By Glenda Wise
This past weekend when we were in Oklahoma City for the marathon, I had the privilege of getting to see the OU School of Visual Arts Annual Student Exhibition.
All I can say is, “Wow!” I originally went to see it because Grayson had a piece selected to be exhibited. I had no idea how blown away I was going to be by the other students’ pieces. Of course, they are all talented artists, but the meaning behind their works were what really impressed me. For people that think that there is no hope for the younger generation, all I can say is that you haven’t been around the right kids. In so many ways, they are much smarter and more forward thinking than we ever thought about being. I’m pretty sure when I was 19 and 20 years old, I wasn’t thinking about some of these major problems going on in our world and if I was I certainly didn’t know how to express my feelings in such a moving way.
I took so many pictures and I wish I could share them all with you and tell you about every single thing I saw, but I guess that is not practical so I will just pick a few pieces.
The first piece I want to tell you about is one that is a particularly hot topic in our country today and I am certainly not trying to sway you one way or another, but one thing you can’t argue is that there are real human beings on both sides of the border wall. This artist grew up on the US/Mexico border; therefore, she witnessed the pain and desperation caused by the border conflict. She describes how on both sides of the large steel border fence there are remnants of lives that have been deeply affected by its existence. She wanted her piece to serve as a sobering reminder of the space that border families and communities must navigate daily life.
Another piece was titled, “Are You Coming Back Soon?” It is about how the artist had assumptions as a child when she played house that a home is something she would always have. She describes homes as “temporary, often fragile spaces.” She goes on to describe homes as abandoned, destroyed, and forgotten. The piece represents how she thinks of displacement and loss and transforming that sadness into “beautiful, magical pieces.”
Of course, I can’t leave you without telling you about Grayson’s piece. It addresses the societal problem of women constantly being “put on a pedestal of perfection.” How women’s bodies must be the ideal woman and how we are criticized for not being thin enough, pretty enough, and the list goes on. The piece addresses that women shouldn’t be held to an impossible standard of “beauty” and beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.
As you can tell I didn’t discuss one single thing about decorating, but I believe it is important to bring attention to what our young people are thinking about and to show there is hope for our future.
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