JP art explores a range of themes

It's hard to make any general comments about the "Class of 2011 Junior Independent Work exhibit," which opened on Tuesday night in the Lucas Gallery at 185 Nassau St. Showcasing sculpture, installation art, painting, photography and film by 13 student artists, this exhibition features works as diverse as the many artists involved - and thus offers a comprehensive view of Princeton's artists.

The films of William Martinez '11 and Adrian Gallegos '11 were screened at the opening reception. Martinez uses animation to illustrate the dark tale of an American soldier haunted by the specter of death, based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. He said that he chose this medium because Lovecraft used description in a way that left much to the imagination. Martinez takes the opportunity to fill in those gaps.

By contrast, Gallegos' film, "Broken Iterations," is a silent film without any clear narrative. Inspired by horror films and video games, Gallegos purposefully omitted any explanation of the characters' actions to create a sense of confusion and suspense. "It's more dubious because you don't get to hear it, but you experience it," he said.

While the films were screened yesterday only, the paintings, sculptures and photography in the Lucas Gallery will remain on view until Oct 16. Gallegos also has photography featured in this exhibit. His work studies mirrors as a theme. "The mirror has a very particular connotation of self-reflection ... but it's also an obstruction because you can never see yourself and the outside world at the same time," he explained. Using a "trick" with the mirror, Gallegos focuses the camera far away and seamlessly blends two photographs, morphing them into one complex, disorienting piece.

Gallegos' photographs are juxtaposed with paintings by Snow Li '11, who focuses on the theme of the window, and Katie Boyce '11, who portrays human figures in interior scenes. Both Li and Boyce experiment with depicting the contrast between interior light and the dark night outside. Li paints the bright light emanating from windows in the deep blues and browns of night, while Boyce gives us the reverse perspective. In one of Boyce's paintings, the viewer looks out into utter darkness from a starkly lit kitchen window.

The sculptural art is just as varied as the two-dimensional works featured in the exhibit. Madeleine Douglas '11 ponders the nature of the labyrinth in her installation piece, "Cleiewen." "[The piece] is asking people to move through space," she said. Set up with an information table replete with explanatory pamphlets, Douglas seeks to evoke the experience of walking through a museum as visitors view her work: a labyrinth sewed with gold thread into a six by eight piece of Astroturf, which lies before the shoes and jacket she crafted for the sustainable fashion contest last year.

The sculptures of Jonathan Goh '11 were heavily influenced by his major, mechanical engineering and aerospace. Goh created his own version of the classic sculpture "Winged Victory," which he calls "Winged Victory 2010." Designed on the computer, and crafted with a 3D printer, his interpretation of an ancient icon is relevant to today's technology. Another one of his works, which he explained is an "air intake adaptor for an engine," was originally made as a project for a mechanical engineering class. "I wanted to visualize flow in a way that would work in gallery environment," he said. Goh is a former executive editor for photography for The Daily Princetonian.

All in all, the exhibit is well worth a visit. The surprise comes from the level of skill on display here; each cluster of work is remarkably thought provoking and provides insights into a wide range of themes. There is, I would imagine, something for everyone.