Explorations of Art and Life
After two years of preparation, Shannon Leith and Marisa Rountree kicked off the first week of this semester’s senior art shows, installing their culminations of hard work, planning and art making.
Both artists demonstrate how two different art forms, photography and painting, can explore beauty and life. While Leith takes Biola through her journey of the exploration of life, Rountree invites us to join her in the exploration of paint, pattern, and design.
Leith’s “Today” show consists of photos from 100 different days and life and practice into the gallery. Her original intentions were to go out on walks and capture the beauty and rarities of life. However, as she engaged in this project, over 75 percent of her photos stayed confined to her apartment.
“It wasn’t this big adventurous thing,” she said. “It’s looking at the things we see every day and the artist being the one to find something new in it … being able to explore it in a different way and discover something completely different about something so familiar.”
She began to explore the meaning of words like habit, rhythm, space, and liturgy and their role in everyday life. This long, detailed process led her to a very simple way of understanding her project. It is the exploration and life of today. She quoted Eva Hesse as her inspiration, who said, “My art and my life are not separate; they’re together.”
Leith described the process as “peeling up little layers of life” and catching a glimpse of what is there. “This process has helped me see things that I might not have noticed before,” she said.
The goal for her work is to be more attuned to what she encounters in daily life and move those who view her art to achieve the same thing. Therefore, different photos will be displayed each day giving the viewers the same experience of “newness” that Leith encountered during the shooting process.
“I want people to walk away with a sense of delight and excitement – doing life, whatever that means for each person,” Leith said.
“Each person’s daily life can be a place for them to find newness, excitement, a place to explore rather than a place that’s mundane and boring. God gave us seven days to live. What’s here for me today? … there is something there.”
Similarly, Rountree has given herself to exploration. Starting with a passion and talent for realism and figure studies, Rountree has come a long way in her artistic endeavor to devote two years in preparation for a show centered on abstract painting. Besides potraying the qualities of the paint and abstract design, Rountree’s senior show is a discovery of her own talent and passions.
The show displays a long process of research, technique and plain experimentation. Drawing from her interest in Japanese and Chinese landscape prints, she began using stencils and nature-influenced design.
“It’s about messing around and seeing what happens,” she explained.
For Rountree, it is the process, not the result that is most rewarding. Her vibrant and complex paintings consist of many layers built on top of one another. In some pieces, the very first layer is visible. Each application of paint and color brings to life Rountree’s passion for experimentation in the art-making process.
The title of her show, “Colorscapes,” is the essence of her exploration.
“It’s not about land or sea, but about color,” she said. “This show is a celebration of color. I want to capture people’s curiosity and interest.”
Rountree looks forward to continuing this discovery process after she graduates in May. Coming from a family of artists, art is in her blood and cannot be ignored. Interning for the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and working for the Biola Star Program has prepared her for the next step of furthering her education in the arts while integrating painting and photography.
