver gelatin print. 5 x 8 in.

MORGAN SMITH to emphasize the importance and legitimacy of

Black art, film, and media as sources that provide

historical data to the Black culture, tradition, and diaspora. I am part of a culture that is not born but created. Trying to find our heritage solely

in history books not written by other Black or brown people would limit our beauty to the

words of men and women who do not live the

Black experience. There is beauty rooted in our art. Let us bask in the beauty of our struggle.

ARTIST BIO Morgan Smith.

ARTIST STATEMENT I create work through the Black lens while

redefining and reconstructing stereotypes and identity-related ideologies. My work centers from a place of self-healing and self-love. It

is a therapeutic expression of the beauty and struggles of being Black in a White world,

meant to provoke and connect with the audience.

DMV-based photographer, videographer, and graphic designer, Morgan Smith has been fine-tuning her love of art since she was a

child. Morgan’s passion to create began in the sixth grade during her first drawing class. At Georgetown University, Morgan majored in

studio art with a concentration in photography and video, while double minoring in African American studies and sociology.

I believe what makes my artwork powerful,

Smith pushes boundaries of what it means to

is the experience it allows the viewer to live

the ways in which her work can be a therapeutic

specifically, my photography and videography, through. My senior thesis work is a short film

about adversity, life struggle, mental health, and healing. My style sources fragments of Black media, films, television shows, music videos,

memes, etc. to visually create a movie to go with

my spoken word. The use of Black pop culture is

be “Black” in a “White” world while exploring

expression of this reality. Her latest work revolves around legitimatizing the use of the “Black Pop

Culture” in the academic world. To that end, she uses Black media, films, music, memes, etc. to

create visual narratives and spoken word poetry about identity.

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Morgan Smith, Questions, 2020. Video.

2:55 mins.

Morgan Smith, Found Footage: Love Me: A Mother’s Embrace” Source: Kendrick Lamar - Love, Rapsody, & Giphy, 2017.

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Mark Keffer, Urban Infection, 2017. Oil on canvas. 36 x 48 in. Collection of Elizabeth Prelinger.

{

IN MEMOR I AM

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MARK KEFFER 1997 – 2019

S

everal years ago I was strolling past the senior painting

and for some forty minutes talked about the work. I listened

of a brilliantly colored canvas on one of the easels.

the painting Urban Infection. He indicated that the two paths

studio in the Walsh building when I caught a glimpse

Excited, I stepped inside for a closer look and discovered an

intricately designed picture depicting rocky paths and leafless

trees patterned against violet mountains rising to a yellow sky.

On the right side lurked a strange and unnerving zigzag of

neon orange. What was it? This landscape was so vivid, so

imaginative, so ambiguous, and so enchanting that I knew I had to live with it. Who had painted it?

Quickly, I contacted my colleague Professor B.G. Muhn. The painter was Mark Keffer, he told me, a sophomore double ma-

jor in studio art and psychology. I told B.G. that I needed the

painting and asked whether he might be willing to introduce me to Mark. He did. Mark and I met soon thereafter. He car-

ried the painting into the hallway across from the studio and

leaned it up against the wall. We crouched down in front of it

as he explained his technique and the subject. Mark had titled split off into different directions—they represented choices.

The left one led to an unspoiled landscape while the path at

right was obstructed by a fiery tree form. In his gentle voice, Mark explained that this blazing symbol urgently warned of the human pollution that could devastate the natural world.

The picture has hung on my dining room wall ever since Mark agreed to sell it to me. He borrowed it back once, for his senior show, where it rejoined others from the series he was planning. I assured him that it would always be available

for exhibitions, never remotely suspecting that there would not be any more. Now when I look at Urban Infection grief sometimes overwhelms me. But I will always be transported by

its beauty and by the memory of the young artist who shared his vision so poignantly and with such generosity of spirit. ¶

– ELIZABETH PRELINGER Keyser Family Professor of Art History Georgetown University

Mark Keffer, Misdirection, 2017. Oil on canvas. 36 x 48 in.

Mark Keffer, Celestial Wave, 2018. Oil on canvas. 36 x 48 in.

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For vision and work to coordinate the Senior Art Majors exhibition and brochure, the Department of Art and Art History especially thanks Samantha Marques-Mordkofsky

Exhibitions and Public Engagement Manager, Georgetown University Art Galleries Jayme McLellan

Lecturer, Curatorial Studies, Art Al Miner

Founding Director/Chief Curator, Georgetown University Art Galleries, and Associate Professor, Art & Museum Studies John Morrell

Professor, Painting and Drawing Exhibition and brochure design by Toni-Lee Sangastiano

Digital Media Specialist, Assistant Teaching Professor of the Practice, Studio Art and Digital Media

2020 SENIOR ART MAJORS

EXHIBITION