Featured Fall 2020 Work
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
EXHIBITION FEATURING THE BFA PROJECT COMPLETED BY EACH STUDENT IN THEIR FINAL SEMESTER
Brad Cushman Gallery
November 21, 2020 – December 9, 2020
Terry Julian
BFA – Graphic Design
Bio
Terry Julian is an aspiring artist from Little Rock, AR with 6+ years of graphic design background. She has a broad interest in both fine art elements and digital design processes. She performs best in cases where she can ideate concepts for brand identity, media projects, and art editing.
Artist Statement
Each project of mine is unique to itself, without much of a specific theme across a selection. Each may portray a new message or even a new brand.
For this project, I wanted to reach outside of my comfort zone and utilize my interest in fine arts. I was drawn to the idea of Mourning Light because mental health is important to be aware of, and it challenged me to suit a different audience. College students are amongst the targeted audience of this work because they are often susceptible to mental illnesses. Over 35% of students on average are potential victims of mental illness.
More often than not, I find that concerns for this aren’t addressed as much as expected. For me, this project was an effective way of exploring the delivery of the topic and the effectiveness of a strong illustration context.
LeAnne Roberson
BFA in Graphic Design
Bio
LeAnne Roberson is a graphic designer with an interest in creative problem solving and an eye for detail. A native of Little Rock, LeAnne will graduate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a BFA in Graphic Design. During her studies at UA Little Rock, LeAnne has been a member of the Donaghey Scholars Program and a recipient of the Joan R. Taylor Foundation scholarship.
Artist Statement
Rabid Food is a branding project for a farm to table, plant based restaurant. The brand direction was created with the intent of deviating from the expected design approaches that are associated with plant based restaurants. This meant embracing bright colors and experimenting with typography. The resulting identity plays off of the phrase “rabbit food” which is commonly used to describe plant based food. Rabid Food takes the negative connotation of “rabbit food” and uses subtle humor to flips it around. The designer also incorporated her concern for environmental issues by creating deliverables that include calls to action for prospective consumers.
Madeleine Robinson
BFA in Illustration | Fall 2020
Bio
Madeleine is a painter and Illustrator soon to graduate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She focuses primarily on children’s book illustrations as well as writing and illustrating existential comic books. Madeleine also enjoys writing music and rock climbing. See her most recent children’s book illustration commissions (The Power of Bread by Twylla Alexander and The Most Peculiar Pizza Pickup by Bio Bruno) coming soon to online platforms.
Artist Statement
Book illustration is especially interesting to me because it gives visual art a stronger narrative component that allows for a greater connection between the art and the viewer. Zombie-Ella was written by my mother (Monica Clark-Robinson), who is a professional children’s book writer. It is an adaptation of the classic Cinderella tale. It is a story that, like many stories before it, illustrate universal human experiences such as love, loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, and personal growth. I was especially inspired by the Art Nouveau movement for this book. The beautiful organic forms of the movement, combined with the gothic tone, perfectly encapsulates the balance between the sweet and the macabre that I wanted to strike with my illustrations.
Ruijie Zheng, Sculpture
Ruijie Zheng
BFA – Sculpture | Fall 2020
Bio
As an artist, Ruijie will continue to explore the language of painting and sculpture. The artistic concept of realism and the connotation of expressionism form the cornerstone of his art. In the process of artistic creation, Ruijie also observes things objectively from the perspective of his own art, and merges traditional Asian culture with the spirit of the times. By paying attention to life, as well as taking society and objective nature as his source of creation, he expresses humanistic feelings through his art. Ruijie’s hopes are that while sticking to the blood of traditional Chinese culture, his art can still feel up to date and relevant, break through tradition, and show an in-depth study of Western art language and aesthetic values.
“What constantly changes and inspires me is the freedom and vitality of Western art. The innovative consciousness and changeable thinking of Western art constantly impacts and purifies my soul, and my ideas are becoming more and more pure.”
Artist Statement
Many times I think, what is the meaning of life? What is spiritual practice? All the pressure is because of wanting too much; all the pain is because it is too real. If the heart does not have a place to inhabit, it will be wandering everywhere. All the splendor that has ever been in life will eventually need to be repaid with loneliness. I think life is a journey alone. A person’s maturity is not how good you are at communicating with others, but learning to live in peace with loneliness. Before loneliness is confusion, after loneliness is my growth. Sculpture needs to be tempered. Isn’t it a human being? I held my dreams in my hands; alone, I kept walking and walking, putting aside the hustle and bustle of the world, looking for a quiet place to put my soul.
